Archives for April 2015

Innovative Technology Solutions in Corrections

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DC Public Safety Radio and Television won the Government Customer Service Community of Practice (Cgov) 2014 Overall Excellence  and Best Use of technology Awards. See conta.cc/1qiBV74  .

DC Public Safety won awards for best podcast and audio from the National Association of Government Communicators in 2014, see . We are finalists for two new awards for 2015 for best podcast and audio.

DC Public Safety Television won three awards for public affairs television in 2014 from CTV and DCTV.

Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

We received 230,000 visits in 2014.

Page views range from 653,000 to 1.4 million a year.

This is radio show 246.

The portal site for “DC Public Safety” is http://media.csosa.gov

Subscribe to “DC Public Safety” through iTunes.

Current Radio Program:

“Fostering Innovation in Community and Institutional Corrections,” is a new document from the RAND Corporation and the focus of this discussion.

Corrections agencies face major challenges from declining budgets, increasing populations under supervision, problems of equity and fairness in administrating justice, and other concerns. To better achieve its objectives and play its role within the criminal justice enterprise, the sector needs innovation in corrections technology, policy, and practice.

It identifies and prioritizes potential improvements in technology, policy, and practice in both community and institutional corrections. Some of the top-tier needs identified by the panel and researchers include adapting transcription and translation tools for the corrections environment, developing training for officers on best practices for managing offenders with mental health needs, and changing visitation policies (for example, using video visitation) to reduce opportunities for visitors to bring contraband into jails and prisons. Such high-priority needs provide a menu of innovation options for addressing key problems or capitalizing on emerging opportunities in the corrections sector. This report is part of a larger effort to assess and prioritize technology and related needs across the criminal justice community for the National Institute of Justice’s National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center System.

Those interviewed include Joe Russo, a researcher at the University of Denver focusing on technology issues in the corrections sector, and Brian Jackson, Director of Safety and Justice Program and Senior Physical Scientist at the RAND Corporation.

The document is available at http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR820.html.

The website for the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center is http://www.justnet.org.

The website for the RAND Corporation is http://www.rand.org.

Special Announcements:

A top priority for the Department of Justice is to invest in scientific research to ensure that the Department is both tough and smart on crime. The Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov website shapes rigorous research into a central, reliable, and credible resource to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice.

A new website lists and evaluates prisoner re-entry programs nationwide. Launched by the Urban Institute, the Council of State Governments, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, the “What Works Clearinghouse” can be seen at http://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/what_works.

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/. Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council. Several requesters have asked for national research on reentry.

The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice reentry research portfolio supports the evaluation of innovative reentry programs. To access these studies and NIJ’s entire reentry research portfolio visit www.nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/reentry/welcome.htm .

The Office of Violence Against Women offers stalking response tips for corrections, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, victims and victim advocates. They are posted on OVW’s website at www.ovw.usdoj.gov .

The National Institute of Corrections Information Center is one of the largest repositories for corrections research and information in the country. See  www.nicic.gov/Library.

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barns.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do not necessarily represent the policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

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Video Visiting in Corrections-National Institute of Corrections

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DC Public Safety Radio and Television won the Government Customer Service Community of Practice (Cgov) 2014 Overall Excellence  and Best Use of technology Awards. See conta.cc/1qiBV74  .

DC Public Safety won awards for best podcast and audio from the National Association of Government Communicators in 2014, see . We are finalists for two new awards for 2015 for best podcast and audio.

DC Public Safety Television won three awards for public affairs television in 2014 from CTV and DCTV.

Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

We received 230,000 visits in 2014.

Page views range from 653,000 to 1.4 million a year.

This is radio show 245.

The portal site for “DC Public Safety” is http://media.csosa.gov

Subscribe to “DC Public Safety” through iTunes.

See the transcript at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2016/04/video-visitation-in-corrections/

Current Radio Program:

Research confirms that incarcerated individuals, corrections, families, and communities all benefit when incarcerated individuals can communicate with and receive visits from family and supportive community members. Video visiting is an additional form of communication that can build and strengthen social support systems of the incarcerated. This relatively new form of communication builds upon the success of video conferencing used for court appearances, and attorney-client communication. It’s also being used to bring professionals together with those incarcerated to address pressing legal and medical issues. Video visiting and conferencing may also offer added benefits in planning for reentry, supplementing healthcare delivery, and facilitating cross-systems collaborations.

Those interviewed include Maureen Buell, Correctional Program Specialist for the National Institute of Corrections and Allison Hollihan, a licensed mental health counselor and Program Manager for the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated parents at the Osborne Association. The Osborne Association wrote, “Video Visiting in Corrections: Benefits, Limitations, and Implementation Considerations,” for the National Institute of Corrections.

The purpose of this guide is to inform the development of video visiting programs within a correctional setting. “Video visiting” is real-time interactive video communication which uses video conferencing technology or virtual software programs, such as Skype. It is an increasingly popular form of communication between separated family members in settings outside of corrections. The rapid expansion of video visiting in jails and prisons over the past few years suggests that video visiting may become very common in corrections in the near future.

“Video Visiting in Corrections: Benefits, Limitations, and Implementation Considerations,” is available from the National Institute of Corrections at http://nicic.gov/library/029609.

The website for the National Institute of Corrections is http://nicic.gov .

The website for the Osborne Association is http://www.osborneny.org.

The program was produced by Donna Ledbetter, Director’s Office, National Institute of Corrections.

Special Announcements:

A top priority for the Department of Justice is to invest in scientific research to ensure that the Department is both tough and smart on crime. The Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov website shapes rigorous research into a central, reliable, and credible resource to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice.

A new website lists and evaluates prisoner re-entry programs nationwide. Launched by the Urban Institute, the Council of State Governments, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, the “What Works Clearinghouse” can be seen at http://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/what_works.

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/. Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council. Several requesters have asked for national research on reentry.

The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice reentry research portfolio supports the evaluation of innovative reentry programs. To access these studies and NIJ’s entire reentry research portfolio visit www.nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/reentry/welcome.htm .

The Office of Violence Against Women offers stalking response tips for corrections, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, victims and victim advocates. They are posted on OVW’s website at www.ovw.usdoj.gov .

The National Institute of Corrections Information Center is one of the largest repositories for corrections research and information in the country. See  www.nicic.gov/Library.

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barns.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do not necessarily represent the policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

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Offender Employment-DC Central Kitchen

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DC Public Safety Radio and Television won the Government Customer Service Community of Practice (Cgov) 2014 Overall Excellence  and Best Use of technology Awards. See conta.cc/1qiBV74  .

DC Public Safety won awards for best podcast and audio from the National Association of Government Communicators in 2014, see . We are finalists for two new awards for 2015.

DC Public Safety Television won three awards for public affairs television in 2014 from CTV and DCTV.

Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

We received 230,000 visits in 2014.

Page views range from 653,000 to 1.4 million a year.

This is radio show 243.

The portal site for “DC Public Safety” is http://media.csosa.gov

Subscribe to “DC Public Safety” through iTunes.

See the transcript at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2016/04/hiring-offenders-dc-central-kitchen/

Current Radio Program:

DC Central Kitchen trains people for culinary jobs, provides food for under-served populations and operates food preparation and distribution services in cooperation with forty-two colleges throughout the United States. Most of the people they train have criminal histories or are under the supervision of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA). Participants have very high rates of program completion and placement within the culinary industry.

DC Central Kitchen works with the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency’s VOTEE (Vocational Opportunities for Training, Education and Employment) unit. VOTEE provides assessment and preparation for people on supervision to complete educational objectives and enter the workforce.

Guests include Sarah Riley, Program Administration Manager for DC Central Kitchen, Persis Johnson, Recruitment and Intake Coordinator for DC Central Kitchen and Luella Johnson, Supervisory Vocational Development Specialist for  VOTEE.

The website for DC Central Kitchen is http://dccentralkitchen.org.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov. See “Hiring People on Supervision” on the front page.

“Eater” (a well-known publication within the culinary arts community) just published an article on DC Central Kitchen and CSOSA, see http://www.eater.com/2015/4/15/8416521/dc-central-kitchen-culinary-job-training.

Special Announcements:

A top priority for Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is to invest in scientific research to ensure that the Department is both tough and smart on crime. The Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov website shapes rigorous research into a central, reliable, and credible resource to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice.

A new website lists and evaluates prisoner re-entry programs nationwide. Launched by the Urban Institute, the Council of State Governments, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, the “What Works Clearinghouse” can be seen at http://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/what_works.

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/. Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council. Several requesters have asked for national research on reentry.

The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice reentry research portfolio supports the evaluation of innovative reentry programs. To access these studies and NIJ’s entire reentry research portfolio visit www.nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/reentry/welcome.htm .

The Office of Violence Against Women offers stalking response tips for corrections, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, victims and victim advocates. They are posted on OVW’s website at www.ovw.usdoj.gov .

The National Institute of Corrections Information Center is one of the largest repositories for corrections research and information in the country. See  www.nicic.gov/Library.

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barns.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do not necessarily represent the policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

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Prisoner Reentry and the Arts-Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

csosa

DC Public Safety Radio and Television won the Government Customer Service Community of Practice (Cgov) 2014 Overall Excellence  and Best Use of technology Awards. See conta.cc/1qiBV74  .

DC Public Safety won awards for best podcast and audio from the National Association of Government Communicators in 2014, see . We are finalists for two new awards for 2015.

DC Public Safety Television won three awards for public affairs television in 2014 from CTV and DCTV.

Welcome to “DC Public Safety” – Radio and television shows, blog and transcripts on crime, criminal offenders and the criminal justice system.

We received 230,000 visits in 2014.

Page views range from 653,000 to 1.4 million a year.

This is radio show 242.

The portal site for “DC Public Safety” is http://media.csosa.gov

Subscribe to “DC Public Safety” through iTunes.

See the transcript at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/transcripts/2016/04/offender-reentry-arts/

Current Radio Program:

This is the third audio program in the “DC Public Safety” series inviting members of the arts community to address the issue of offender reentry. The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.  is currently offering, “Lights Rise on Grace,” a play addressing the process of return from prison. It runs through April 26, 2015.

Those interviewed include Kristen Jackson, Connectivity Director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Teresa Hodge, Founder and Director of Innovation and Strategy for Mission Launch and Justin McCarthy, Communications Coordinator, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

The website for the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company is http://www.woollymammoth.net/.

The website for Mission Launch is http://www.mission-launch.org/.

Special Announcements:

A top priority for Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is to invest in scientific research to ensure that the Department is both tough and smart on crime. The Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov website shapes rigorous research into a central, reliable, and credible resource to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice.

A new website lists and evaluates prisoner re-entry programs nationwide. Launched by the Urban Institute, the Council of State Governments, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute, the “What Works Clearinghouse” can be seen at http://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/what_works.

The National Reentry Resource Center is a project of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Please see the Center’s website at http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/. Please see “Federal Interagency Reentry Council Launches Website, Releases Myth-Buster Series” on the front page of the site (see announcements). CSOSA is a member of the Council. Several requesters have asked for national research on reentry.

The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice reentry research portfolio supports the evaluation of innovative reentry programs. To access these studies and NIJ’s entire reentry research portfolio visit www.nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/reentry/welcome.htm .

The Office of Violence Against Women offers stalking response tips for corrections, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, victims and victim advocates. They are posted on OVW’s website at www.ovw.usdoj.gov .

The National Institute of Corrections Information Center is one of the largest repositories for corrections research and information in the country. See  www.nicic.gov/Library.

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency:

We welcome your comments or suggestions at leonard.sipes@csosa.gov.

The website for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is http://www.csosa.gov/.

The program is hosted by Leonard Sipes. The producer is Timothy Barns.

Comments offered on “DC Public Safety” television and radio programs are the opinions of participants and do not necessarily represent the policies of CSOSA or other government agencies.

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