KANSAS 2008 COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS INITIATIVE (2008 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation

The Center will design and deliver two training events for intensive supervision officers, case managers, and their supervisors in community corrections agencies from across the State of Kansas. These events will assist the Kansas Department of Corrections with their implementation of risk reduction and evidence-based practices in community corrections. The sessions will also aid in building the infrastructure for change at the local level by encouraging districts to employ evidence-based practices in an effort to address probationer behavior in a manner that reduces risk, increases the successful completion of supervision, and supports re-integration into the family and community.

MISSOURI AGENCYWIDE REENTRY TRAINING (2008)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation; State of Missouri

Working collaboratively with the Missouri Department of Corrections, the Center will design and deliver a multi-day training for policy and mid-level corrections and parole staff. Using the Community Safety Through Successful Offender Reentry training curriculum developed by the Center under a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance sponsored project, this training will equip agency staff with the tools and information necessary to define their agency vision and mission in terms of reduced recidivism and enhanced public safety through successful offender reentry, to realign policy and practice to achieve their vision and mission, and to recognize the significant and evolving role of institutional and community corrections agencies in successful offender reentry.

MASSACHUSETTS PAROLE BOARD SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT TRAINING (2008 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: Massachusetts Parole Board

Center staff will conduct two separate but complementary training events for Parole Board Members and Field Parole Officers, respectively, on sex offender management issues. The specialized training for Parole Board Members will be a highly interactive event tailored for individuals with releasing authority. The training event for Field Parole Officers and Field Supervisory/Management staff will equip participants to understand and apply the research on effective sex offender management to parole supervision practices.

URBAN INSTITUTE PAROLE SUPERVISION PAPER (2008 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: Urban Institute

Center staff have been asked to serve as co-authors and reviewers of an NIC-funded document highlighting effective parole supervision strategies. The paper will articulate a new strategy for effective parole supervision in the context of evidence-based reentry efforts.

PENNSYLVANIA HEARING EXAMINER TRAINING (2008 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Center staff will design and deliver two training events for hearing examiners of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole on their role in supporting the Board's commitment to evidence-based approaches to parole decisionmaking.

SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance, through subcontract from The International Association of Chiefs of Police

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Center for Effective Public Policy/Center for Sex Offender Management have been designated as the technical assistance provider for BJA's Sex Offender Management Training and Technical Assistance (SOM TTA) Program. This program includes the provision of technical assistance to BJA's FY 2007 Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management (CASOM) Grant Program as well as the development of several other training resources, including the following:

• Development of two curricula (one focused on risk reduction through law enforcement, the other on accountability for sex offenders through community-based supervision practices);
• Creation of a minimum of four web-based/distance learning tools (two of which will address risk reduction through law enforcement, and two that will address offender accountability through community-based supervision);
• Development of a guidebook of promising sex offender management practices and draft protocols/ policies/procedures for law enforcement and community corrections agencies; and
• Delivery of training and technical assistance to the CASOM grantees.

JUDICIAL EDUCATION AND RESOURCES ON SENTENCING OF SEX OFFENDERS (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance, through subcontract from The National Judicial College

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has awarded a grant to the National Judicial College and the Center for Effective Public Policy/Center for Sex Offender Management to develop and pilot test a model curriculum and instructor materials for judges on the sentencing of sex offenders. In addition, project staff will develop and conduct a "train the trainer" course, and distribute the full curriculum to state judicial branch educators and judges interested in teaching the subject matter via CD-ROM.

KANSAS AND MICHIGAN REENTRY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT(2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: JEHT Foundation

The project is a continuation of two previous projects: the Kansas Department of Corrections: Implementation of Kansas' Prisoner Reentry Initiative; and the Michigan Department of Corrections: Implementation of Key Components of the Michigan ReEntry Initiative. Through the continuation of these projects, the Center provides technical assistance to the Kansas Department of Corrections to refine its statewide prisoner reentry strategic plan and the on-going development of a statewide Reentry Policy Council, as well as implementation of key features of Kansas' reentry model and the development of a monitoring and evaluation protocol. In Michigan, the Center continues to provide technical assistance to the Michigan Department of Corrections and its Field Operations Administration unit on the revision of parole guidelines and the design of a collaborative case management system.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION: DEVELOPMENT OF PAROLE VIOLATIONS GUIDELINES (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Center staff are assisting the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division of Adult Parole Operation (DAPO) in the development of policy to guide responses to parole violations. The Center is working closely with DAPO to analyze current policy and practice, the parole population, the array of responses available, and to develop a structured decision making tool for statewide use.

ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF PROBATION AND PAROLE FOR THE REFINEMENT OF THE PAROLE BOARD'S DECISION-MAKING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMITMENT PRESUMPTIVE RANGES (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

Based on the Center’s preliminary assessment of the decisionmaking guidelines used by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, this project is conducting a detailed analysis of both the Parole Board’s guidelines to identify areas for refinement and improvement, and the Board’s current practices with respect to responses to violations of parole. The project is providing support and assistance to the Board as they consider the results of this analysis and make decisions about how to integrate the lessons of the analysis into refinements of their policies and practices regarding release and revocation and create a strategic plan for the implementation of these decisions.

RAMSEY COUNTY COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROJECT (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsor: Ramsey County (Minnesota) Community Corrections Department

The Center is working with an internal policy team of the Ramsey County (Minnesota) Community Corrections Department, Juvenile Division, to develop a structured approach to responding to violations of probation. The products will include new policy documents, a response matrix, and a measurement strategy to discern the impact of the new approach on successful completion of probation.

KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: IMPLEMENTATION OF KANSAS' PRISONER REENTRY INITIATIVE (2006 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation

Through this project, the Center is providing technical assistance to the Kansas Department of Corrections in the refinement of its statewide prisoner reentry strategic plan, establishment of a statewide Reentry Policy Council, implementation of key features of Kansas' reentry model, and development of a monitoring and evaluation protocol.

THE ROLE OF JUDGES IN MANAGING JUVENILE SEX OFFENSE CASES: KEY TO INFORMED DECISIONMAKING (2004 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

This project will produce a comprehensive training curriculum for juvenile and family court judges on juvenile sex offender issues. Developed and delivered by distinguished members of the judiciary and experts in the field of juvenile sex offender management, this model judicial education curriculum will provide juvenile and family court judges a unique opportunity to gain practical and vital information that can enhance day–to–day decisionmaking in these cases. The curriculum will be designed to promote open exchange and discussion between participants and the faculty regarding common challenges and creative solutions.

The curriculum will be developed through a collaborative partnership between the State Justice Institute, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Center and will include key topics such as:

• Making sense of specialized assessment, treatment, and supervision approaches from the perspective of the bench;
• Tailoring court dispositions to match each juvenile’s unique needs and level of risk, and to build upon their internal and external strengths and assets;
• Reviewing trends and challenges associated with juvenile sex offender registration;
• Understanding differential risk factors associated with general juvenile delinquency versus juvenile sex offending;
• Managing the challenges of family reunification and preservation when victims and perpetrators are in the same home;
• Maximizing limited resources;
• Becoming informed and active consumers in the juvenile sex offender management process; and
• Exploring the multiple, critical roles of the judiciary in ongoing juvenile sex offender management efforts.

A limited number of training opportunities on this topic will be offered on a competitive basis through state–based judicial education forums. Ultimately, the curriculum will be produced for distribution to support state and local judicial education programs throughout the country.

CENTER FOR SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT (1997 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs with support from the National Institute of Corrections and the State Justice Institute

» www.csom.org

The Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) is a national project that supports state and local jurisdictions in the effective management of sex offenders under community supervision. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and has been supported in the past by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections and the State Justice Institute. CSOM is administered through a cooperative agreement between the Office of Justice Programs and the Center for Effective Public Policy.

CSOM's primary goal is to enhance public safety by preventing further victimization through improving the management of adult and juvenile sex offenders. CSOM’s goals are carried out through three activity areas: the exchange of information on this topic, training and technical assistance, and support to the Office of Justice Program’s Sex Offender Management Discretionary Grant Program grantees. Through these activity areas, CSOM:

• Provides those responsible for managing sex offenders and protecting victims ready access to the most current information on effective interventions with this population by synthesizing and disseminating knowledge and practices to the field;
• Captures the lessons learned from communities around the country who have demonstrated—through collaboration between criminal justice agencies and other stakeholders—that they can manage known sex offenders and increase public safety, and to disseminate those lessons so that others might benefit from them; and
• Provides the opportunity for other jurisdictions to draw upon these experiences, enhance their own practices, and create similar results in their communities, by offering a variety of training and technical assistance opportunities to policymakers and practitioners.

CSOM has developed a comprehensive set of training curricula that addresses sex offender supervision, treatment, assessment, and other management issues. In addition, CSOM continues to develop and make available a wide array of printed materials, including policy and practice briefs on this topic. Finally, CSOM’s web site (www.csom.org) provides information on state–of–the–art approaches to the effective management of adult and juvenile sex offenders.

NEW YORK STATE REENTRY INITIATIVE (2008)

Sponsor: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services

The Center designed and staffed a three-day workshop for County Reentry Task Forces who are collaborating with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, the New York State Department of Correctional Services, and the New York Division of Parole, on the topic of offender reentry. The workshop highlighted progress to date in New York counties involved in the Reentry Initiative, offered opportunities for local teams to build collaborative skills and enhance their comprehensive plans, and provided an overview of evidence-based practice and new approaches to case management.

IDAHO CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION (2008)

Sponsor: Idaho Criminal Justice Commission

Center staff provided a briefing to the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission and invited members of the Idaho legislature on the topic of sex offender management, focusing on what is known about both the adult and juvenile sex offender populations in terms of their offense patterns, recidivism rates, evidence-based and emerging practices with regard to their management, and legislative trends in this area.

MICHIGAN COUNCIL ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY PROJECT (2008)

Sponsor: Michigan Department of Corrections

Center staff worked with the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency's local reentry teams to advance the state's reentry efforts. Specifically, a Center staff member delivered a training session to a reentry leadership group regarding the application of evidence-based principles at the local level. This event provided information about how to advance reentry work in a way that is aligned with what research suggests is most likely to reduce recidivism.

TRAINING FOR CORRECTIONAL AGENCIES ON STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL OFFENDER REENTRY (2007)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

The goal of the project is to provide training and technical assistance to institutional corrections and community supervision agencies on strategies for successful offender reentry. Using the curriculum developed under the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, Community Corrections Supervision Reentry Training Program (An Agencywide Training Curriculum for Corrections), the Center will provide three agencies selected through a competitive application process with opportunities to participate in a strategic planning session (designed to help clarify the agencies' vision, mission, and goals related to offender reentry), an agencywide training designed to serve as an organizational change opportunity, and on-site technical assistance following the training to help the agency capitalize on the momentum and knowledge gained from the training. In addition, the project will maximize the impact of the project by delivering a presentation at a meeting of one of the national correctional organizations, highlighting the content of the curriculum, and reporting on the experiences of the three agencies in planning and delivering the training.

PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITY SAFETY THROUGH SUCCESSFUL OFFENDER REENTRY TRAINING (2007 - PRESENT)

Sponsors: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

Working collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and the Department of Corrections, the Center will design and deliver a multi-day training for policy, mid-level and line corrections and parole staff. Using the Community Safety Through Successful Offender Reentry training curriculum developed by the Center under a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance sponsored project, this training will equip agency staff with the tools and information necessary to define their agency vision and mission in terms of reduced recidivism and enhanced public safety through successful offender reentry, to realign policy and practice to achieve their vision and mission, and to recognize the significant and evolving role of institutional and community corrections agencies in successful offender reentry.

INTEGRATED CASE MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION FOR TRANSITION AND REENTRY (2007)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation

Under sponsorship from the JEHT Foundation, the Center conducted the second of two three-day workshops (the first was conducted in 2006) for selected departments of correction staff from Kansas, Michigan, and Missouri on enhancing offender outcomes through integrated case management and supervision strategies. All three states have significant statewide offender transition and reentry efforts underway. During the first workshop, teams from each state were provided with an opportunity to focus on case management and supervision issues through exchange of information - including sharing their own challenges, strategies, and innovations - cross-team problem solving, and the development of specific strategies and products based on the information provided to them during the event. Each state team left with a detailed implementation work plan designed to enhance the operationalization of a unified dynamic case management system in their home jurisdiction. The second work session provided teams an opportunity to come together to share their accomplishments and lessons learned since the initial workshop.

POLICY BRIEF ON PAROLE VIOLATIONS (2007)

Sponsors: Pew Charitable Trust

The Center is providing assistance to the Pew Charitable Trust to develop a policy brief on parole violations, a document that will be used to inform legislators about the issues surrounding responses to technical violations of parole and reentry.

OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS REENTRY CONFERENCE (2007)

Sponsors: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Center staff served as facilitators and faculty at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Reentry Conference. Staff conducted presentations on such topics as collaboration, reentry, and women and sex offenders.

CONNECTICUT WOMEN OFFENDER CASE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (2007)

Sponsors: Orbis Partners

Center staff worked with Connecticut Judicial Branch leadership, the National Institute of Corrections, and Orbis Partners to develop the content for a meeting of key stakeholders, provided facilitation for the meeting, and made a presentation on collaboration as part of the agenda. Following the meeting, Center staff provided recommendations for the appropriate role and focus of the stakeholder group and potential agenda items for their fall/winter meeting.

URBAN INSTITUTE PAROLE OFFICE FOCUS GROUPS (2007)

Sponsors: Urban Institute

Center staff assisted with the planning and provided facilitation for two Massachusetts parole officer focus groups. Following the focus group meetings, Center staff met with the leadership team for the Massachusetts Parole Board, and provided an overview of the focus group discussions and observations about the nature and content of those meetings.

PRESENTATION ON OFFENDER TRANSITION AND REENTRY FOR THE MINNESOTA/6W DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROJECT (2007)

Sponsors: Minnesota/6W Department of Community Corrections Project

Center staff prepared and delivered a session (presentation and panel) on offender transition and reentry for MACCAC's annual fall conference.

TOOL KIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ON REENTRY (2007)

Sponsors: Council of State Governments

Center staff are participating in an advisory capacity in an effort by the Council of State Governments to develop a Tool Kit for Law Enforcement on Reentry. The toolkit will be designed for law enforcement agencies that are planning a re-entry initiative and agencies that already have such an initiative. It will be organized into several components and will address activities such as defining mission, goals and the target population, engaging the community, developing interagency partnerships, and leveraging police experience in preventing crime and enforcing the law.

PRESENTATION ON EFFECTIVE SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT FOR THE U.S. PROBATION OFFICE (2007)

Sponsors: U.S. Probation Office

Center staff prepared and conducted a four hour presentation on the effective management of sex offenders for the U.S. Probation Office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE GEORGIA PROBATION ASSOCIATION (2007)

Sponsors: Georgia Probation Association

Center staff developed and delivered a keynote address and workshop on effective offender supervision approaches and the use of evidence-based practices at the annual meeting of the Georgia Probation Association.

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (MDOC): IMPLEMENTATION OF KEY COMPONENTS OF THE MICHIGAN PRISONER REENTRY INITIATIVE (MPRI) (2006 - 2007)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation; Michigan Department of Corrections

Through this project, the Center is providing technical assistance to the Michigan Department of Corrections and its Field Operations Administration unit on the revision of parole guidelines and the design of a collaborative case management system.

SELF-EVALUATION TOOL FOR COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS AGENCIES (2006 - 2007)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

In collaboration with the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), the Center is working to assist community corrections agencies to advance their implementation of evidence–based practices. Following the compilation of a summary report of evidence–based and emerging best practices in community corrections by the ICCA, the Center will develop a self–evaluation tool for community corrections agencies to assess their effectiveness in utilizing evidence–based best practices.

PROMOTING SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OUTCOMES (2005 - 2007)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation

Community supervision agencies face significant challenges as expectations of their role in supervising offenders within the community shift from monitoring and accountability to the active promotion of the success of the offender. To support the efforts of jurisdictions committed to meeting these challenges, the Center will design and conduct technical assistance events for jurisdictions who receive training under the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, Community Corrections Supervision Reentry Training Program, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Technical assistance will support the efforts of these jurisdictions to implement new policies and procedures designed to promote successful community supervision outcomes. The technical assistance provided under this project will reinforce and support the work initiated under the Center’s BJA grant, and will provide the recipient jurisdictions with continuity of support during a critical change period.

SERIOUS AND VIOLENT OFFENDER REENTRY INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS SUPERVISION REENTRY TRAINING PROGRAM (2004 - 2007)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

The goal of the Community Corrections Supervision Reentry Training Program is to provide training tools and information that can assist corrections and community supervision agencies to define their agency vision and mission in terms of reduced recidivism and enhanced public safety through successful offender reentry, and to recognize the significant and evolving role of corrections agencies in successful offender reentry. The Center will develop, pilot, and disseminate two training curricula and a handbook on successful offender reentry strategies to be delivered to corrections and community supervision administrators and policymakers, mid–level supervisors, and line staff. A total of six states will receive training and technical assistance through this project.

THE NATIONAL SOLUTIONS PROJECT (2003 - 2007)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

» solutions.ncsconline.org

The Center participated with the National Center for State Courts in successfully proposing an approach to achieving the goals of the State Justice Institute for its National Solutions Project. This project is a major technical assistance effort directed at supporting state and local courts in their efforts to identify key problems and implement promising solutions. In particular, the Center is responsible for assisting five jurisdictions designated as “partner courts” to form policy teams, chaired by the bench, that will define and undertake major change efforts in their courts.

TRANSITION FROM PRISON TO COMMUNITY INITIATIVE (2002 - 2007)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute

The Transition from Prison to Community Initiative is a technical assistance effort of the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections. The goal of the initiative is to support state–level efforts to ensure the successful and crime–free transition of offenders as they complete their prison time and return to the community. The project seeks to bring together multiple stakeholders within the criminal justice system along with other agencies from the public and private sectors to work together to implement a model transition process.

The Center has been supporting the project by working with collaborative teams in a number of states as they pursue implementation of the National Institute of Corrections transition model. The Center’s work includes assisting in the formation of a policy team, supporting and advising on local efforts to document current practice and assemble statistical information that accurately describes the returning offender population, along with its risks and needs. The Center also supports the work of these teams in clarifying their vision, mission, and goals and in identifying targets of change that will bring their practices more in line with the National Institute of Corrections model.

ENHANCING COLLABORATION AMONG COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS AGENCIES (2006)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Under a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Center enhanced the Collaborative Justice Web site (www.collaborativejustice.org/home.htm), developed previously through funding from the State Justice Institute and the National Institute of Corrections, by developing material specifically tailored to the needs of community corrections officials interested in forming multi–disciplinary, collaborative teams. The new Web pages contain, among other resources, tools and links to other project products that can offer solutions to the challenges encountered by community corrections professionals seeking to establish collaborative partnerships.

MASSACHUSETTS PAROLE BOARD RELEASE DECISION MAKING GUIDELINES (2006)

Sponsors: Massachusetts Parole Board

The Center will provide facilitation and expert consultation services to the Massachusetts Parole Board regarding the modification of their parole release guidelines instrument. This assistance will focus on the content of the guidelines, the development of a risk assessment tool, and practical implementation issues associated with the use of the guidelines.

TRAINING ON THE TRANSITION FROM PRISON INITIATIVE FOR NEW YORK'S LOCAL REENTRY TEAMS (2006)

Sponsors: State of New York, Division of Criminal Justice Services

The Center provided assistance in the planning and conduct of a three-day, team based training workshop for New York's local reentry teams. The training event provided substantive information in a plenary format for all participants (including an overview of the National Institute of Correction's Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) model, the state of New York's participation in the TPC project, and best practices in offender reentry) and facilitation of individual local team work sessions to assist each local partner team in enhancing their efforts to achieve the successful implementation of effective reentry strategies.

A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE ISSUES AND DATA INVOLVED IN AN EXAMINATION OF DECISION MAKING BY THE PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF PROBATION AND PAROLE (2006)

Sponsors: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

The Center conducted a preliminary assessment of the the Parole Board's release decisionmaking process to enable the Board to determine their needs for policy change in this area. In partnership with JFA Associates, the Center reviewed policies, procedures, and other documentation for the purposes of gathering information and data critical to this analysis, and provided a series of action recommendations for the Board's consideration.

OKLAHOMA JAIL PROJECT (2006)

Sponsors: Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office

Through this project, the Center provided facilitation for a meeting of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Council as it explored measures to address the conditions leading to jail overcrowding.

SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION AND REENTRY FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES: THE ROLE OF PAROLE (2005 - 2006)

Sponsors: JEHT Foundation

Despite a groundswell of interest and focus on the issue offender reentry, little attention has been focused on the critical role of paroling authorities and parole supervision agencies in contributing to more successful reentry. Positioned at the intersection between correctional institutions and community supervision, paroling authorities set conditions of release, respond to violations of supervision, and— in some instances—control the timing of release. Parole supervision agencies carry the legal responsibility for supervision and post–release management of the vast majority of the reentering offender population. This project will result in a paper that will highlight both the role of these criminal justice stakeholder agencies and the challenges and changes they must embrace in order to be successful partners in supporting successful reentry. The paper is scheduled for publication in spring 2006.

THE PAROLE TRAINING INITIATIVE PROJECT (2004 - 2006)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, through subcontract from the Association of Paroling Authorities International

In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, and the Association of Paroling Authorities International, the Center designed a training program for parole board members, and staff from paroling agencies and departments of correction. Trainings were delivered annually and provided information on best practices in parole release decisionmaking; current research in the assessment, reentry, and supervision of paroled offenders; responding to violation behavior; and the management of special populations in the parole context. The training content was enhanced by the use of the materials in the Resource Kit for New Parole Board Members, developed by the Center for Effective Public Policy under a separate contract.

NEW YORK STATE PAROLE BOARD TRAINING (2005)

Sponsors: New York State Board of Parole

The Center designed and conducted a training session for all members of the New York State Parole Board, attorneys who represent the Board, and selected members of the Board’s staff. The purpose of this training was to provide information concerning critical and emerging legal issues within the parole field.

NATIONAL STRATEGY MEETING: IDENTIFYING THE MISSING (2005)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

In April 2005, the Office of Justice Programs conducted a landmark session that brought together representatives from law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners’ offices, victim advocates, and families of missing persons to strategize about how the Department of Justice could help the field to more effectively respond to missing person cases and identifying human remains. OJP sought the assistance of the Center to develop and deliver a presentation on the importance of collaboration in responding to missing person cases and cases involving unidentified remains, design work group sessions that elicited specific participant recommendations about how to improve current practices in these areas, create a record of the meeting, and synthesize participant comments into priority action areas for OJP.

ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLABORATIVE TEAMS: A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SERIOUS AND VIOLENT OFFENDER REENTRY INITIATIVE GRANTEES (2004 - 2005)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Increasingly, public sector agencies are coming to rely on collaborations and partnerships across their own agencies and with numerous outside organizations to address today’s considerable crime and offender–related challenges, including prisoner reentry. As a part of its leadership in the offender reentry area, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and their federal partners have created the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), a project designed to provide assistance to state and local agencies and other interested entities in improving the coordination and availability of programs and services for specific types of criminal offenders transitioning from institutional settings to the community. The federal sponsors of SVORI recognize that no single stakeholder can successfully facilitate the complicated and challenging reentry process independently. Numerous agencies are involved in supporting this process—corrections personnel, parole boards and other releasing authorities, treatment professionals, supervision officers, victim advocates, law enforcement officers, faith–based organizations, and other community organizations, including housing, education, employment, and child support services. These entities seek the same ends: successful offender reentry and safe communities.

Although there is agreement in the criminal justice field that offender reentry initiatives can benefit from collaboration among the agencies and disciplines that share responsibility for working with offenders who are released into the nation’s communities, it is challenging for many jurisdictions to maximize their collaborative reentry efforts and maintain them over time. In order to support the ongoing, long–term efforts of the SVORI grantees, the initiative’s federal partners sponsored an interactive, three–day training workshop in Washington, DC that focused specifically on collaboration for 44 jurisdictions. This workshop—which was offered five times between May and July 2004—was designed and facilitated by the Center. Additionally, the Center assisted participating SVORI grant sites to establish or enhance multi–disciplinary statewide reentry policy efforts through on–site follow up technical assistance.

POLICY-DRIVEN RESPONSES TO PAROLE VIOLATIONS (2001 - 2005)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This project was designed to provide technical assistance to selected paroling authorities that demonstrated a commitment to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of methods used to respond to offenders who violate rules and conditions of parole under both discretionary and mandatory release supervision. In providing technical assistance to each site, the project:

• Analyzed current practices to determine the quantity and quality of the data available for decisionmaking and the demonstrated commitment of decisionmakers in using such data;
• Ensured that key decisionmakers were aware and knowledgeable about research evidence;
• Provided key decisionmakers with information regarding program options for sanctioning and intervening in violation behavior based on assessed risk;
• Assisted the participating boards in initiating and forging working relationships with other criminal justice practitioners involved in the revocation process to attain common policies; and
• Assisted boards in articulating written policy that they can consistently enforce with the assistance of other key community justice practitioners.

The Urban Institute assisted the Center as a subcontractor on this effort. Urban Institute’s major responsibility was to assist participating jurisdictions in gathering quantitative information about their population of parole violators, and proposing information system modifications that would yield better data for monitoring violation practices in the future.

The project received a supplemental award in 2002 to develop a handbook to capture the lessons that emerged from the technical assistance project, and to provide a resource for paroling authorities and other stakeholders who influence criminal justice policy. Published in the fall of 2004, the document is entitled Parole Violations Revisited: A Handbook on Strengthening Parole Practices for Public Safety and Successful Transition to the Community. The handbook includes guidance about how to assess a jurisdiction’s need to focus on violations, and outlines a process for designing and implementing improvements.

The project has also developed a Web site (www.paroleviolationsrevisited.org) designed to increase availability of the information presented in the Parole Violations Revisited Handbook, to aid navigation through the material, and to provide links to other resources. All the materials on the web site are easily downloaded for use in hard copy.

IMPROVING COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO WOMEN OFFENDERS (2001 - 2005)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This project provided intensive technical assistance to teams of criminal justice policy officials, corrections and human service managers, and community members from three local jurisdictions to assist in the development and implementation of policies and practices designed to increase the likelihood of successful completion of community supervision for women who are pretrial defendants and sentenced offenders. The project integrated research and practice from diverse areas, including women's pathways to crime, gender responsive supervision and intervention strategies, offender risk and needs assessment, system analysis, and policy development. Technical assistance activities included a training seminar for policy team members from each selected site, the provision of monthly site coordination and technical guidance, and documentation of project accomplishments.

The project received supplemental awards in 2002 and 2003 to continue the provision of intensive technical assistance to participating sites, and ultimately produced a series of articles that captured the learnings from these and earlier project sites.

NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON COLLABORATION IN THE CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS (1998 - 2005)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute; U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

Created in October of 1998, this project was designed to address the need for a National Resource Center to support and enrich the efforts of state and local criminal justice professionals to establish or maintain collaborative strategies to prevent and reduce crime, make better use of system resources, and develop safer communities. Supported by several cooperating agencies in addition to the State Justice Institute (within the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Drug Court Program Office, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office for Victims of Crime, and Office on Violence Against Women), the Center provided intensive training and technical assistance to selected project sites engaged in collaborative efforts within their communities. The project developed a collaboration training curriculum designed to underscore the importance of clear vision and mission, and the critical role of multi–disciplinary teamwork in carrying out system change strategies. The project developed and disseminated information (including a series of articles on collaboration) to assist jurisdictions in establishing and institutionalizing a collaborative approach to criminal justice policy development work, drawing on both the body of research already available and the experiences of the sites receiving technical assistance through the project.

Activities under the project were expanded to include the receipt of two new cooperative agreements. With additional funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, the project developed these four additional products to meet the needs of state and local criminal justice agencies and systems in their efforts to establish more effective, policy driven, and collaborative approaches to the administration of justice:

• An interactive Web site on the topic of collaboration;
• A monograph on leadership in criminal justice;
• A monograph on the roles of facilitators and staff in managing collaborative teams; and
• A monograph on the role of data and information in policymaking.

Finally, a supplemental initiative sponsored by the State Justice Institute supported the establishment of an Annual Collaboration Institute for multi–disciplinary, court–based collaborative teams, and the provision of targeted, off’site technical assistance on collaboration to jurisdictions around the country.

ELIMINATION OF PRISON RAPE - A FOCUS GROUP (2004)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Subsequent to the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, a focus group comprised of researchers, correctional and jail administrators, mental health professionals, and other substantive experts in the area of prison rape was convened to provide guidance to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance on the development of a grant solicitation to address the investigation, prosecution, provision of services to inmates who are the victims of inmate on inmate prison rape, and the prevention of prison rape. The focus group was planned and facilitated by the Center and convened in the Spring of 2004. Discussions resulted in a set of key recommendations for the elimination of prison rape. These recommendations relate to three broad substantive areas: investigation and prosecution; services to victims; and prevention. A summary of the key substantive issues discussed is presented in an unpublished paper.

INTEGRATED INTERVENTIONS TO DOMESTIC SEXUAL ASSAULT (2003 - 2004)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

This project designed and administered a survey to selected domestic violence courts to identify both qualitatively and quantitatively the incidence and treatment of sexual assault cases within the domestic violence caseload/docket. An article was produced which discusses the results of the survey, and the challenges faced in responding to both victims and perpetrators of domestic sexual assault. The article, published by the National Center for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, is directed at judges involved with hearing and trying domestic violence, child abuse, and family law cases, and includes suggestions for ways to improve the ability of courts to manage these cases effectively.

THE ROLE OF LEGALLY TRAINED PERSONS IN CREATING PUBLIC SAFETY (2002 - 2004)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

This project supports the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Community Prosecution Program by examining how improved partnerships between the police and prosecutors can significantly contribute to the creation of public safety. The project identified communities where the efforts of community policing, community prosecution, and community courts were well coordinated, and brought the lessons learned in these communities to a nationwide audience of police, prosecution, and court agencies. The Center provided training and technical assistance on effective police–prosecution partnerships to the Community Prosecution grantees, in conjunction with the training and technical assistance being provided by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Regional Leadership Sites. The project will also produce written materials that summarize the project's findings, including recommendations for police and prosecutors to enhance their cooperation, information sharing, and problem–solving.

COMMUNITY JUSTICE PROJECT FOR RURAL AND TRIBAL COURTS (1997 - 2004)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

This project is providing technical assistance and training to five rural jurisdictions and tribal courts to assist them to achieve the level of partnership that they desire between the courts and criminal justice system, and the communities that they serve. This partnership aims to provide citizens with viable avenues of action and information as a means to build their communities, achieve greater safety, and combat their mistrust of the criminal justice system. It also aims to provide agencies of the criminal justice system with opportunities to learn from and work with the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect.

The project will achieve its goals through three project phases, and various tasks, including:

• Identifying mentor sites who have developed collaborative, community–oriented, problem’solving strategies to address the issues of crime and public safety;
• Documenting the approaches used by the mentor sites;
• Convening a symposium for teams from the mentor sites;
• Providing on–going technical assistance to the mentor sites;
• Developing the capacity of the mentor sites to provide mentoring, training, and technical assistance for new sites; and
• Producing a monograph for national distribution: Community Justice in Rural America: Four Examples and Four Futures.

PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF PROBATION AND PAROLE (2003)

Sponsors: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

The Center provided facilitation and expert consultation services to the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole in its final deliberations regarding adopting its release decisionmaking guidelines. A major focus of the deliberations was the validation research completed on the LSI–R as a risk assessment tool for use at the time of parole release consideration.

REGIONAL TRAININGS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY PROSECUTION GRANTEES (2002 - 2003)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

The Center assisted the Bureau of Justice Assistance in providing training and technical assistance to 75 local jurisdictions receiving grants to plan, implement, and enhance community prosecution programs. The Center designed and conducted three regional trainings for the 75 grantees, worked with Leadership sites (selected by the Bureau of Justice Assistance) to prepare, develop, and deliver the trainings, and coordinated the roles of other national organizations as consultants and trainers for the regional trainings.

HARRIS COUNTY COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AND CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT - PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ASSISTANCE IN SEARCH FOR A NEW DIRECTOR (2002 - 2003)

Sponsors: Harris County, Texas

The Center assisted the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department in conducting a preliminary assessment of the Supervision and Corrections Department and of the Department’s working relationship with the judges of the District and County Courts, principally through interviews with judges, Community Supervision and Corrections Department staff, and other Harris County practitioners. The effort focused on identifying the expectations of judges and community supervision and corrections staff, perceived strengths of the department, possible gaps or weaknesses in Community Supervision and Correction’s organization and/or service delivery, and current and emerging issues. Following completion of the assessment, the Center gathered and presented information about the organization and approaches to probation in other large urban jurisdictions in the United States, and finally, used the information gathered to assist Harris County in developing plans for a national search for a new Director of Community Supervision and Corrections.

SUPPORT TO THE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE EFFORTS OF THE OFFICE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (1997 - 2003)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women

This project was created in December of 1997 to provide meeting planning and other support services to technical assistance providers for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women. The project was developed to respond to concerns about the consistent and efficient provision of training and technical assistance to hundreds of grantees under the Grants to Encourage Arrest, STOP Violence Against Women, Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement, and STOP Violence Against Indian Women programs. The Project had two primary goals, to:

• Develop coordinated, efficient, cost–effective methods to deliver training and technical assistance to grantees under the various Office of Violence Against Women–sponsored grant programs; and
• Support the capacity of the Office of Violence Against Woman to learn from the efforts of its grantees and assist them in developing new initiatives that will enhance violence against women prevention and intervention efforts.

GENDER RESPONSIVE ASSESSMENT FOR WOMEN OFFENDERS (2002)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

The Center, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, developed and conducted a focus group comprised of academics and practitioners to address the need for sound research and empirically based strategies for the assessment of women offenders. The Center developed the meeting agenda, facilitated the meeting discussion, and prepared and published documentation of the meeting’s outcome.

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION EXPERT PANEL MEETING (2002)

Sponsors: Stop It Now!

Stop It Now!, a national nonprofit organization, advocates for public health prevention as an important intervention in the effort to end child sexual abuse. To this end, Stop It Now! is a leader in facilitating practice–based, results oriented research on child sexual abuse prevention and conducting pioneering work in the development of collaboratively–based child sexual abuse prevention programs. Under this project, the Center assisted Stop It Now! in convening its Child Abuse Prevention Expert Panel, a group of nationally recognized individuals in the fields of prevention, public health, mental health, and criminal justice, to develop a strategic plan to enhance the visibility of child sexual abuse as a national public health issue. The Center supported this effort through agenda design, meeting facilitation, and logistical support. A member of the Center staff serves on the Child Abuse Prevention Expert Panel.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR MANAGING INITIAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE DECISIONS (2000 - 2002)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This project was designed to provide selected jurisdictions with technical assistance in order to allow each of them to develop outcome–based decisionmaking and policy statements that will be implemented for the pretrial phase of their criminal justice system. The project offered selected jurisdictions an opportunity to develop an analytic, system–based approach to understanding the operation of their criminal justice system, beginning with the agencies and decisionmakers who participate in the pretrial portion of that system. The project drew on the lessons of a number of earlier efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections that demonstrated the critical role of the development of clear system policy to an accountable, public safety minded, and effective criminal justice system. The project operated from the assumption that decisions made at the pretrial stage, from arrest through adjudication, are critical to the entire criminal justice system, the offender, and for the community.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PROJECT (1997 - 2002)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This initiative was designed to assist state and local policymakers in developing and implementing more purposeful, cost effective, and coordinated policies on the design, use, capacity, and cost of their system of correctional options for pretrial and sentenced offenders. The project assisted jurisdictions in building the capacity to assess the current state of their criminal justice system and the larger environment in which it operates. The criminal justice system assessment, a primary component of the project, is an information gathering process by which jurisdictions can conduct this kind of comprehensive inquiry about their systems. Ten sites were selected by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections to participate in the project; system assessments were conducted in eight of these. The final stages of the project focused on the completion of a handbook to guide criminal justice system planning. The handbook (Getting it Right: Collaborative Problem Solving for Criminal Justice, forthcoming in 2006) will provide a framework for envisioning a desired future for the criminal justice system, assessing current policies and practices, and planning and implementing strategies to achieve the desired future. It will include tools and methods to help teams understand and use a policy team process, and develop and use information as a basis for policy development. It will incorporate lessons learned from the project's work with selected sites and concrete examples of results achieved in the project sites.

INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS PROJECT (2000 - 2001)

Sponsors: First Circuit Court, Judiciary, State of Hawaii

This project was created to provide training and technical assistance to the Judiciary of the State of Hawaii on the use of intermediate sanctions. The Center assisted in documenting current practices with respect to the use of intermediate sanctions, and identifying opportunities for future increased use of intermediate sanctions in the First Circuit. The Center helped identify and convene a steering committee from the Judiciary and other criminal justice stakeholders, and facilitated the work of the steering committee in providing leadership and guidance on this effort. A symposium on intermediate sanctions that examined the current research on the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions provided a forum for discussion about future opportunities for the use of intermediate sanctions in Hawaii.

MOTHER-CHILD COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROJECT (2000 - 2001)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

» www.cepp.com/documents/mother–child–project.pdf

This project was designed to meet several needs identified in the field of community corrections for women offenders, including documenting what is currently known about existing mother–child corrections programs; centralizing information about this issue for programs serving this population, policymakers, and other professionals; and providing training and technical assistance on issues specific to the delivery of services to women offenders with children. The Center worked with a thirty–five person advisory group (consisting of experts in the fields of research, criminal justice, child development, law, community development, and representatives from several federal agencies) to develop and design activities for information gathering and dissemination, outreach, technical assistance, and public education.

AN AGENDA FOR THE NATION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (1999 - 2000)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Violence Against Women Office; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women’s Health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This project was charged with working in conjunction with the Presidentially–appointed National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women to create an agenda of specific strategies to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Agenda was a multi–faceted vehicle designed to provide the nation's policymakers with specific recommendations concerning actions they should take to end violence against women, and to stimulate public conversation and generate community–driven responses to address the causes of violence against women, the needs of victims, and the behavior patterns of perpetrators. The Agenda included an extensive set of recommendations based on research, focus groups, and interviews with practitioners and included a compilation of recommendations, strategies, resources, and action plans to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The final published material, A Toolkit to End Violence Against Women, is available on the Web at http://toolkit.ncjrs.org

RESPONDING TO PROBATION AND PAROLE VIOLATIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL (1997 - 2000)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This project was designed to assist local jurisdictions in: the clarification of their goals for probation/parole supervision; the conduct of a comprehensive assessment and analysis of their violation practices; the development of local policies to guide violation practices in the future; and the development of strategies to enable participating jurisdictions to more effectively utilize a range of sanctions in response to offenders’ violation behavior.

The Center provided individualized technical assistance to local policy teams (consisting of the agency heads/policymakers of the court; key citizen leaders; and representatives from supervision agencies, police, jails, public defender’s offices, prosecutor’s offices, mental health/substance abuse agencies, community corrections, and the local legislature) specifically established to undertake this work in five judicial districts in Colorado and three counties in New York. The work of this project, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections’sponsored efforts that preceded it, are documented in Responding to Parole and Probation Violations: A Handbook to Guide Local Policy Development.

STRUCTURED RELEASE AND VIOLATION GUIDELINES FOR PAROLING AUTHORITIES (1997 - 2000)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

This project, managed collaboratively with the Association of Paroling Authorities, International, supported paroling authorities interested in establishing consistent, responsible, and objective parole release decisionmaking processes and procedures—and consistent violation response guidelines—at the state level. In order to achieve these goals, the Center: made the availability of technical assistance widely known to state paroling authorities; assisted selected authorities to introduce structured policy guidance to decisionmaking, updated structured release guidelines, and responded to violations in a manner consistent with release policies; and offered on– and off–site technical assistance and a three–day workshop for selected jurisdictions.

A VIDEO SEMINAR FOR JUDGES: IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE SENTENCING STRATEGIES FOR SEX OFFENDERS (1997 - 2000)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

The purpose of this project was threefold: to develop a video curriculum for judges that would synthesize the current state of knowledge relevant to judges as they engage in the sentencing of sex offenders; to test and subsequently refine that curriculum by enlisting an audience of judges to preview it; and to conduct a “train the trainers” session with judicial educators in order to introduce the curriculum and familiarize them with its contents. This project culminated in a package of video and print materials and was distributed to every state judicial educator in the nation. A team composed of senior technical assistance providers and trainers from the Center developed and disseminated the curriculum. The Center also received guidance on the project from a number of judges from across the nation, as well as experts from a variety of disciplines in the field of sex offender management.

A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND CRIME (1997 - 1998)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

Under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, the National Symposium assembled a broad audience of experts from around the country to explore the relationship between alcohol abuse and crime, advance the state of knowledge on this issue, and provide recommendations to the Office of Justice Programs and other federal agencies on what they might do to support effective change in this area. The event culminated with a personal briefing during which participants synthesized the results of the Symposium’s working session for the United States Attorney General.

FACILITATING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS (1994 - 1998)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

This project disseminated lessons from earlier State Justice Institute–sponsored efforts regarding intermediate sanctions in order to provide judges and other criminal justice decisionmakers with the means to:

• Develop a greater level of understanding about the most effective methods to create, implement, and utilize an appropriate array of intermediate sanctions;
• More effectively utilize these intermediate sanctions in their own jurisdictions;
• Increase the understanding and acceptance of the essential role of the judiciary as the leadership in such efforts; and
• Use training and education sessions as opportunities to begin building the kinds of collaborative working relationships among policymakers that will make the appropriate use of intermediate sanctions possible.

The project achieved these goals through two activity areas. The first included the broadcast of a national videoconference in April 1996 to teams in 16 sites. Each site was supported by on–site facilitators and telephone/fax capabilities allowing interaction with broadcast faculty. State–of–the–art video production capabilities supported expert presenters, panel discussions, and graphic presentations and were combined with maximum opportunities for participating teams to interact among themselves and with the conference faculty. The second activity area included the production of a series of video seminars capturing information from the videoconference and other sources that offer information and assistance to judges and policy teams on intermediate sanctions.

OKLAHOMA SYMPOSIUM ON BUILDING COMMUNITY SENTENCING THROUGH PLANNING COUNCILS (1997)

Sponsors: Oklahoma Department of Corrections; U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, Office of Justice Programs, Corrections Program Office

The Center worked closely with the newly authorized Oklahoma Department of Corrections Community Sentencing Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Corrections Program Office to plan and conduct a three–day, statewide symposium for forty–six local planning councils. The symposium was conducted to assist the state and local planning councils as they began implementation of wide sweeping Truth–in–Sentencing legislation.

BATTERERS INTERVENTION FOCUS GROUP (1997)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Violence Against Women Office, Corrections Program Office

Aimed at reducing the incidence of violence against women by male adult and juvenile offenders and at breaking the cycle of domestic violence by subsequent generations, the Center worked closely with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Violence Against Women and Corrections Program Offices, and the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, to convene a nationally–composed focus group of victim advocates, correctional practitioners, and batterers’ program administrators to explore both what is known about effective interventions with batterers, and the possibilities for initiating such interventions in correctional settings. Center staff captured the focus group’s deliberations in a set of recommendations for the project’s funding agencies, reflecting promising initiatives to reduce the incidence of violence against women.

THE STATE CLUSTER INITIATIVE: DEVELOPING SENTENCING POLICY FOR AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS (1994 - 1997)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections; State Justice Institute; Edna McConnell Clark Foundation

This joint undertaking was designed to promote the development of local sentencing policy regarding intermediate sanctions through training and technical assistance to clusters of local jurisdictions within each of four states, for a total of 31 participating jurisdictions. The goal of the project was to assist policy teams in the development of policy that would: articulate the jurisdiction’s goals for its criminal justice sanctioning system; determine the sanctioning options needed to achieve them; specify the target population for which each option is intended; devise the methods by which that target population is directed to each option; and structure the programs intended to carry out the sanctioning choices.

Policy teams from the 31 local jurisdictions came together in four symposia in 1994, 1995, and 1996 for four days of workshops and team work sessions. Following the symposia, participating jurisdictions received individualized technical assistance by Center staff and consultants over a twenty–four month period.

NATIONAL SUMMIT: PROMOTING PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGH THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF SEX OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY (1996)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

Working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, the Center convened a national summit on the safe and effective management of sex offenders in the community. Policymakers, criminal justice practitioners, researchers, treatment providers, and victim advocates from across the country were invited to participate in the Summit in order to provide recommendations to the Office of Justice Programs on how best to meet the training and technical assistance needs of policymakers and practitioners striving to improve their management of those sex offenders under community supervision.

The Center worked with the Office of Justice Programs to convene a multi–disciplinary planning group to assist in the development of the Summit’s goals, agenda, and topics; and to identify strategies to create an environment conducive to sharing information, identify gaps in the current process of sex offender management, and recommend solutions. The Summit agenda covered topics in sex offender etiology, treatment, supervision, risk assessment, and policy development. Participants included many of the nation's experts on these topics. Participants worked together in plenary sessions and small working groups, sharing research findings, current practices, challenges, and experiences. Each session produced specific recommendations that the Center synthesized into a final report and submitted to the Office of Justice Programs for funding consideration. The Center for Sex Offender Management was subsequently established by the Office of Justice Programs to carry out these recommendations. The Center for Sex Offender Management is in its seventh year of operation and is managed, on behalf of the Office of Justice Programs, by the Center for Effective Public Policy.

CREATING PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE: A COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CONFERENCE ON THE INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS PROCESS IN OHIO (1996)

Sponsors: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Under contract from the State of Ohio, the Center designed and facilitated a three–day symposium for teams from forty–eight counties on the formation of local policy teams. These teams were trained in both group process and the intermediate sanctions process, a method to assist policymakers in assessing their current sanctioning options and developing policy to guide their more effective use. Center staff was responsible for training forty internal Department of Correction employees in basic facilitation skills and equipping them to work effectively as team facilitators throughout the three–day event, and designing and facilitating the symposium.

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING SERVICES FOR THE CORRECTIONS PLANNING BOARD OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO (1996)

Sponsors: Cuyahoga County Commission, through subcontract from Justice Management Institute

The Center was engaged to work with the Justice Management Institute to complete an assessment of the data and information assembled by Coyahoga County, the Corrections Board, and the Common Pleas Court, and to assist the Board in completing a comprehensive criminal justice plan.

COMPREHENSIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ASSESSMENT, STARK COUNTY, OHIO (1996)

Sponsors: Stark County Criminal Justice Planning Board

The Center was contracted to work with the local criminal justice planning board in Stark County, Ohio, to assist the County in developing an understanding of their offender population, their use of sanctions to respond to that population, and the potential for identifying target populations for diversion from the state prison system. Over a six–month period, the Center, working closely with Justice Research Associates, conducted a detailed pipeline study of the misdemeanor and felony offender populations as well as a snapshot of the jail population. Project staff were able to describe in detail patterns of disposition that emerged from the data analysis, describe the characteristics (offense, criminal history, history of violence, and personal characteristics) of the offender population and identify target populations for potential diversion.

ASSESSMENT OF RELEASE PRACTICES OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES (1996)

Sponsors: Ohio Department of Youth Services

The Center was contracted by the Ohio Department of Youth Services to undertake a review of current policy and practice with respect to releasing youthful offenders from the Ohio Department of Youth Services facilities. The Center completed a quantitative analysis of data on a cohort of released youth and, completed a comprehensive “mapping” of the process a youth follows from arrest through adjudication, admission, and then release. In addition, the Center worked with the Department's internal working committee to develop a set of goals for a Transition Control Board who would have statutory responsibility for release. The Center also conducted a thorough review of risk assessment technology as it is applied to youthful offenders and made recommendations for the development of a dynamic risk assessment tool to be used in the Department's decisionmaking process.

REGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP FOR NEW PAROLE BOARD MEMBERS (1996)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

The Center collaborated with the Association of Paroling Authorities, International, to provide two regional orientation sessions for new parole board members. The sessions provided an overview of the history of parole in the United States, the goals of parole, the connection between the responsibilities of release and community supervision, structured decisionmaking, legal issues affecting parole boards and their practices, and emerging issues and their impact on parole. Participants were given an opportunity to compare the structure of their individual parole boards and their experiences with their peers. Facilitators helped participants identify critical issues and communication problems, and develop strategies for responding to these problems.

COMPREHENSIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ASSESSMENT OF SIX OHIO COUNTIES (1995 - 1996)

Sponsors: Joint Community Corrections Act Planning Board of Eastern Ohio

The Joint Community Corrections Act Planning Board of Eastern Ohio, representing six counties, contracted with the Center to conduct a comprehensive criminal justice system assessment in each of these six Ohio counties. Over a four–month period, Center staff, in collaboration with Justice Research Associates, assisted in the formation of local policy teams, and conducted an on’site system assessment over the course of several site visits. From these visits, project staff: developed criminal justice system flowcharts; diagramed each county’s continuum of sanctions; collected and described the profiles of the local offender population; collected arrest and crime data; and conducted a community resource inventory. A full day workshop with policymakers from all six counties was conducted to review in detail the analyses of data collected, and assist local policy teams as they made judgments about their current sanctioning system. A community meeting was designed and facilitated by Center staff at the request of one of the counties. The project culminated with a final assessment report.

REGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR JURISDICTIONS PLANNING DRUG COURTS (1995 - 1996)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Drug Court Program Office

In collaboration with the Justice Management Institute, the Center played a role in preparing small group work exercises for a series of four regional workshops; conducted training modules on strategic planning and offender targeting; and facilitated team work sessions for interdisciplinary teams planning drug courts for their jurisdictions.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PROBATION AND PAROLE VIOLATION AND REVOCATION ISSUES (1993 - 1996)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

Through a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, the Center provided technical assistance to five probation and parole agencies interested in developing or improving a program of community–based intermediate sanctions for offenders who violate the conditions of supervision. This project built upon the experiences of earlier efforts to assist probation and parole agencies in their management of offenders under community supervision.

TRAINING FOR COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM (1994 - 1995)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, through subcontract from Criminal Justice Associates

The Comprehensive Communities Program was an interdisciplinary endeavor of the Bureau of Justice Assistance designed to assist twelve communities to initiate a comprehensive crime control and community mobilization program. Under the program, cities or counties faced with high rates of drug–related crime and violence developed a comprehensive strategy for crime– and drug–control that required law enforcement and other governmental agencies to work in partnership with the community to address these problems.

Through a subcontract agreement with Criminal Justice Associates, the Center supported the planning phase of the effort by designing and conducting two training seminars for teams of policymakers from each of the twelve jurisdictions. These training sessions assisted policy teams in the design of their crime control and community mobilization strategies, and facilitated greater collaboration among the decisionmakers in each jurisdiction essential to carrying out these plans.

PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF A DRUG COURT IN VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (1994 - 1995)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

The Center was asked by the municipal court of Ventura County, California, to assist in their design and plan for implementation of a drug court. Center staff worked with the court to form a policy team of key stakeholders in the county, assisted in the articulation of clear goals for the effort, provided support to the county in identifying the population of offenders to be served through the drug court, assisted in the development of the drug court’s programmatic requirements, and provided the planning team with an implementation plan.

TRAINING ON INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS AND TARGETING IN THE CONTEXT OF PROGRAM DESIGN (1993 - 1995)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

As part of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance's implementation of a Congressional mandate to assist state and local governments to develop correctional options, the Bureau of Justice Assistance contracted with the Center to provide training to 25 state and local jurisdictions selected to participate in the Correctional Options Grant Program. Two training sessions for teams of key decisionmakers from the selected jurisdictions were convened, providing decisionmakers with training on the intermediate sanctions process and in the empirical analysis that is required to target offenders for correctional options. The training sessions made extensive use of the Intermediate Sanctions Handbook: Tools and Experiences for Policymakers, produced by the Center in connection with the National Intermediate Sanctions Project.

As a result of the workshops, participating teams implemented local processes around the more effective use of correctional options. At the end of the planning phase, jurisdictions were invited to submit funding proposals to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for the implementation of the correctional option(s) identified during the planning process.

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE CONNECTICUT BOARD OF PAROLE (1994)

Sponsors: Connecticut Board of Parole

The Center provided training and technical assistance to the Connecticut Board of Parole in the design and use of structured decisionmaking for parole release.

TRAINING TO THE TEXAS BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES (1994)

Sponsors: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

The Center designed and conducted a three–day training for the 18 parole commissioners of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The purpose of the training was to educate the Board about national parole trends and recent developments in parole policy issues.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ARIZONA IN PIMA COUNTY (1993 - 1994)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

The Center provided technical assistance to the Superior Court of Arizona in Pima County to assess and re–design its handling of probation violations with the purpose of reducing court workload and decreasing the time elapsed between the lodging of violation warrants to disposition.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE DETROIT RECORDER'S COURT (1993 - 1994)

Sponsors: State Justice Institute

The Center provided technical assistance to the Detroit Recorder's Court in Michigan for the development and implementation of sanctioning guidelines. This assistance involved: working with a team of policymakers to assess and rank the seriousness of criminal offenses; assessing the quality and quantity of currently available intermediate sanction resources; reviewing empirical information on both sentencing practices and the offender population; developing a sanctioning guideline system that focuses on units and exchanges; conducting an impact analysis of the anticipated sanctioning guidelines; and developing training materials and conducting a training for probation, corrections staff, and the judiciary.

TRAINING FOR THE COURTS AND SANCTIONS MONITORS OF THE CONNECTICUT JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT (1993 - 1994)

Sponsors: Connecticut State Judicial Department, Administrative Office of the Courts

The Center provided statewide training for the Court’s Sanctions Monitors in Connecticut. These monitors support efforts to utilize intermediate sanctions more often and more effectively. The training was focused on the process of involving the appropriate decisionmakers in each court in learning about intermediate sanctions and making better use of community resources.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PROBATION VIOLATION AND REVOCATION ISSUES (1991 - 1994)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, the Center worked with jurisdictions to develop policy to guide the use of intermediate sanctions for offenders who violate conditions of probation supervision. During Round I of the project (1991 – 1993), four jurisdictions were selected to participate in the project.

Responding to the interest of other jurisdictions, the National Institute of Corrections funded a second round of the project, also administered by the Center. Four additional jurisdictions were selected for participation. These jurisdictions sought technical assistance in developing a policy–directed approach to the handling of probation violations within the context of a range of community–based intermediate sanctions. Jurisdictions assembled interagency teams of top–level decisionmakers interested in addressing these issues.

In both Round I and Round II, the Center provided jurisdictions with on– and off’site technical assistance and conducted a three–day workshop for the participating teams. Project staff assisted participating sites in developing a thorough understanding of their current supervision and violation practices; exploring their agency mission; and articulating their supervision and violation objectives. Each jurisdiction developed new policies guiding both supervision and violation practices.

NATIONAL INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS PROJECT (1989 - 1994)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections; State Justice Institute

This joint national project of the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections and the State Justice Institute was aimed at increasing the collaboration between the courts and corrections in achieving more effective sentencing in local jurisdictions and in determining the appropriate use of intermediate sanctions. The Center administered the project in collaboration with the Institute for Court Management of the National Center for State Courts.

The Center worked with 25 jurisdictions over the life of the project. Working directly with judges, prosecutors, defenders, community corrections personnel, law enforcement, and legislators, the Center assisted participating jurisdictions in reaching a common understanding about effective sentencing practices that make more appropriate use of intermediate sanctions. Examining the sentencing process, formulating articulated goals for achieving justice in individual cases, and developing policies and plans to achieve those goals were integral aspects of the work.

The Intermediate Sanctions Handbook: Tools and Experiences for Policymakers, authored by Center staff in 1992, was developed as a resource for participating teams and others interested in replicating this work.

COMBINING ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT SERVICES WITH INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (1992 - 1993)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

A Center staff member co–chaired a panel convened by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to produce a monograph, a Treatment Improvement Protocol. This monograph synthesizes the current state of knowledge and provides guidance and direction to state and local efforts to coordinate drug treatment resources in the community with intermediate sanctions. Its production involved identification of key experts from both fields of the endeavor, creation of an agenda for panel deliberations and an outline of the monograph, and edit and final review of its content.

SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR FIELD SUPERVISION (1992 - 1993)

Sponsors: Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles

The Center acted as advisor and facilitator for an internal working task force of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles that was developing a new system for classification and supervision of paroles.

TRAINING FOR NEW MEMBERS OF THE MICHIGAN PAROLE BOARD (1992 - 1993)

Sponsors: Michigan Department of Corrections

The Center designed and provided a five–day intensive orientation seminar for the ten members of the newly constituted Michigan Parole Board. The seminar took place in 1992 with a follow–up session in 1993.

ANALYSIS AND SUPPLEMENT TO A NATIONAL SURVEY OF RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROGRAMS (1991 - 1992)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

In cooperation with the Institute for Rational Public Policy, the Center conducted a review of residential community corrections agencies nationwide. The Center re–analyzed a database compiled through a survey of such agencies and supplemented that with on’site case studies in order to supplement the survey's quantitative picture with qualitative information about how programs operate and the role they play in the system of sanctions available to the courts.

DELAWARE VALLEY COUNCIL OF AGENCIES (PENNSYLVANIA ASSOCIATION OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS) (1990 - 1992)

Sponsors: Delaware Valley Council of Agencies (Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations)

The Delaware Valley Council of Agencies is a membership organization serving social, health, and human service organizations in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area. In the summer of 1990, the Delaware Valley Council of Agencies Board of Directors contracted with the Center to provide staff services to assist them in stabilizing and diversifying their funding base, in increasing the organizational membership, building membership services that are most responsive to members' needs, and providing leadership training and organizational development to better position the organization to serve as a leader and spokesperson for Delaware Valley nonprofit organizations.

Part of this work included the expansion of the Council to serve member organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In this regard, Center staff served on a Nonprofit Leadership Committee composed of corporate, foundation, and community leaders throughout Pennsylvania to design, conduct, and analyze the nonprofit sector in the state. For the first time, comprehensive data was compiled about the nonprofits sector in Pennsylvania. Center staff assumed a primary role in the dissemination of these findings to the media, legislators, local officials, nonprofit, and community leaders and other state level policymakers. As a result, the Delaware Valley Council of Agencies changed its name to the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

A NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF NEW APPROACHES TO PROBATION AND PAROLE VIOLATIONS AND ABSCONDING (1991)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, through subcontract from Abt Associates, Inc.

In several states the number of probation and parole revocations and abscondence was rising sharply; revocations comprised a large and growing proportion of prison admissions in these same states. At the same time, practitioners noted that many revokees were released very quickly, particularly in states where courts imposed prison population caps. Practitioners complained that quick release undermined their ability to compel obedience to conditions of supervision.

In 1990, the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice initiated a study of the problem and a description of state responses. Abt Associates conducted the early stages of the inquiry, and then contracted with the Center to assist in the conduct of more in–depth interviews with officials in a small number of jurisdictions that have implemented particularly interesting policy responses to revocations and abscondings. The study included a literature review, initial round of telephone interviews, input from advisors, follow–up telephone interviews, selected site visits, and a compilation of findings. The Center conducted on’site interviews, extensive telephone interviews, prepared jurisdictional databases, synthesized findings from those data, identified emerging trends and major issues for future inquiry, and drafted major components of the final report.

PENN'S WAY (1991)

Sponsors: The Philadelphia Foundation

The Center was funded by the Philadelphia Foundation, Bread and Roses Community Fund, United Negro College Fund, and Women's Way to organize employees of the University of Pennsylvania on a referendum regarding participating in joint voluntary giving efforts.

VIRGINIA PAROLE GUIDELINES ASSESSMENT (1990 - 1991)

Sponsors: Virginia Parole Board

In August of 1990, the Center was commissioned by the Virginia Parole Board to report on the progress of their release decisionmaking guidelines initiative to date and to provide advice and guidance as the initiative moved forward toward a decision regarding full implementation and operation. The Center had previously played a supporting role in helping the Board to assess its own efforts and to develop its recommendations and strategy for implementation of parole guidelines.

Center staff reported on progress of the guidelines, recommended that the Virginia Parole Board move forward on their plans to fully implement the guidelines in January 1992, outlined a plan for further development and preparation for the January 1992 implementation date, and outlined a monitoring system to ensure continuing performance of the guidelines.

NATIONAL WOMEN OFFENDER PROJECT (1989 - 1991)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

The Center, with assistance from COSMOS Corporation, conducted a national assessment of current practice among state correctional agencies with respect to classification and management of incarcerated women offenders. All 50 states were surveyed. In the most recent national assessment of its kind, the study documented current practice nationwide and identified a number of examples of “best practice” for intensive analysis. Case studies were conducted on selected programs, and elements of each program were analyzed. The study also included a legal analysis of relevant case law pertaining to incarcerated women offenders and a review of the literature. Based upon this research, the project produced a handbook to be used by corrections practitioners as they designed and implemented classification systems for women offenders tailored to their individual jurisdictions' needs. In addition, key contacts in each state—along with innovative programming efforts—were documented.

DELAWARE VALLEY TOGETHER (1988 - 1991)

Sponsors: The Pew Charitable Trusts; the William Penn Foundation; the Philadelphia Foundation

Delaware Valley Together was an effort on the part of foundations, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and individuals in the eight counties of Pennsylvania and New Jersey that comprise the Greater Philadelphia area to increase the level of philanthropy and voluntary action in the region. Delaware Valley Together began as a small, ad hoc committee; the group contracted with the Center to provide the conceptual and logistical support necessary to move it to a fully operating organization, with well–defined goals and strategies, and to reach out and involve a broad range of individuals and groups. Once having done this, the Center provided full staff support to Delaware Valley Together throughout its three and one–half year effort. During that time, Center staff helped to organize eight working groups of over 100 community leaders to address the specific needs and roles of various constituencies; planned, facilitated, and conducted two conferences for over 200 people, out of which a plan of action for Delaware Valley Together was developed; made over 100 presentations at national and local workshops and conferences; developed 14 publications, including two booklets and several topical brochures and distributed over 1,500 copies of each; coordinated a survey of the general population with the Gallup Organization to determine giving and volunteering patterns in the Philadelphia metropolitan area; coordinated and analyzed the results of several focus groups to ascertain attitudes about giving and volunteering; designed, conducted, and analyzed a survey of corporate giving in the region; implemented several recommendations from the community leaders conference; and developed a “Blueprint for Future Action” for the region.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PAROLE DECISIONMAKING (1985 - 1991)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

In partnership with COSMOS Corporation, the Center provided technical assistance to paroling authorities across the nation. This assistance was aimed at the establishment of consistent, equitable, and objective decisionmaking policies for parole release and revocation within those states. Staff worked with parole boards to: identify and agree on their purposes in making release decisions and providing parole supervision; clarify the information needed to make decisions and provide appropriate supervision; and design decision tools that integrated information into those functions.

National staff and consultants provided a variety of services designed to meet these diverse aims. The process with each paroling authority included achieving consensus among parole board members on the use of decision tools in carrying out their responsibilities, identifying the goals of their release and supervision functions, and developing parole policies consistent with those goals. Center staff had primary responsibility for the design and facilitation of the meetings required to carry out this process in the participating states.

TENNESSEE LOCAL CORRECTIONS STUDY (1988 - 1989)

Sponsors: Tennessee Legislature, Select Oversight Committee on Corrections

Center staff participated with legislative staff in a year–long examination of the complex financial and administrative relationship between the state of Tennessee and its 95 counties in the corrections area. The state’s history of providing fiscal support to its local jails through the payment of per diems, prison overcrowding that resulted in counties holding state’sentenced inmates, and strained state budgets, created burdensome fiscal and administrative challenges. Center staff reviewed national models and helped to formulate recommendations for policy change to the Legislature.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROJECT (1988 - 1989)

Sponsors: Youth Leadership Project

The Center conducted an evaluation of the Youth Leadership Project, an in’school program seeking to develop leadership skills in junior and senior high school students of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey, public school systems. Center staff conducted a series of focus groups in each of six schools, analyzed data, observed classroom programs, and made frequent reports to foundation funders.

NATIONAL PROBATION AND PAROLE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION STUDY (1987 - 1989)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections

In conjunction with COSMOS Corporation, the Center completed a study of the implementation of the National Institute of Correction's Model Probation and Parole Classification and Case Management Project. Thirty–eight state and local supervision agencies participated in the original project, and the implementation study was designed to provide both the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections and the probation and parole field with information about its results. The study examined how the classification system was used; those agencies who chose to discontinue its use and why; the problems agencies encountered in implementation; and the lessons that could be drawn from their experiences.

All 38 jurisdictions were initially surveyed by telephone; intensive follow–up evaluations were conducted on-site in several jurisdictions. A practitioner’s guide containing descriptive information, resources, and contacts was developed as well as a special report to the National Institute of Corrections outlining the key elements of a successful national initiative and posing research questions for further inquiry.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD EXECUTIVE RETREAT (1988)

Sponsors: Department of Human Services; the City of Philadelphia

The Children and Youth Advisory Board of the Department of Human Services, City of Philadelphia, at a critical juncture in their agency's development, contracted with the Center to facilitate an executive retreat to help them reflect on their current activities and determine future directions the agency should explore. The Center conducted individual interviews, helped the board identify critical issues, designed and conducted a board retreat tailored to their needs, and helped them determine their next steps.

TOUCHSTONE PROJECT (1987 - 1988)

Sponsors: Johns Hopkins University

The Center was funded by the Johns Hopkins University to evaluate in’school programs seeking to introduce junior and senior high school students to philosophy. Center staff conducted focus groups, observed classroom lessons, and reviewed project materials.

PROJECT PEER (1987 - 1988)

Sponsors: NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund

Center staff provided consulting services to the Project on Equal Education Rights Peer of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund by conducting focus groups with teenage women to help PEER learn how sex/gender role stereotyping affects teenage women's decisions about the way they plan or do not plan for their futures regarding early parenting, continued schooling, careers, and family roles. As a result of this effort, a series of pamphlets and educational materials were distributed to teenage women throughout the country.

PHILADELPHIA YOUTH STUDY CENTER (1986 - 1988)

Sponsors: City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia's Youth Study Center was an aging, overcrowded, and understaffed juvenile detention facility to which as many as 5,000 accused or adjudicated delinquents were remanded each year. As part of a four–year effort to address and alleviate significant problems in the institution, the City of Philadelphia engaged the Center to: design organizational development approaches to gain staff involvement in supporting change; interview Youth Study Center residents to involve them in the change process; organize and facilitate a program development advisory committee; and evaluate the impact on youth and staff of the implemented changes.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROJECTS (1987)

Sponsors: The Youth Project

The Youth Project was a Washington, D.C.–based foundation that provided grants and technical assistance to small or developing nonprofit agencies. The Youth Project contracted with the Center to design and conduct a three–day conference for projects from across the country engaged in community organizing around U.S. Central American policy. The conference focused on skill sharing and network building among the more than 25 projects that participated.

THE NATIONAL NETWORK OF GRANTMAKERS TRAINING CONFERENCE (1987)

Sponsors: National Network of Grantmakers

The National Network of Grantmakers is a national organization, based in Washington, D.C., whose over 400 members are staff and trustees of private foundations and corporations that fund progressive social action programs. In 1987, the National Network of Grantmakers made a grant to the Center to organize and conduct a three–day training conference in Philadelphia for its members. The participants, through small group sessions and field visits, developed and tested criteria for evaluating community organizing and advocacy projects seeking funding from their organizations. Center staff worked with the National Network of Grantmakers Planning Committee over several months, providing program design, logistical support, and facilitation for the training conference.

NATIONAL JAIL AND PRISON OVERCROWDING PROJECT (1981 - 1987)

Sponsors: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections; Edna McConnell Clark Foundation

The National Jail and Prison Overcrowding Project was created to assist participating states in managing the flow of offenders through their criminal justice