Corrections Community

GAO Report on Community Colleges and One-Stops

Scott — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:21:00 GMT

Guest blogger John Moore, Chief of the National Institute of Corrections Offender Workforce Development Division, contributed the information below.

"Community Colleges and One-Stop Centers Collaborate to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs"

This report focuses on (1) how community colleges meet the workforce training needs of their communities; (2) what community colleges do to integrate with the nation's one-stop system; (3) the conditions or practices that enhance or impede these efforts; and (4) the actions the Departments of Labor and Education have taken to encourage linkages between community colleges and the workforce investment system, including one-stops.

In addition to providing good information on building collaboration between One-Stop Career Centers with Community Colleges and various funding initiatives, this report and a previous GAO report recommends the elimination of performance measures by the WIA that serve as disincentives to the DOL One-Stop System to serve clients with multiple barriers to employment.

This would hopefully pave the way for those with criminal histories to be served and may assist in bridging DOL One-Stop Career Centers to Corrections Career Resource Centers in the future much like exist between the Montgomery County Jail and the One-Stop Career System in Maryland.

This information would also be of value to Directors of Correctional Industries, who may be forging a working relationship with local Community Colleges in developing apprenticeship programs.

NIC Satellite/Internet Broadcast: Women and Work

Scott — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:56:00 GMT

Women and Work: Gender Responsivity and Workforce Development will be broadcast live on September 24-25, 2008. Site coordinator training is scheduled for July 9, 2008.

The National Institute of Corrections will host a live, 8-hour interactive training program specifically designed for individuals working with justice involved women. How do you respond to a woman leaving prison when she asks: "What type of job should I pursue? How do I go about getting the job I want? How do I keep my job? Am I the type of person an employer would want to hire?"

Participants will have an opportunity to engage in a national dialogue regarding emerging knowledge specific to justice involved women, and career theories and practices that help improve outcomes for women. This training includes thereview of policies and procedures that have a direct impact on women and their reentry efforts; as well as, the review of various assessment tools and instruments that support employment attainment and retainment.

To register for the broadcast click here.

To register for the site coordinators training click here.

For more information, download the brochure.

NIC Job Announcement: Administrative Officer

Tracey V — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:54:00 GMT

The National Institute of Corrections has a job opening for an:

Administrative Officer (Washington, DC): Apply before June 4, 2008

Incumbent is responsible for the management of the support functions within NIC's Washington, D.C Office. Support activities are essential to accomplishing NIC's work, services, and goals and include activities related to technical assistance, training, cooperative agreements, information development, and other areas.

General Public - Read the full announcement here

Status Candidates - Read the full announcement here

Solicitation for Cooperative Agreement - High Performing Correctional Organizations

Tracey V — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:18:00 GMT

The National Institute of Corrections is soliciting proposals from qualified organizations, groups or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 12-month, developmental phase of a new initiative, "Identifying the Characteristics of High Performing Correctional Organizations." This project will focus on developing a methodology to allow organizations to build from their strengths to identify and bridge gaps between current performance in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability.

Applications must be received by 4:00 pm EDST on Thursday, June 19, 2008. See solcitation details and application forms.

Update on NIC Solicitation for Civil Liabilities Project

llinke — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:09:00 GMT

The National Institute of Corrections is soliciting proposals from qualified organizations or individuals to update and expand a civil liabilities guidebook for probation and parole. The successful applicant would be expected to deliver the following three products during an eighteen-month cooperative agreement period.

A revised, updated version of NIC's document dealing with civil liabilities for probation/parole officers and supervisors. (See the most recent version of the document.)
An executive supplement for directors and chiefs of probation, parole, and other community corrections agencies that identifies their legal issues and responsibilities.
Various adult learning and informational materials related to the revised document and executive supplement.

Applications must be received y 4:00 pm EDST on Thursday, May 22, 2008. See solcitation details and application forms.

UPDATE: A Telephone Conference with Applicants for this Solicitation was held on May 13, 2008 at Noon, EDST.
NIC Participants were George Keiser and Dot Faust. Following is a summary of questions and answers discussed at the conference. The summary is not intended to be a word-for-word account of the discussions.

Introduction to the Session History/ Use of Cooperative Agreement Funding Vehicle

For years, the National Institute of Corrections has coordinated Executive Orientation Sessions for executives of probation and parole in cooperation with the National Association of Probation Executives (NAPE) and Sam Houston State University. As part of this work, the Civil Liabilities document was developed at the initiation of Professor Rolando del Carmen of Sam Houston State University. The subject matter is civil liabilities. The guidebook has been updated in the past. The intent of the current effort is to again update the document, and to add two other products: an executive supplement and a set of learning tools for executive level audiences.

NIC has looked at all available funding tools. The Cooperative Agreement is the best in this instance because NIC can solicit the creativity of individuals in response to the Institute's requirements. What's new this time is that a dollar figure has not been identified. As a result, the responses to the solicitation will be judged both on the substance of the piece as well as on which application gives NIC the most of what it wants for a price that NIC can afford.

Questions-and-Answers:
Question1. Please explain the second deliverable.

The Executive Level Supplement is not meant to be an executive summary of the core document. Rather, this piece should address any liability issues that are unique for the CEO-level person and different from issues that may be faced by other managerial levels.

Question 2. When will the cooperative agreement be awarded?

The award will probably be made by the middle of the summer. Specifically, the National Institute of Corrections will go through a sequence of steps during the award process:

a) An internal panel from NIC will review all applications.

b) The panel will have a face-to-face meeting to discuss the applications,

score them and designate preferred applications.

c) There may be further negotiation with an applicant.

d) There will be a staff recommendation to NIC's Executive Director. It is rare that the

Executive Director does not follow the staff recommendation, but it may happen.

e) The earliest time for the award will probably be within six weeks of the submission.

The latest will probably be within eight weeks of the submission.

Question 3. Explain the format/medium of the end product. Hard copy or electronic?

Both hard copies and electronic copies will be made available to the user audience. The main document needs to be textual.

Question 4. The solicitation addresses three different deliverables. Does NIC want them delivered throughout the 18-month period; or, should they all be submitted at the end of the 18-month period?

All three deliverables must be submitted by the end of the 18-month period. The sequence and schedule for completing them, however, will depend on the applicant's work plan as submitted.

Question 5. There is an existing document. Does NIC expect a complete rewrite of this piece?

No, it is intended that the core document be updated and expanded as it currently exists.

Question 6. Are probation and parole the sole target audiences, or are other community corrections audiences included?

Probation and parole are the primary target audiences. Private treatment agencies, for example, are not the focus. If probation or parole supervision takes place within other agency structures, however, or if these functions happen to be called by a different name in a jurisdiction (such as post prison mandatory release), then the material should have application to these audiences, too. The information should have general applicability to all probation and parole agencies, keeping in mind the various state and local organizational structures.

Question 7. Does NIC expect the applicant to use a Board of Consultants?

Using a board is not required, but is an option for the applicant to consider.

Question 8. Please explain dissemination and distribution.

Dissemination and distribution of the products will be accomplished primarily through NIC's Information Center. The products will be housed in a web-based format at the Information Center and accessible to a broad audience. (In other words, just use a standard pdf format.)

Another distribution vehicle will be through professional associations and conferences. The products will also need to be useable for these purposes.

Question 9. Does NIC expect general or state-by-state applicability of the material?

NIC needs the materials to have applicability for a general, nationwide audience. If certain state or local examples can show trends or if they are helpful as examples, they can be used. The applicant should also try to pay attention to possible differences between judicial or executive branch applications of the information.

Question 10. (Received 5/16/08) Will there be an existing soft copy of the publication that we are to update or will [we] have to totally re-key each document?

After checking with administrative staff at NIC, it appears to be doubtful that the Institute will be able to provide the existing document in a format that can be edited. You should not have this expectation when writing your applications.

Question 11. Do you have a set number of pages that this should be around, or is this just based on the amount of material extracted that would be beneficial/essential to CEO level administrators?

There is no predetermined number of pages for the Executive Supplement.

New Product from NIC: Online/Kiosk Employment Application Simulation

Scott — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:09:00 GMT

In response to the growing use of online and kiosk employment applications, the Offender Workforce Development Division of the National Institute of Corrections has developed simulation software that allows offenders to practice completing an employment application on personal computers that do not have access to the Internet. The software is CD-based and is compatible with the Windows® operating system.

According to John Moore, Chief of the Offender Workforce Development Division of the National Institute of Corrections, "many of the prisoners being released from correctional facilities are ill-prepared to apply for jobs that have an online or kiosk-based employment application owing to their inexperience with computers and the Internet." Moore adds that "most jails and prisons do not allow prisoners to access the Internet, creating a barrier for preparing inmates to compete in today's technologically driven human resources environment."

The software developed by the National Institute of Corrections overcomes this barrier by simulating the experience of completing an online application. The software also educates the user about online applications, provides a printable worksheet that can be used to prepare offenders for completing these applications, and allows the user to print out the entries made during the simulation. Context sensitive help is provided throughout the simulation.

The Online/Kiosk Employment Application Simulation is suitable for corrections, probation, and parole agencies as well as faith-based and community organizations. It is available at no cost from the National Institute of Corrections through the agency's Information Center. To obtain a copy of the software, you may do so on the web by going to http://www.nicic.gov/Library/022996. You may also obtain a copy by calling the Information Center at 1-800-877-1461 or emailing asknicic@nicic.org. Request item # 022996.

Please view the video below for a description and screenshots of the software.

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Duration: 1:14

Reduce Your Risk and Liability

Sandy Schilling — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:40:00 GMT

A new publication, Risk Management in Jails, is now available from the National Institute of Corrections. This manual can be used by jails of any size and is intended to help jails identify risks and develop a formal risk management program. The chapters contained in the guide are:

Understanding Risk and Its Implications for Jails
Jail Risk Management Issues and Strategies
Developing a Risk Management Program
Organizational Investments for Managing Risk

Governor Schwarzenegger speaks about importance of work skills

Scott — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:55:00 GMT

Governor Schwarzenegger attended the graduation ceremony of female inmates from the Career Technical Education-Carpentry program at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Click here to watch Gov. Schwarzenneger talk about the important work of the California PI Authority in teaching inmates work skills to turn their lives around.

Did You Know OJJDP Offers Training and Technical Assistance?

Leslie LeMaster — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:07:00 GMT

Did you know that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) also offers training and technical assistance?

Check out this link to the OJJDP National Training and Technical Assistance Center and see what they have to offer!

http://www.nttac.org

Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community - A Toolkit and More

Eileen Conway — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:16:00 GMT

Two important new resources on jail reentry have been released today by the Urban Institute. To help prepare inmates to transition from jail to the community, guidance is provided by The Jail Administrator's Toolkit for Reentry, which the Urban Institute describes as follows:

"Geared toward jail practitioners who are working to improve reentry in their jurisdictions, The Jail Administrator's Toolkit for Reentry provides key elements of the reentry process from jail staff issues and assessment screens to identifying community resources and coordinating stakeholders. The Toolkit also offers examples and materials taken from around the country to assist jail practitioners in developing reentry strategies that can serve a variety of jail populations, whether pretrial or sentenced, and in a variety of jail jurisdictions."

Also new is Life After Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community, which "synthesizes key findings from the Jail Reentry Roundtable and examines opportunities on the jail-to-community continuum where reentry-focused interventions can make a difference."

OJJDP Releases Review of Title V Programs . . .

Leslie LeMaster — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:57:00 GMT

OJJDP Report Reviews Title V Program

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has published "2004–2005 Report to Congress: Title V Community Prevention Grants Program."

Established by Congress in 1992, the Title V Program supports state and local efforts to reduce risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency and enhance protective factors that promote healthy personal and social development. This Report reviews the background of the Title V Program; highlights Federal, state, and local activities in 2004–2005; and outlines OJJDP’s plans for enhancing the impact of Title V.

Resources:

Print copies of "2004–2005 Report to Congress: Title V Community Prevention Grants Program" (NCJ 215559) may be ordered at http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/AlphaList.aspx. For quick access, search by document number.

The Report is also available online at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=237144.

Focusing on Racial Disparities

Eileen Conway — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:42:00 GMT

Human Rights Watch has posted a press release announcing two new racial disparity studies, one of their own, and one by the Sentencing Project. The release links to the HRW report, "Targeting Blacks: Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States," and also to the Sentencing Project's report, "Disparity by Geography."

Public Comment Sought on Proposed PREA Standards

CC Pro — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:30:00 GMT

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) has released their draft standards for adult prisons, jails, and facilities holding immigration detainees. The Commission is seeking public input regarding these proposed standards between the dates of May 5 through July 7, 2008. Draft standards concerning lockups, juvenile and community corrections facilities will be available for viewing and public comment in June 2008. For further information on how the standards were formulated, copies of the draft standards, and methods by which the public may provide comments, please click here.

What Contributes to Recidivism?

Eileen Conway — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:10:00 GMT

The Urban Institute has released a double whammy examining factors contributing to recidivism. Working in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Massachusetts Recidivism Study contains three interrelated study components addressed in two new reports. Massachusetts Recidivism Study: A Closer Look at Releases and Returns to Prison analyzes DOC administrative data and recidivism on a variety of statistical and demographic fronts. Its companion report, Reincarcerated: The Experiences of Men Returning to Massachusetts Prisons examines the results of parole office focus groups, as well as interviews of returning recidivists.

Interview with Diana Bailey from inside the MDSE Mobile Unit

Scott — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:39:00 GMT

Maryland's Correctional Education Transition Mobile Unit was recently featured at the National Defender/Workforce Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mobile Unit provides transitional information and library services for inmates in the pre-release system in Maryland. The unit, which was designed and is operated by the Maryland State Department of Education, travels across the Maryland to prepare men and women for release from incarceration into the community and employment.

The video below is an interview with Diana Bailey, Workforce Development/Transition Coordinator with the Maryland State Department of Education, from inside the Mobile Unit.

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Jefferson City, Missouri OWDS Graduation - April 29, 2008

Scott — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:28:00 GMT

On April 29, 2008, at the Department of Corrections Central Training Academy in Jefferson City, Missouri, 18 participants were recognized for successfully completing Offender Workforce Development Specialist Partnership Training (OWDS). They received their certificates of completion from OWDS program manager Susie Edwards. Assisting Ms. Edwards as instructors were Quincy Fountain, Steve Gibson, Lisa Johnson, Rodney Henry, Kevin Knickerbocker, Linda Wise, and Jennifer Williams.

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Duration: 1:09

Mock Prison Riot

jgustfsn — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:47:00 GMT

The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) annually host a Mock Prison Riot on the grounds of the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. The purpose of the riot is to showcase emerging corrections and law enforcement technologies and to give corrections officers and tactical team members an opportunity to use and evaluate emerging technologies in riot training scenarios.

The next Mock Prison Riot is scheduled for May 11-14, 2008. The event is FREE of charge to attend. Click here for additional information.

Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement - Video Production: New Jail Planning

National Institute of Corrections — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:43:06 GMT

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Jails Division, is seeking applications for the development and production of a broadcast quality, educational DVD covering the five phases of new jail planning.

DEADLINE: Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 30, 2008.

View the Solicitation on Grants.gov

Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Administrative Support for the NIC Learning Center

National Institute of Corrections — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:37:00 GMT

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) has implemented Learn.com’s Learn Center learning management system (LMS) to manage the NIC Learning Center. NIC has used this LMS for the past four years to manage its Web-based training (WBT). Through this cooperative agreement, services offered through the Learning Center will be expanded to bring access to all NIC training opportunities available through this system.

DEADLINE: Application must be received by 4:00 p.m. EDST on Tuesday May 20, 2008.

View Solicitation Details on Grants.Gov

Attorney General to Speak at Youth Gang Symposium

CC Pro — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:32:00 GMT

U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey will open the National Youth Gang Symposium sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The theme is "Partnering to Prevent Gang Violence: From Faith-Based and Community Organizations to Law Enforcement." Workshops will be conducted to assist "law enforcement, school personnel, faith-based and community organizations, policymakers, youth serving agencies and others who are working together to combat youth gang problems."