
Books & Papers
Progressive Reinforcement Through the Use of Incentives - Joseph P. Owen, Dianne Motley and Eric Holloman
A Virginia correctional facility opened in January 2020 as an alternative to incarceration for adult males with substance abuse needs. Within months, staff at Brunswick CCAP were using dialogue and Kantor's Four Player Model to reshape how decisions were made, disagreements were handled, and reintegration was supported.
Brunswick Community Corrections Alternative Program is a secure residential facility serving adult males referred by Virginia's Circuit Courts as an alternative to jail or state incarceration, with a curriculum built on evidence-based practices and matched to individual risk. Joseph P. Owen, Dianne Motley and Eric Holloman document how dialogue was introduced across the facility, with Learning Teams reinforcing the Dialogic Skills until check-ins and check-outs became routine in all meetings. Staff report that applying Kantor's Four Player moves — move, follow, oppose, bystand — one at a time has shifted the quality of interaction: genuine voices began improving decisions, disagreements became workable, and diversity was accommodated rather than managed. The authors describe the initiative as producing 'progressive, impactful and long-lasting change,' with strong containers supporting both staff cohesion and the programme's aim of successful community reintegration for participants. Published in The World Needs Dialogue! Four: Putting Dialogue to Work (2022), the paper is one of the few accounts to trace how dialogue practice takes root inside a residential corrections setting from the facility's earliest months of operation.