Recently in Corrections Category

Source: John O'Leary, Governing, September 2, 2009

Atlanta's four-day workweek has unexpected results.

The idea first arose during the days of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the summer of 2008. But now, even with energy prices way down from their peak, reduced work schedules or "furlough" programs keep popping up. In recent weeks, both Chicago and Rhode Island have saved money by shutting down non-essential services for a few days, and Utah has experimented with a four-day work week.

The current interest in reduced work schedules is easy to explain. With budgets drowning in red ink, cutting back on work schedules is an immediate way to reduce costs. But there are signs that the approach may have another, unexpected benefit: greater efficiency.

Atlanta's experience is worth noting.

Source: Patricia Bancroft, American Probation and Parole Association, August 2009

Community corrections agencies differ in organizational structure from State to State and locality to locality. Agencies may have distinctly different operational imperatives as well as varying budgetary and human resources at their disposal. Each agency therefore must construct a pandemic preparedness and response plan that is tailored to its operations and the resources that are (or are expected to be) available.

Regardless of an agency's operational structure and resources, all pandemic preparedness and response plans must include measures that ensure the agency will meet the overarching objectives of pandemic planning: a) to ensure the continuation of mission-critical functions that protect the safety of the community and the health and safety of agency employees, and b) to promote the Federal government's community mitigation strategies aimed at lessening the pandemic's impact.

Source: Karen F. Lahm, The Prison Journal, Vol. 89, No. 2, June 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Most of the extant literature on prison violence has explored inmate-on-inmate assaultive behaviors rather than inmate-on-staff assaults. In addition, the bulk of this past literature considered only one level of an analysis, the inmate or the prison, while ignoring the importance of prison context on inmate behavior. This study enhances past research by combining both inmate- and prison-level data into a multilevel model predicting the likelihood of inmate-on-staff assaults. Self-report data from more than 1,000 inmates and 30 prisons revealed that, at the inmate level, age and aggression were the most robust predictors of inmate-on-staff assaults. In terms of contextual effects, inmates housed in prisons with a greater proportion of non-White inmates and a larger staff-to-inmate ratio were more likely to assault prison staff members. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Source: Eric G. Lambert, Eugene A. Paoline, Criminal Justice Review, Vol. 33, No. 4, December 2008
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
As staff performance is vital to the survival of correctional institutions, much empirical attention has been paid to studying the causes and consequences of their attitudes and behaviors. The current study adds to this body of knowledge by examining the factors that explain three central occupational attitudes--job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. More specifically, using survey data collected from a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida, this research assesses the impact of key demographic, job, and organizational characteristics within and across jail staff attitudes toward job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. This article finds that the more powerful predictors of each of these attitudes are job and organizational characteristics. Among the dependent variables, job stress has an inverse relationship with job satisfaction, and job satisfaction had a powerful positive association with organizational commitment.

Source: Kelly L. Brown, Melissa Benningfield, Criminal Justice Review, Vol. 33, No. 4, December 2008
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Capital punishment has received much scholarly attention; however, very little is known about correctional officers who work on death row. This research attempts to fill this gap in our knowledge by exploring the experiences, perspectives, and attitudes of correctional officers who have worked on death row. The findings reveal that working on death row is a paradoxical experience. The results suggest that correctional officers who work on death row experience both strain and pressure while at the same time, they find death row work is easier and has fewer problems than other assignments in the prison. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.

Source: Eric Lambert, Nancy Hogan, Criminal Justice Review, Vol. 34, No. 1, March 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Employee turnover can have devastating effects on correctional facilities. Excessive turnover wastes recruiting and training dollars. In addition, high turnover rates may also directly affect the security of the institution as well as the safety of both staff and inmates. Thus this study surveyed correctional staff at a maximum security private prison to examine the impact of the work environment, personal characteristics, external employment opportunities, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on turnover intent. The results of the multivariate ordinary least squares regression equations generally supported the proposed path model, and indicated age, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment directly influence turnover intent, whereas gender, job satisfaction, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, input into decision making, and organizational fairness indirectly affected employees' decisions to leave the job.

Source: Brett E. Garland, William P. McCarty, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, June 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Health care staff serve important humanitarian, legal, and security functions inside prisons. Although medical and health staff have become critical to daily life in prisons, little is known about their work attitudes and outcomes. This article examines the job satisfaction of 430 health care practitioners in the federal prison system. Ordinary least squares regression is used to analyze responses to a global measurement of job satisfaction. This analytic procedure was chosen after tests determined that prison-level characteristics would have very little influence on the job satisfaction of this sample. Work-related variables were stronger predictors of job satisfaction than personal characteristics. Feeling effective in dealing with inmates had the strongest impact on job satisfaction. Health care staff also had higher job satisfaction when they perceived greater flexibility and effectiveness in organizational operations and when they had more positive feelings about supervision. Significant personal characteristics that influenced job satisfaction included race and education level.

Source: Anne C. Spaulding, Victoria A. McCallum, Dawn Walker, Ariane Reeves, Cherie Drenzek, Sharon Lewis, Ed Bailey, James W. Buehler, Ellen A. Spotts Whitney, and Ruth L. Berkelman, Journal of Correctional Health Care, Vol. 15, No. 2, April 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
As pandemic influenza becomes an increasing threat, partnerships between public health and correctional facilities are necessary to prepare criminal justice systems adequately. In September 2007, the Planning for Pandemic Influenza in Prison Settings Conference took place in Georgia. This article describes the collaboration and ongoing goals established between administrative leaders and medical staff in Georgia prison facilities and public health officials. Sessions covered topics such as nonpharmaceutical interventions, health care surge capacity, and prison-community interfaces. Interactive activities and tabletop scenarios were used to promote dynamic learning, and pretests and posttests were administered to evaluate the short-term impact of conference participation. The conference has been followed by subsequent meetings and an ongoing process to guide prisons' preparation for pandemic influenza.

Source: Grant E. Deger, David W. Quick, Journal of Correctional Health Care, Vol. 15, No. 3, July 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Nationwide, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) presents an increasing hazard to inmates. This article reviews our 1-year (2005) experience with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in a medium-sized county jail. As part of a quality assurance process, the authors cultured every SSTI presenting to our institution. The authors found that a full 68% of SSTIs (50 of 74) were MRSA species, and new MRSA cases presented regularly throughout the year. Inmates usually have poor understanding of infectious processes and need constant support and education. Correctional health care providers must approach their antibiotic treatment for today's SSTIs with the knowledge that MRSA is very common. This article reviews treatment options, preventive measures, and institutional hygiene.

Source: Correctional Service of Canada, June 2009

Results from a cost-benefit analysis of seven programming categories (i.e., violence prevention, family violence, substance abuse, sex offender, living skills, education, and employment) are presented. Four sections follow an executive summary -- introduction, literature review findings, methodology, and findings from the cost-benefit analysis. Total net benefits from programming are $84,852,457, or a benefit to cost ratio of 3.94 to 1.