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Second Annual Institutional Corrections Research Network (ICRN)/ National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) Data Providers Meeting
October 29th and October 30th, 2012
National Corrections Academy Aurora, Colorado
Introduction
The second annual data providers meeting was sponsored by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and took place at the National
Corrections Academy in Aurora, Colorado on October 29th and October 30th, 2012. Participants
included data suppliers to the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), members of the
Institutional Corrections Research Network (ICRN), and staff from Abt Associates (Abt), BJS, NIC
and the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI). This document provides a detailed summary of what
transpired during the meeting, a list of participants, and the meeting agenda.
On the morning of the October 29, 2012, participants listened to presentations on the
state of corrections, the ability to collect and use high quality data, and the nature of
partnerships among state and federal agencies. There was an update on NCRP activities and a
NCRP website demonstration. Throughout the day, attendees learned about the implications
and applications of the NCRP from presentations and breakout sessions by BJS and Abt. Topics
addressed current efforts to increase reliability, new initiatives in Post Confinement Community
Supervision (PCCS), term‐records, and calculating estimated time served. There were also
breakout sessions dedicated to a variety of topics such as cross‐state recidivism, Performance
Based Management System (PBMS), BJS data collections, and smoking mortality research.
The second day began with a group discussion on NCRP variables, reliability, and burden
before participants again broke into issue sessions. During the issue sessions attendees were
able to delve further into previously discussed topics and provide insight into the future of
NCRP and other data collection initiatives. The meeting ended with a review of the key points
discussed, lessons learned during the meeting, and a summary of plans for the future.
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Table of Contents
Monday, October 29, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 5
I. Welcome and introductions ............................................................................................ 5
• William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS ................................................................................... 5
• Christopher Innes, Chief, Research and Information Services Division, NIC ..................................... 5
• Kristy Pierce‐Danford, Associate, Crime and Justice Institute........................................................... 5
II. Keynote speaker ............................................................................................................. 5
• Shawn D. Bushway, Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Criminal Justice and Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany (SUNY): The iconic “age‐crime” curve meets mass incarceration‐Describing and then explaining changes in the U.S. prison population .............................................................. 5
III. Current efforts to improve the reliability and uses of the NCRP ...................................... 6
• Tom Rich, Abt Associates: Goals of Abt working with NCRP ............................................................. 6
• Ryan Kling, Abt Associates: Data processing and quality control ...................................................... 7
• Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates: Using term records for time served‐actual use of the data .................................................................................................................................................... 8
• William Rhodes, Abt Associates: Term records to estimate recidivism‐application of the data ...... 8
• Michael Costa, Abt Associates: Measuring rates and characteristics of HIV positive released offender‐ integration into the community after release ................................................................... 8
• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS: Aging prison population using NCRP data .......................................... 9
IV. New Initiatives: Collection of post‐confinement community supervision records and proposed variables for NCRP ........................................................................................... 9
• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS: Veteran status .................................................................................... 9
• Ryan Kling, Abt Associates: FBI numbers ......................................................................................... 10
• Mike Shively, Abt Associates: Post Confinement Community Supervision (PCCS) ......................... 10
V. Breakout Sessions #1 .................................................................................................... 11
• William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: Cross‐state recidivism‐ BJS cross‐jurisdictional mobility in criminal histories ........................................................................................................... 11
• Tom Rich and Michael Shively, Abt Associates: Detailed follow‐up of PCCS .................................. 13
• Patricia Hardyman, Principal, ASCA and Robert Lampert, Director, Wyoming DOC: The Association of State Correctional Administrator’s (ASCA) Performance Based Measures System (PBMS) ....... 14
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• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS and Lauren Glaze, Statistician, BJS: BJS data collections: Institutional corrections ....................................................................................................................................... 15
VI. Breakout Sessions #2 .................................................................................................... 17
• Research Exchange (presentations by participants) ....................................................................... 17
• Ryan Kling and Jeremy Luallen, Abt Associates: Detailed follow‐up discussion of NCRP term‐record data processing .................................................................................................................... 19
• Dr. Ingrid Binswanger, Associate Professor of Medicine, BJS Visiting Fellow: Smoking‐attributable mortality among state prisoners in the US: 2001‐2009 .................................................................. 20
• Lauren Glaze, Statistician, BJS and William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: BJS data collections: Community Corrections ............................................................................................... 21
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 .................................................................................................... 23
I. Group Discussion on NCRP variables, reliability, and burden ........................................ 23
II. Issues Sessions: Use and expansion of correctional records (Breakouts) ....................... 24
• Michael Costa, Abt Associates: HIV continued discussion .............................................................. 24
• Tom Rich and Mike Shively, Abt Associates and William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: NCRP website and collaborative...................................................................................................... 25
• William Rhodes, Abt Associates and Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates: Calculating estimated time served using NCRP term records ............................................................................ 27
III. Closeout ........................................................................................................................ 28
• Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates ....................................................................................... 28
• William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS and Christopher Innes, Chief, Research and Information Services Division, NIC .................................................................................................. 29
APPENDIX A: Second Annual ICRN/NCRP Participant List ...................................................... 30
APPENDIX B: Second Annual ICRN/NCRP Agenda .................................................................. 35
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Monday, October 29, 2012
I. Welcome and introductions • William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS
o Goals of this meeting Learn/enhance understanding of state NCRP data Establish network of communication in states to foster exchange of ideas and
results/capacity building Communication of enhancements BJS is planning with NCRP and other collections, focusing
on the utility of the enhancements Improving state comparisons: understanding reliability of internal and external standards Expand data collections with respect to NCRP and cross state recidivism measures (e.g.,
potentially link FBI numbers to track out of state recidivism) Discuss how cohorts move through systems and come back into systems over time and
expanding the longitudinal database Review how BJS is using NIBERS data: individual level data to understand relationships in
each criminal instance and attempting to merge this data to generate national information Determine what additional information states would like to know
• Christopher Innes, Chief, Research and Information Services Division, NIC o NIC goals in partnership with BJS
NIC provides direct support to correctional professionals across states Through the Institutional Corrections Research Network (ICRN), NIC supports those who
serve the function of a research director to discuss corrections issues and move the field forward
The necessity is to turn to data for research, to be evidence‐based, to address specific departmental needs, and to make informed decisions about resource allocations
Address the field’s need for infrastructure and data capacity to support goals as well as human capital/resources to interpret and utilize data
• Kristy Pierce‐Danford, Associate, Crime and Justice Institute o Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) at CRJ is a non‐profit that provides non partisan policy analysis,
research services, training and capacity building technical assistance to improve public safety systems throughout the country
o CJI works to develop organizational and systems capacity among those we work with to bridge the gap between research and practice and bring about lasting change
o Our role is to serve as meeting manager and to address any housekeeping matters while ensuring a productive meeting
II. Keynote speaker • Shawn D. Bushway, Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Criminal Justice and Professor of
Public Administration and Policy in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany (SUNY): The iconic “age‐crime” curve meets mass incarceration‐Describing and then explaining changes in the U.S. prison population
• See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting • Aggregate data/counting data
o The value of careful counting in the criminal justice system
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Arrest is harder to estimate than incarceration/imprisonment Collateral consequences make it very difficult to get good conviction data
- Enhanced NCRP using conviction data would be vital for these types of efforts - Growing consensus that what is driving arrests is also driving conviction rates
o Change in demography in US‐prison population (four‐fold increase) o Limited finding that prison population has aged; would not necessarily age at the same rate as
the general population o There is not a lot of research on why there is an increase in age of the prison population; could
be increased incarceration risk as well as sentence length • What is happening with age crime‐curve?
o A lot of variation is NOT age: there are cohort and period effects, later cohorts are more involved in the system Mostly cohort effect: younger cohorts moving into system are much more involved with
system than older cohorts This cohort effect can be explained by time served, drug use and drug sentences, parole
revocation, and changing demographic/socioeconomic factors o Q: Looking at number of people who have received treatment, is there a connection with prior
record/prior time in front of judge? A: Think that prior history is more important than it used to be; Much more systematic: first
step can often be required treatment; role of priors is an important part of decision in incarceration
o Q: Is the increased number of convictions due to an increase in crimes or nature of crimes, or increased use/expansion of statutes? A: Increased leverage on prosecutors to secure plea bargains; increase in prosecutors in
1990’s correspond with more prosecutions o Q: What degree did you look at specific populations (e.g. sex offenders) in regards to the age
increase, and how the composition of the population has shifted? A: Looked at a break out by crime type and did not see big shifts, but have not been able to
break it down specifically William Sabol: There is some evidence to support the increase to sex offenders; NCRP
describes some of that composition
III. Current efforts to improve the reliability and uses of the NCRP • Tom Rich, Abt Associates: Goals of Abt working with NCRP • See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
o Goal #1: Increase participation Was approximately 20 states and currently up to mid‐40’s Asked states to submit largely older data to account for when reporting was down
o Goal#2: Improve quality of prison records NCRP prison records: annual submission
- admission file, one record for each admission - release file, one record for each - custody file, one record for each
NCRP is an annual counting exercise, but the real value from NCRP is looking at how things are happening over a long period of time in order to potentially influence policy decisions
What we see for an individual offender in NCRP - 11 year (2000‐2011) observation window: “prison term”
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- Able to look at one inmate because of admission: see offender in year‐end custody files, see them again in NCRP release file
Can also look at person who has had two “prison terms” via the identification numbers that the states supply - This is useful to look at information over time such as total time served and recidivism
Combined/merged (admission, custody, release) into single “term record” file - Part of process to identify data quality problems and then resolve those problems
Part C Parole exit file‐ Post Confinement Community Supervision (PCCS): how these fit in with term records - Look back at time lines and add PCCS to get a better look at an offender’s complete
system involvement - Integration/Intermingling of Prison Terms with PCCS Terms
o Goal #3: Improve way NCRP handles PCCS Problems: “parole exit” the term/definition may have caused gaps in data reporting as data
on offenders for another type of PCCS may not have been reported o Goal#4: Expanding use of NCRP
New ways to compute time served and recidivism using NCRP term records Develop NCRP website comparing different states
- Open to suggestions on website and other ways to use NCRP Expand NCRP to handle PCCS
o Q: What does the lag period look like on the new NCRP (from when a state submits data and when it is ready for use)
A: 12‐18 months
• Ryan Kling, Abt Associates: Data processing and quality control o Want results that are tested, transparent, and reliable; would like feedback from states o General Methods
Internal tests for consistency (empirical and logical) and external tests for external validity Fact sheet available on NCRP website Abt developed new SAS programs: reprocessed old data from 2000 and using same
processing going forward Diagnostics
- Ensure all variables are present (compare to previous year submissions) - Counts across time (roughly same number of stocks across time) - Distributions of variables are roughly consistent, offenses are mapped to BJS codes (e.g.,
sex offenses are very different across states, but similarities can be found by looking at descriptions)
Produce yearly data files: build a Term File that looks the same across all states NCRP Parts
- Part A: Admissions - Part B: Releases - Part C: Discharged from Parole (No longer part of NCRP) - Part D: Prisoners incarcerated in state prison at yearend - Part E: Admissions to post‐confinement community supervision - Part F: Releases from post‐confinement community supervision
Trying to stack up admission, all their stocks, and releases Build set of rules to resolve inconsistencies
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- Nearly everything works for 90‐95% of people, but trying to iron out the last 5% of cases - Example: instances where we have a release but do not have an admission or stock
information; missing somewhere in the term record D records are very important as they help bridge the gap with missing data
• Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates: Using term records for time served‐actual use of the data o Policy applications: two kinds of policy impact
Admission cohort effect: Time served changes for those admitted to prison (sentencing policy shifts) which dramatically influences data
Calendar effect: in prison on a specific date Prospective: those admitted in fiscal/calendar year
- More accurate estimate when time served is changing over time Retrospective: those released in fiscal/calendar year
o Cross state comparisons If time served is changing over time, then the retrospective method is inaccurate Graphic: 2004 admission cohort shows the actual jump whereas the release cohort
underestimates the actual shift in time served o Trends/issue: not easy to distinguish if admission is for revocation or new offense type; inherent
ambiguity because it is often a discretionary choice Ambiguity of offense types from state codes to BJS codes Thresholds across states (e.g., when folks go to prison vs. jail)
o Q: Is there a different algorithm for each cross section of the population? A: No, same algorithm: any sex type, offense type, age range, category; main difference is
using the admission cohort
• William Rhodes, Abt Associates: Term records to estimate recidivism‐application of the data • See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
o Abt looked at a 12 year observation window (NC, NY, IA) Majority of offenders only serve one term
- Lacks ability to identify recidivism across state boarders o NCRP provides data over a long time frame o NCRP advantages for studying recidivism
Being able to examine admissions and releases over a long period of time allows us to be able to distinguish repeat offenders from others
Identifies populations of offenders rather than a cohort of released offenders o Availability of data allows you to look at the shifts
Trying to figure out why are people successful: NCRP allows looking at those instances
• Michael Costa, Abt Associates: Measuring rates and characteristics of HIV positive released
offender‐ integration into the community after release • See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
o Pilot Study‐ Voluntary sites using NCRP data: RI, NC, MI, and jails in LA county Coordination with BJS, DOC, and Ryan White grantees
o Looking at whether people with HIV releasing from jail are getting into care and if this information is relevant/useful; seeking to observe promising practices of linkage rates and determining if connection to care is improving
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This is beneficial as it enables data‐driven decision making to improve care continuity Not just a value within corrections, but to community health, housing, employment, and
cross system collaboration o Ryan White Reporting System (RSR)
Demographics, dates of service, key clinical variables, and other services provided o Matching RSR and NCRP data
Each record tracked by a unique client secure identifier, developed by the National Security Agency (NSA)
NCRP files: - Remove Personal Identifying Information (PII) - Create an eUCI - Mask dates of Personal Health Information (PIH)‐ keep intervals the same but change
month and dates - HIPAA de‐identified, but still matched on individual level
o This can be done with a minimum level of burden (data use agreements in place, IRB approvals); analysis can be done in an efficient manner and state can continue doing work, builds infrastructure
o Invite: if people are interested in participating, reach out to your NCRP liaison
• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS: Aging prison population using NCRP data o The prison population has aged and NCRP can be used to assist with determining contributing
factors NCRP is critical because it provides individual level records, and allows for looking at offense
characteristics, age, race, sex, and time served Inmate surveys are self reports and NCRP is official data
o Growth in prison ages is not related to growth in general population o Admissions or length of stay/time served
Doubling of over age 55 population in the past 20 years o Conviction rates
Probability of being admitted to prison given your arrests has increased across all age groups except for the youngest
o Older people are being released at a lower rate than younger people, but there are fewer of them
o Admissions and releases cannot fully explain the change in age o Distribution by offense type:
Coming in more often for violent offenses and therefore having longer length of stay Vast majority of individuals over 55 are in for violent crimes (sex offenses and homicides) Older individuals actually have a lower time served if you adjust for offense
o More inmates and more older inmates o Cohort effects: middle aged people are coming in and shifting to older age group
IV. New Initiatives: Collection of post‐confinement community supervision records and proposed variables for NCRP
• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS: Veteran status o BJS is often asked how many veterans are in prison (particular in relation to PTSD, TBI) o Last collection of this data was in 2004 on the inmate survey and this information can be
compared to NCRP responses
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o Asked questions such as: Did they every serve in armed services? When was their last discharge and what type of discharge was it? Which era they were a part of (Gulf, Vietnam)?
o BJS and Veterans Affairs (VA) joint operation VA data system known as the Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Identity Repository
(VADIR) VA is completely separate from the Department of Defense (DOD), none of the DOD records
shift over to VA Linking NCRP to VADIR allows the identification of individual veterans with name and DOB
but has privacy concerns
• Ryan Kling, Abt Associates: FBI numbers o FBI numbers are important as they are unique identifiers, inmate identification index (III) o Applications across states: very difficult to currently link across states
If we have FBI numbers we can link across states o US courts example: (arrest‐ upper bound for NCRP, how many recidivistic outcomes you are
missing for any one offender) Sample‐living in DC area and supervised by DC probation officers (2007‐2010)
- DC and 3 states surrounding DC Q: How many were rearrested after beginning supervision?
- A: About 30% of those being supervised in DC are getting arrested again A significant portion are crossing state lines
o Looked at Arizona as well: a significant portion of offenders who live in Arizona, under federal supervision, are getting arrested in surrounding states
o Q: If already using state identification number, why not merge in FBI number? A: Not every state provides state ID number (only 26 states provide numbers); FBI is very
protective of FBI number, especially for research usage o Q: Is there an issue of getting disclosure from state and federal authorities?
A: If data is going through BJS, there is some leverage as far as getting data to states and getting permission (Abt operates as an extension of BJS)
A: BJS can be used as a gateway to get data to local entities A: Abt has written procedures that governs their access to PII; they can package that
information and distribute it for drafting similar procedures Abt can find out the pathways to allow states to have access to data (FBI#, SIDS#’.; protocol
needs to be clear and consistent so that everyone has the same pathway BJS is not going to release analysis before letting states see what is going on and make sure
it makes sense • Mike Shively, Abt Associates: Post Confinement Community Supervision (PCCS)
o Old NCRP was focused on incarceration and was incomplete o States label PCCS release differently (parole, post‐prison supervision, etc.) o Community supervision is a key piece to understanding correctional records o Part C data had limitations: it was only capturing exits on “parole” o Changes in data requests
Work with different definitions (e.g. parole is PCCS) Expand the definition to align better with the goal NCRP: part C is the parole exits
- Something this missed was entry into supervision OLD NCRP: Admissions, release, exits, custody
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NEW NCRP: Admission, releases, custody, PCCS admissions, and PCCS exits - PCCS admissions and type of admission are key parts of PCCS admission file - Very similar to the A and B file, entry and exit files - Looking to capture new range of offenders - Looking to have a more complete understanding of correctional custody - Summary: two new files and elimination of the C file
o Q: What would states be able to provide? A: Some states will be unable to support all data elements; challenges to link across data
o Q: Why not also ask for the snapshot of the data? A: Some states said that they could not do a D record
o Q: How is PCCS defined? A: Offenders who have prison sentence and part of that is served as early release (parole),
or sentenced to supervision as part of sentence (split sentence, supervision following release)
NOT looking at stand‐alone probation/community supervision without prison sentence o Q: How are jail and prison sentences differentiated?
A: NCRP asks for sentenced persons in correctional custody; states define “time spent in custody”
A: Abt takes whatever information they can get from the states; do not want to compare states with different levels of measurement when it comes to reporting; fact sheets paint a better picture of the difference between states and their correctional systems
V. Breakout Sessions #1 • William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: Cross‐state recidivism‐ BJS cross‐jurisdictional mobility
in criminal histories • See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
o BJS is committed to making criminal history information across states accessible through NCRP o Went to states and FBI to get out of state data; now going through III and not to state repository o Gives arrests that are comparable to felonies/class A misdemeanors across states o Important to develop methods to parse records and make a research database o In past they used to get copies of the rap sheets, code, and enter into the database; now they
are getting the data via computer methods o Mechanisms for getting SID and bringing back arrest records for that SID (past to current date, in
this study at the end of 2010) Restructuring into a flat file (name, offense, DOB, etc.) Parse those fields into code that can be used for research
o Difficult and challenging, even though it gives a flat file it varies so much by state; certain things have to be recoded (1.5‐2 years to create the code)
o Should be getting the final file in the coming months that will be used for work/studies o Once software is developed future studies can be done quicker and at lower cost o Will make major advances to understanding criminal history and recidivism o Release cohorts have some problems but with criminal history information you can analyze and
parse out those that have had multiple stays relative to those who have few o If major compositional problems with the group, cannot rely on a “rate;” rather parse out and
report data that takes the compositional problems into account (e.g., high risk) o Some states have missing SIDs, among the 32 states there were about 400,000 inmates released
Sample of about 74,000, designed for whole sample and to do state specific samples
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- First sets of BJS publications will be national in terms of the 32 states and the sample of inmates, oversampled women and sex offenders
Of the 74,000, there were 925,000 arrests - 14% were out of state (OOS) - 35% prisoners with OOS arrests (at least one that was OOS) - Prisoners w/ OOS arrest increases with age (older more likely to move) - Proportion of states with OOS arrest varies 22‐58% (TX least to NV most)
Out of state arrests vary greatly by state and patterns give insight into state specific nature of offender mobility patters (e.g., in HI most rearrests are in CA)
o Key points: Any state specific estimate not taking into account out of state arrests presents challenges;
could significantly alter recidivism rates When frequency is based on at least one arrest in another state, look at arrests per state
(e.g.,. may be high density of arrests in states – tied to duration of residence in area) and follow up to understand more about the patterns
Taking into account more comparable estimates goes to the theme regarding reducing burden across collections; goal would be that NCRP would drive the BJS collections, surveys, etc.
o Potential forms of use Knowledge relative to sharing with legislature and awareness of what is happening outside
borders Prisoner match program for social security goes into a database that any entitlement
programs can check (e.g., if migration of the states for arrests is similar to where/how entitlement fraud is showing up) - May be interesting (PUNS data – SSA data claims covering 98% of incarcerated
population in the county ‐ jail, prison, federal system; it can be used for statistical purposes)
- Issue in criminal justice to collect SSNs whether accurate or not; matching on SSN needs to have as many identifiers as possible (e.g. name and date of birth matches with another identifier)
Mostly view this as infrastructure development for information sharing; need to increase capacity to use/analyze it (e.g., visiting fellowship program – get access to the data and explore it more)
o Q: How should recidivism data be used to measure effectiveness? (Question to the audience) A: If your model decides recidivism is a measure of success, it should be measured in the
community where the dollars are spent (in state recidivism) A: If purpose is to measure the impact of prison programs, data should be following from
admission into programs and throughout their time in the community no matter what state border is crossed
A: Measure participation, completion, and follow up treatment in community A: Would be helpful to have a searchable database with FBI numbers to track offenders
o Q: What are measures that you would like to see BJS publish? (Question to the audience) A: Distinguish violent/nonviolent by rearrest offense (this has historically occurred) A: Look at prior criminal history to get at the revolving door A: Gang affiliation movement by state and meth across states A: Labeling the measures across states (e.g., reincarceration and OOS recidivism) A: Time series of where crimes are happening and trends over time A: Successful/unsuccessful completion of supervision
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A: Knowing if a person ended up back in prison or some other successful outcome would offer an improvement regarding what they know about those OOS
o Audience and staff would be eligible to work as visiting fellows with BJS to do more (not sure yet if they could match it on their data – would need more thought)
• Tom Rich and Michael Shively, Abt Associates: Detailed follow‐up of PCCS
o Evolutionary process: need to redefine and hone the definition Not trying to capture stand alone probation Definition is now “immediately following incarceration”
o Admission and Release file A,B,C, D for NCRP E,F, G for PCCS If you don’t have Part D, but can trust A and B‐you can recreate D file
o States reported: can do equivalent of A and B for PCCS, but the supervision part will be difficult o In some states, data is provided from two different divisions (probation and parole separate) o Abt asked for contact information for those who can provide the data o Q: Who is responsible to keep track of interstate compact offenders? (Question to the audience)
A: States have offenders who are in B files but receiving supervision in another state; they would not have PCCS files
A: There are some inherent difficulties if the “held” state cannot give information; Abt should try and get information from the state that is housing/supervising individual
A: If inmate is “shipped” to another state, the original state cannot give information on offender under supervision in another state and vice versa
A: States have offenders who are missing FBI numbers o When submitting part C, may be coding issues with parole supervising case where probation is
given at the tail end of a prison sentence Looks like a B record, under supervision by parole but not because of state sentence, under
probation Scenario: new legislation where offenders who violate parole go into a secure parole
violator center - Will see some overlap of time of supervision; Abt has encountered this and has reached
out to states to help them explain In some states (e.g., Virginia), detention diversion centers are not counted as having a
prison term, only as supervision, but counts as credits for incarceration o Issue sometimes knowing exactly which time served was for exactly which sentence
Person is sentenced by court so they have jurisdiction, transferred to closest place to their home, violated, then transferred back to court; where were they being supervised? - Is it where there are being supervised or the place that has jurisdiction over them?
o Other issues and comments Some states have hierarchy set up for type of supervision (parole, post release, and
probation) Cohort matrix is complicated: there can be multiple physical statuses and court statuses Return file: file sent back to state to help explain why there is different/conflicting
information in NCRP Reality of correctional system is complicated, difficult to take messy data that overlaps and
extremely variable to be unified or uniform platform Making the Term Files helps to catch these types of data issues and address them with the
state
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Always missing data for NCRP data submissions; important to discuss barriers and brainstorm ways to solve and/or work around them
States want to be told the rules so that they can just follow and report offenders accordingly Custody vs. jurisdiction (parole is really a jurisdiction issue) Can decide if that person should be considered in NCRP file or keep on PCCS file, able to find
that tipping point where offender classification can be determined Different definitions across the board are causing issues with classification of offenders in
order to properly classify individuals in NCRP and PCCS Only counting juveniles when they have adult status
o Big Picture: NCRP data will not match own data on state system and will deviate Stress education of educators, policy people, and reports to explain the details of what the
numbers mean NCRP is used for statistics and analysis Given all the differences, there will be a degree of variability, but working towards making
data as comparable as possible across states to limit the amount of variability • Patricia Hardyman, Principal, ASCA and Robert Lampert, Director, Wyoming DOC: The Association of
State Correctional Administrator’s (ASCA) Performance Based Measures System (PBMS) • See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
o Background/History Was developed in the 1990s after realization they were not measuring the same things in
the same way In early 2000s came together to come up with a common way to measure outcomes,
identify standards, and be able to report outside and inside the system Currently have 39 states using the system; able to assist regions with training on the system
and do comparison of federal data with state systems o Examples of use
Reports are often in response to questions about the statistics and comparisons among similar systems (e.g., high‐level security)
One state was looking at institutional culture and related measures The system can provide big pictures of what is occurring; can take a little while to build up
the data to be able to generate reports Since March 2012, now able to look at fiscal systems (staff, etc.) WY legislature wanted to introduce limit of cell phone use in institution‐ based on the data
from the system (only one cell phone found in contraband); a cell phone policy would not be as effective
MA used the cell phone data to find out how inmates were obtaining their cell phones and used assault data to show the rates of assaults statewide
Recent report on education in the inmate population (GED) had questionable data; used the PBMS data to double check the system and discovered that the data was wrong
o Dashboard Available through www.asca.net, select choice to go to PBMS and the dashboard comes up;
easy system to access and use Opening it up to PBMS users but asking director to send request of who in your state should
gain access; quick turnaround on requests Crime categories are based on organizational data reported
o Reports/Maps
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Data is timely and available the following month Tracks a variety of different things‐ public safety, institutional safety, medical, and substance
abuse Characteristics provide a quick overview for your system; generates a standard average Can look at trends and do comparisons (e.g., how your agency compares to another agency
in terms of fights) Comparisons can be historical comparisons and based on agency characteristics Comparative facilities are based on what selection criteria you choose; participant reported
it would be helpful to enter in a variety of characteristics o How to go “blue”
“Blue” standard implies that key characteristics and indicators are being entered into system in a timely manner
Communicate that PBMS is priority: message comes from the top and institutionalize it Identify a PBMS champion who has energy and drive to make it happen Allocate sufficient time for staff to do the work Monitor participation to make sure data is getting in Generate reports so usefulness can be observed Form a performance based committee and provide feedback to the committee
o Technical Assistance (TA) ASCA provides TA and training; some training materials are on the ASCA website; looking to
do regional trainings Best way to submit questions and feedback is to email Patricia ([email protected]) In the process of sending out questionnaires on PBMS utilities
• Ann Carson, Statistician, BJS and Lauren Glaze, Statistician, BJS: BJS data collections: Institutional corrections
• See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting o Concerns: reducing burden on data providers
Make use of existing annual collections to deploy periodic supplemental requests: stopped doing mid‐year counts (suspended National Prisoner Survey (NPS), NPS‐1a)
Will have a rotating supplement to NPS‐1B forms; infectious diseases; and fewer items Collect data less frequently: Recent practice due to budget and staffing; inmate surveys on
9‐10 year cycle; Not ideal due to demographic, criminal history, and sentencing changes Definition issues
- Sentence data, non‐citizen (some states say foreign born), and capacity measures - In 2013, death summary form for jails in DCRP will be replaced by Census of Jail Facilities
(e.g., how many jails, how many beds, average daily population, service) Mental health supplement to DCRP
- Collect data on suicide prevention programs in prisons and jails - Most prison deaths are illness related and most jail deaths are suicide related - Potential to treat other health items in jails
o BJS inmate survey: there was a recent PREA survey so BJS made the decision not to do additional inmate survey right afterwards; revamping the survey
o Alternatives sources of data Add criminal justice questions on to existing government surveys National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
- Ask questions about past year parole and probation involvement - Allows for measurement of drug use independent of BJS inmate surveys
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National Hospital Discharge Survey Linking BJS datasets to other administrative datasets: in 2008 and 2009 a lot of deaths were
unknown National Death Index (NCHS): Link to NCRP to obtain more complete cause of death data
and to determine post‐release fact of death among prison and parole files Social Security Administration: Link NCRP data to obtain regional employment data Some departments of corrections (DOC) have social security numbers but do not do any
verification PUPS‐ Prisoner Update Program System: States update their state verification and exchange
system with federal government; give inmate information so that people do not collect social security while in prison
VA and DOD information repository (VADIR): Link NCRP data to identify military veterans o Combine BJS data collections: Questions that BJS is considering
Would this result in loss of critical data? Would it result in loss of data quality or reliability? Would it allow for individual level data in longitudinal analysis?
o Possible combinations: NCRP and DCRP (prisons)
- Every DOC gives file for DCRP; jails send handwritten list because there are so few - Only 61% of deaths in 2010 reported to DCRP could be matched with prison release
records in NCRP where prison release type was death NCRP and Capital Punishment
- Data is received from all 50 states about those on death row, executed, or commuted - In 2009, only 63% of prisons on death row reported to Capital Punishment could be
matched with prison records in NCRP where the inmate had a sentence of death NCRP and NPS NCRP parole and Annual Parole Survey
- In all cases NCRP participation will need to increase to 50 states or assumptions will be made for generalizations at a national level
One attendee mentioned how offenders that have died have their records expunged, which makes system sense, but isn’t helpful for research purposes
o Data Issues within NCRP Most often a result of criminal justice system not understanding how the states collect data
- For example, was race/ethnicity self‐report? Was it indicated by police officer? - Life sentences: huge drop in 2010, but huge increase in life with additional years
Attendee: there is virtually no direction given (in smaller research offices at least) about how these things should be reported; makes sense that with staffing changes information would be reported differently - BJS site liaison should be contacted to provide context and clarify
Cross state comparison and enhancements - Challenge: developing instruments across several agencies, definitions cannot be so
specific and burdensome, but at the same time we need to know if we are missing critical elements that everyone needs
- Instrument collection is difficult; NCRP is better method; automating data reports is only strategy that avoids certain errors
- Variety in the way states count : For example, CA NCRP data will change significantly for non‐non‐non shift from prison to jail (i.e., realignment), NCRP does not measure jail stays
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- Let BJS know if they are missing something important (e.g., counting walk‐aways from work release separately from escape from prison walls)
- Notes section in any reports: people reporting data to BJS should use that to put reasons why numbers will not be comparable to prior years (BJS will footnote this in reports)
VI. Breakout Sessions #2 • Research Exchange (presentations by participants)
o Tama Celi, Research & Forecast Manager, Virginia DOC: Simulation forecast model in VA o See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting
Competing models (adults and juvenile jails) Old model: abolishment of Parole and change in policy When looked at numbers they did not have normal distributions so they did not have
accurate forecasting; started from scratch to develop new forecasting model Used estimated release date of 37,000 offenders and most current sentence/length of stay
(LOS) information Special calculations are built on probabilities; only use a year to account for change in
administrations; would like to have most recent information Includes good time expected release date (ERD), admissions entered on day one; new court
commitments plus parole violators equals total admissions Testing the new model
- Took actual admissions for known period and ran three scenarios New model better able to capture change
- Have customized output that they can use - Yields spreadsheets and has more detailed information (gender, crime type) - Every year when running model they can go back in time to see if it is being run
correctly - Trials (n=30) give them confidence interval and they can show that this is where they
are headed Useful for other studies (e.g., looking as sexually violent predator releases) Useful for legislative scenarios (e.g., what if we change good time): can change model to
account for changes, determine resource allocations, and support reentry planning Q: Were samples chosen randomly?
- A: Samples were based on specified profiles; want to get a randomized sample and allow it to reflect changes; current policy was used to make forecasts
o Deborah Kerschner, Director, Planning and Performance, Minnesota DOC: Three published studies
o See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting Impact of Prison Visitation
- Allowed offenders to receive emails but not to send emails - Greater visitation rates indicated lower recidivism rates
InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IF) Evaluation - Male program by Prison Fellowship Ministries - Mentors follow up with participants as they transition into the community - Therapeutic community, continuum of care, and focus on criminogenic needs
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- Reduction in recidivism was fairly consistent; not dependent on background but dependent on their risk (only high and medium risk saw reduction, however low risk did not have negative effect)
Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCOSA) - Group of sex offenders that have a high recidivism rate - Volunteers help support offenders before their release - Release of sex offenders: intensive risk assessment process, MnCOSA target towards
level 2 who had a high rate of recidivism - Randomized control; N=62 (31 in each group) - Significant reduction in 3 of 5 measures; demonstrated cost benefit savings, return on
investment was 82% Other projects on MN DOC website
- Information on boot camp reduction on recidivism and savings - Prisoner Reentry; recently started TPC initiative
o Pamela Jenkins, IT Applications Manager, Business and Technology Applications, North Carolina
Department of Public Safety: Justice Reinvestment Act in North Carolina JRI Policy: worked with CSG (detailed information on CSG website)
- Prison population increased by 29%, spending 68% more from 2000‐current; estimated to increase by 2020
- Many inmates were released from incarceration without supervision; offenders were not necessarily released by their risk or needs
- JRI: expected to save $293 million over next 6 years; invested $4 million into community programs
NC one of few states to use state prison to house misdemeanants; less than 180 days served in county jail
Expanded post released supervision (serious and violent felonies) to 12 months of supervision
All sex offenders have 5 years of supervision Policies implemented to limit revocations due to technical revocations Introduced 90 day period of confinement in response to violation; offender can serve this
for two periods before full revocation - Can be served in a regular facility or medium security facility; there are four types of
programs that inmates receive - Counted as a new admission, but flagged for specific reason so it can be tracked - Two to three day dips: project HOPE kind of thinking, immediate sanctions
Risk assessment process put in place in 2010 High risk offenders may need added supervision, but add short periods (electric monitoring,
house arrest); delegated authority to probation to use the “quick dip”; if they are messing up and implement two or three days of confinement in county jail, not complete revocation
If offender completes certain criteria, they can then get out at roughly 80% of the minimum sentence
Discussion regarding the confinement centers possibly being separate entities run by DOC - Dec 1, 2011, automated tracking: working with CSG for dashboard tracking - Track key elements for each data element related to the policies that were implemented
to show if changes are working Working on identifying outcome measures, entries, and exits broken down by reasons, and
counting all information to see distribution across entire offender population
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• Ryan Kling and Jeremy Luallen, Abt Associates: Detailed follow‐up discussion of NCRP term‐record
data processing o Q: CA moving to a life number (already matches all historic unique IDs) ‐would that be of value
to do the term work? A lot of states have done some of this work; yes, it would be helpful and easier In addition to NCRP file, submit the life file (do not need to unpack term record and then
repack it – saves time and reduces likelihood of error) If easier, submit term records rather than release, admission files, etc. There are options, will need to think about separate documentation, decision rules, coding,
what status trumps others, etc. When asking for PCCS they are looking to get this information into the community – all
states are different, easier they can make it, the better o Q: Writing extracts in SAS, would it be easier to send to Abt in SAS?
A: Yes, do whatever is easier for you; Abt can deal with almost any format o Q: Is it difficult to compile an admission file?
A: Yes, some of the ins and outs are hard to track; others have these as standard programs o Q: What does Abt do when they see inconsistencies?
A: Abt calls states and asks for clarification (e.g., send a few inmates in terms of how the person is appearing in NCRP to see how this person is showing up in the state system to figure out what was happening)
o When working with term files the process gets tedious/sophisticated; errors are caught on Abt’s end and/or the state end (e.g., incorrect interpretations of admissions for parole revocations)
o Variables used in the term file Built from A, B, and D: Strips out essential elements (admission dates, sex, DOB, identifiers,
etc.) Start with the release record, anywhere they can find a match‐look at B and D records to fill
holes About 80‐90% of all information in term records is a direct match from release dates in B
records and admission dates in A records They use state codes, descriptions, statutes (statutes are preferable), BJS codes and
descriptions; right now they are using the BJS codes rather than the NCIC code While not every statute appears in NCRP, they will add as needed States can have access to the crosswalks used and let Abt know if something in crosswalk
does not make sense o Developed a method of classifying offense strings (e.g. drug possession), rather than picking
each one of these, as a compromise recognizing it will never will be perfect Continuously checking to see if things are good; trying to be transparent and as good as
possible Does not do NCIC mapping yet, but Abt will accept it The algorithm gets the majority Abt prefers offenses as disaggregated as possible
- Separate tabs for each variable (e.g., race, offense, etc.) that needs categories o Key points
One way to reduce burden is to let states submit in their own codes, then Abt can put in the NCRP code
States are encouraged to use their own disaggregated codes o Notes for anyone submitting data
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Ideally would like jail and prison data; can help make things easy to standardize Broader issues with race: want states to start using the category two or more races (e.g.,
native HI community would have issue, even if only 1/16 native HI while in other states it may get classified as something else or not asked at all)
Any one person may not be perfect, but the reality is right in the aggregate o Q: What happens in term file if they get an additional sentence?
A: The algorithm will effectively ignore the middle admission date (will look between A records and D records to see if they never left)
A: If even one day of separation between release and reentry it is treated as multiple terms; diagnostics flag if readmitted within two weeks and Abt will follow‐up
A: Lots of interesting cases like these focus on the patterns; program is designed to differentiate background noise from what is systematically happening
A: If unexplained/ambiguous terms exists, Abt looks closer at the data; does not apply the algorithm and goes to the state for clarification (happens on <5% of the terms)
o Three phases for diagnostics: Process all raw data: look for things that should be there or not, make corrections that are
not controversial Construct term records and term files, look at patterns and how things are occurring: will
make best guess to construct a working term file Test the working term file: if this is the file that will be used, assess if it looks reasonable
o Abt will then put all the information together to get a complete picture and go to state with any questions; can be a complicated process
o Option to continue submitting A, B, D files it is if easier than a single term file; Abt will discuss individually when making calls in January
• Dr. Ingrid Binswanger, Associate Professor of Medicine, BJS Visiting Fellow: Smoking‐attributable mortality among state prisoners in the US: 2001‐2009 o Looking at the use of and consequences of tobacco use in prison
19% of US adults smoked in 2010; significant contributor to preventable death Rates are being reduced due to tobacco bans in prisons but there have not been studies
looking at how tobacco bans impact mortality rates; bans have increased since the 2000s Hoping to assess the impact of tobacco bans on tobacco related deaths by looking at
institutional disciplinary codes/policies It was suggested that ASCA ask the institutions to submit their policies Also interested in understanding the secondhand effect of tobacco bans, expects it will
impact things like COPD, asthma, etc. o Of smoking related deaths, heart disease was the largest; other major causes of death were
cardiovascular disease and cancer which can be linked to tobacco use; of cancer deaths, lung and pancreatic cancers were likely to be linked to tobacco
o Looked at smoking rates of inmates in 2004 through BJS inmate survey, deaths in custody reporting program 2001‐2009, and smoking attributable mortality 76% of inmates reported that they ever smoked, 66% were able to smoke while in the
facility Concluded that smoking contributes to comparable mortality in the general population;
many smoking related deaths will occur after release o Limitations in the study
Not clear if general population assumptions about relative risk apply to inmates (given that they are exposed to secondhand smoke more than the general person)
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Many smokers did not smoke in prison due to bans Cause of death coding scheme is different than that used by the study therefore the
numbers may not be comparable Staff smoking has not been studied at this time
o Discussion Clinical care recommends evidence‐based interventions to treat tobacco dependence;
relapse prevention with their release in mind Need accurate information about the cause of death (proximal and underlying; should go
through the medial director) and the cause of death should resemble other national systems (such as CDC)
Researcher thought that there would be a higher rate of tobacco related deaths and was surprised by the lower numbers. Also face competing risks‐ like homicide and drug overdose. This could have impacted the data.
Participant suggested looking at cost‐benefit analysis of treatments for tobacco dependency
• Lauren Glaze, Statistician, BJS and William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: BJS data collections: Community Corrections
• See presentation on meeting website: http://www.crj.org/cji/pages/project_ICRN_datameeting o Census of Adult Probation Supervising Agencies (CAPSA) – project started about two years ago o Main goal: describe the organization, structure, and function of probation in US
Comparison/variation between states as well as within states o National frame‐ not going out and surveying agencies, but using existing sources to develop that
frame (maybe the first ever officer survey in the future) o Last reports about organization of probation were in the 1990s o Nature of probation has changed (e.g., use of private probation, community based correctional
facilities, and independent adult probation agencies; courts as well) o Reviews various operational responsibilities, forms of supervision, and focuses on reporting
felons and serious misdemeanants (not minor traffic offenders, not unsupervised) o Three stages: frame development, screener process, full instrument
Screener will be used to make sure that agencies fall into definition above (independent adult probation agencies); if definition is met will receive full instrument
Full instrument should take about 45 minutes - Trying to understand population served, sources of funding, use of private providers,
community based correctional facilities, secure or non secure facilities Currently in second round of pre‐testing with revised instrument across nine states, working
with APPA and the NIC Probation and Parole network - Will revise again and have a full pilot study in spring of 2013 - Making sure terminology works: agencies versus courts - Full national implementation planned in spring of 2014
If you would like to see a draft of the instrument, Lauren Glaze from BJS will share it o Community Corrections Officers Killed and Assaulted (CCOKA)
Similar to Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA‐ FBI) (e.g., assaults with injury, with a weapon, accidental deaths, and homicides) - Incident, victim, officer, and offender characteristics - One form used: 82 detailed tables separated by type of incident
APPA interested in collecting information on hazardous conditions; pushing for national incident based reporting system - Interactions between officers and offenders
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Currently working on feasibility study: BJS looking to better understand level of burden and challenges: measurement, comparable definitions, if you have your own internal system, item quality, response rates and coverage, sensitivity of information - BJS would be looking at rates to see if there have been changes in time for officer safety - Some interest in this on a federal level is to develop training to address areas of
common incidents Q: What is the reporting capacity of agencies for this type of data?
- A: Would want to show proportion of time at risk versus just a count of incidents - A: This would get numerator, not denominator - A: How would you get differences between low, medium, and high caseloads - A: Some agencies are not collecting “data”, it is a written report; some agencies are
collecting actual data - A: A couple of agencies collect information on “unusual incidents”
Q: Do any agencies in attendance have a critical reporting system? - A: One agency‐ all incident reports are currently handwritten, go to Intel division, mined
for critical event information, and then are fed into an online database - A: HR has access to injury and worker compensation information that would be more
detailed than incident reports - A: People have handwritten incident reports, therefore it would be burdensome to go
back and collect information Q: Do people have any concerns about this?
- A: Agencies have concerns about reporting these incidents; would not want to be compared to other states
- A: Information is often used for political purposes, not preventative purposes - A: Agencies need the information internally, but would not want it released externally - A: Agencies said it would not be informative to know the national numbers of how many
officers are killed as the number of deaths are very small and the agency will always be pursuing the goal of no deaths
- A: Some agencies said it is inconsistent within their state regarding “Critical” incidents and that it would not be consistent nationally
- A: Some agencies collect a lot of information in prisons, not as much in the community - A: Difference between field officers and officers in office - A: Would need to know how would it be defined? “chargeable” event or “critical”
incident (threats, animal attacks) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does survey of occupational injury; other federal data
sources, could maybe do a supplement to BLS BJS wants to at least collect how different states document the incidents to help determine
feasibility Q: What is utility of this for the field?
- A: Several attendees responded that this would not be useful for them o BJS is always looking for ways to minimize burden and to enhance the utility of information they
are providing Q: What is missing that people would like to see (new analysis, further information)? What
factors are important to know in making state to state comparisons? Which states do you compare yourself to, and why? What do you compare?
Q: Is there anything being missed that would help enhance information? - A: Collection of fines and fees
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Some money goes back to court system, which distributes it to appropriate parties
Supervision fees that go directly to probation Some states have supervision fees that are projected and are calculated as part of their budget; if they do not collect that amount it comes out of their budget
Would be useful to see the percentage collected and where it goes - A: Caseloads by supervision type: could be a supplement; states would be able to
provide this information; BJS would most likely ask for a definition of supervision type to figure out national categories
- A: May not be helpful to have just caseload analysis, need to look at actual workload and breakdown by supervision; some states calculate a workload number but there would be a question on comparability
Q: Are people using the data? If not, what would drive them to use statistics? - A: One agency said they do not use it because they capture their own data; they fill in
the survey based on the data - A: If results were beneficial to a state for an increase in budget (caseload comparisons to
other states) they may use the national data - A: Counts are useful, because they depend on state sizes - A: Parole and probation success rates versus national rates; may use this to show
legislature; encourages not to cut positions because what they are doing works Q: Are there elements that are particularly burdensome?
- A: Definitions between jurisdiction and custody - A: Agency is concerned about who is there and who they have to supervise - A: May have double counting (e.g., one state has offender in their jurisdiction but in
another state’s custody) Goal for the fall of 2013 to test some of the supplements; in 2014, the scaled back core will
be rolled out Attendees comment: Would be nice to know when forms go out/are due/who they go to
- Responses could be streamlined if they are all sent through the same contact person: even if a number of folks have to provide the information, filtering the survey through one person would be helpful
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
I. Group Discussion on NCRP variables, reliability, and burden • Rewriting NCRP extraction codes: Abt wants to make this as easy as possible; will be addressed in
annual calls with states along with the questions on the NCRP Burden Questions Sheet • PCCS Key reminders : E and F record admissions and releases
o Can submit in single file or in file that encompasses PCCS terms o Abt is looking for volunteers that can participate in conference calls and review some
documentation on PCCS • Abt will reach out to agencies to get the information/data; DOC researchers would like to be notified
about the numbers as well as they may not currently be shared inter‐agency o Either establish variables or codes for admissions and releases to account for special
circumstances o Guidance as to where directors can put people/how to classify offenders
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• Useful for state to examine statistics for those offenders who are subject to a multitude of supervision terms or sanctions
• Abt will be able to provide technical assistance to handle how each division (DOC and probation) tracks individuals
• Abt will talk to agencies in December so that they can have fields set up and captured for the January discussions related to G records
• Key points: o Need core elements (E and F records) and other parts are flexible o The goal is to be able to have a life cycle of the offender o Social security numbers (SSN)
Linkage to other databases Some states are going through validation process but most do not do this Many states that have DOC data with SSN are linked to health and employment databases at
the federal and state levels: job placement, earnings, unemployment Most states need approval process to release the numbers and are willing to do so; one
state says they have a policy which prohibits them from releasing the SSN number One attendee believed that there are federal statutes that prohibit release of SSN to 3rd
party without consent release - BJS will look into this; Social Security Administration sometimes asks about a person’s
incarceration Abt is looking for one state volunteer to provide SSN information for an Abt analysis; mock
trial on how they would go about gathering information in order to work out issues before asking other states for the SSN
Q: What sort of policy and procedures do Abt/BJS have in place? - A: Abt can prepare and submit a data security plan which specifies exactly where data
will be used Q: Do states have the capability to report level of security under which the inmate is being
held? - A: Yes
II. Issues Sessions: Use and expansion of correctional records (Breakouts) • Michael Costa, Abt Associates: HIV continued discussion
o Segregation issues Can concentrate efforts in one location and provide better care for those folks Confidentially issue because everyone knows they are HIV positive Does not provide access to the same programming as the general population
o Q: What do you think makes good linkages for HIV care for those coming out who are HIV positive? What drives the linkage to care? A: There are large rural areas that do not have access (e.g., transportation issues) A: If they can get released with same providers internally, that may help A: Providers can come into prison to make contact before they are released
o Linkage of data: confidential methodology When offenders are being released they do not have to give information on where they are
going and this makes it very difficult to connect released offenders to care Offenders may not pay attention to the materials given to them regarding community care
o Q: What do you want to know about those going out, if you could observe if they are going into care?
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A: Taking medications consistently (if not, feedback on why not) A: Why they were unable to get medications/to get to appointments/what is the reason
why they were unsuccessful A: Ability to find employment A: Ability to meet their basic needs A: Communication A: Max out vs. parole population A: How many were receiving treatment prior to incarceration
o Issue with resources Giving care to an inmate vs. someone in the community that makes societal contributions Cost of care for the HIV population is high
o Pilot study: if looking at system level care, is there anything to do differently for this population? Looked at two populations: People entering Ryan White care from prison and those entering
Ryan White care from the community (not from prison) - No statistical difference as to who was able to maintain a level of adherence
o What about community supervision? In some states it is mandatory to test at intake; in others it is not Unable to compare HIV population with other states
o What data reports would you like to get back that reflect the status of services for those folks with HIV? Prison Rape Eliminate Act (PREA): reporting of incidents are small because reporting needs
to be absolutely verified before it can be documented Would be helpful to post notification with a number that can be called to report abuse Difference with PREA now, having a zero tolerance, responding to report, problem with
administration of BJS data reports: inmate reports, survey post release, substantiated incidents
o What outcome measures are in place to let a facility know that their programming has been effective? Get data back from Ryan White‐viral loaded CD4 count Database of prescriptions, link HIV population to hospitalizations, prescriptions being filled, Offender information Social supports in place/strong: AXIS IV Mortality reports
o What can you get with RSR? Outpatient ambulatory care, mortality, employment Offender information ADR 2013‐2014 is being launched; client level data who gets Aids Drug Assistance Program
(ADAP) Transition of healthy responsibility Pre and post release adherence Stratify by county level variation, those who have maxed out vs. PCCS
• Tom Rich and Mike Shively, Abt Associates and William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS: NCRP website and collaborative o Demonstration of website
NCRP data has been used in white papers, publications, contact information, etc. Abt provides username and password after signing the acceptable use agreement
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Data provider home provides an overall look at what is available State fact sheet compiled from public website information
- Posted for Abt, BJS, and NCRP once state approves it - Includes information regarding time served, structure, jail cut off (e.g., 90 days to 18
months), state custody total, sentences to prison, system, jurisdiction, facility types, etc.
o Report capacity Time served options to select states and run a report, includes criteria for size of DOC
population, determinacy, good time, habitual offender laws, unified jail/prison, etc. Choose information you want to see such as time served, and it builds that report for the
states selected o Fact sheets
Not currently automated to compare changes over time; instead they are updated annually with important new changes
It is good idea to maintain them over time depending on level of interest/effort All of the information is linked to public sources, non proprietary information Will help folks to get a start on research requested by legislators Ability to find states with similarities Likely to add a hybrid category as more states are going that way (e.g., those that are
determinate and those that are not) o Process that will be used to update the state fact sheets
Make it part of the annual touch base conversation at the start of the year where the Abt team can be pointed to changes that occurred
Familiarity with the Council of State Legislators: annual report on changes Point is to describe the current status and keep historical copies Need to identify the right respondent regarding changes (DOC or the Attorney General)
o Comparisons between similar states – limited number of reports currently; would like to expand Population, gender, age, stock populations for these
- For example, when interested in aging, look at all years, some/all states (can include other advanced criteria) and can ask for total in table and/or chart; you can also put the data into excel and do what you choose with it
Attendees would like to see comparison numbers, such as difference in bodies vs. bed days Currently simple items, but will get more sophisticated and can be built up if states find
utility in it Every report has a disclaimer: Caution NCRP data runs may not match DOC numbers States would like a marketing piece
o Thoughts regarding releasing reports publically Include differences such as determinacy, structure, definition of recidivism, etc. (e.g., high
parole rates in some and others not); only compare comparable states If BJS/Abt set a standard (e.g., looking at admission cohorts vs. release) it sets the bar
- Help directors and policy makers to understand what/how to look at things for various policy considerations
- Every time you take a metric and say how it ought to be calculated and the appropriate uses you have now eliminated the wiggle room for comparison concerns
- Attendee encouraged BJS/Abt to be more bold about developing the corrections body of knowledge
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BJS is taking the first step in comparability: How are the agencies going to use this and why is it important to them? - Can it be used to build capacity and to help train folks (e.g., visiting fellowship in which
DOC staff can apply)? - Use NCRP databases for analytic purposes to inform BJS; mutual benefit for the states - Link between BJS and NIC can be useful
Concerns to minimize misuse - NCRP data are archived at the University of Michigan for public use (with approval
through an IRB process) - Website would eventually be for public use: track what is driving the changes in prison
admissions, who/how are the changes effecting certain populations, etc. o Q: Is there an interest in some kind of program to help bring in people to use the NCRP database
(e.g., a fellowship or jointly funded program to help build capacity)? A: Need capacity building within the departments to start a thoughtful process (e.g., to
show this is not just a single agency issue, it is happening elsewhere) A: Data can help facilitate education and sharing of information across sites A: Need to work on developing NCRP and the next generation of researchers A: DOCs already have PBMS; difference is that NCRP is individual level data and PBMS is in
aggregate (more agency performance)
• William Rhodes, Abt Associates and Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates: Calculating estimated time served using NCRP term records o Abt has developed an algorithm for time served based on NCRP data
Algorithm is capable of handling any set of sub categorizations; two ways to include variables - Controlled variables‐ looking at time served controlling for things such as age, sex - Running on one group (offense group, age, sex)
Not yet available through the website, but will be in the future - Currently available in STATA; attendees indicated that they would like it in SASS or SPSS - This work could be applied to projection research but it is not currently the purpose
Limitations of algorithm - Life sentences: may need to look at release cohort rather than intake cohort - Using release cohort gives definitive length of stay - Someone may enter during observation period but not leave during observation period - Difficult to estimate time served when there is earned credit - Attendee: looking at time served prior to the first release (of new court commitment or
probation revocations) might be the cleanest way Sometimes time served can be calculated using release cohort; does length of time served
have an effect on recidivism; often used in program evaluations - When looking at time served over time (population projection, impact of policy change),
better to look at intake cohort o NCRP
Difficulty within NCRP to see if a “new sentence” is in fact a new sentence, or a revocation - Solution: E and F records to help determine if it is a new crime or failing under
supervision - Will be able to see if someone was on community supervision and went back in, even if
states code it differently; listed as a revocation in commitment indicator; may have a
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different identification number so that it shows that they were on community supervision
- When reporting out data, the average is normally used; could describe dispersion as well as outliers; may throw out outliers
- Many states are submitting only one offense for each offender for NCRP (most serious/governing), does not capture all the offenses
- Also difficulty with re‐sentencing (e.g., come in with a life sentence and at times get resentenced)
Attendee: Need to be cautious, this issued is getting politicized and we try to make language simpler for these audiences (versus statisticians and researchers) - Have to be able to explains this if people are able to pull data and compare states - Have to be careful with situations (such as the Pew reports) where the media is calling
about results, but results are at summary level and simplified - Risk factors are not currently counted in NCRP data
o Recidivism: Feedback from audience SSN would be useful for tracking recidivism, especially across states Looking at recidivism for one person over time and their use of prison time, rather than
looking at a cohort Should not call it recidivism if it is being looked at this way; use different terminology
because it has taken a lot of work to get people to understand the current definition Would be helpful to add this recidivism definition as more knowledge is helpful, but it
should not replace other definition Always need to define in reports how recidivism is being looked at Important to have at least footnotes with the details when providing summary level
information Would be good to look at cross‐state because then you really know if a program is working;
if they get out of a program and go commit a crime in another state the program may not be that effective
Other ways of measuring success: staying longer in the community and/or committing less serious crimes
o Research requests Attendee asked for examples of research that show providing low risk offenders with
programming may increase their recidivism - Attendee mentioned University of Cincinnati halfway house study
Attendee mentioned that you still have to address low risk so that they are not idle, another attendee asked for research on idleness and inmate behavior
III. Closeout • Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates
o Big picture Abt has spent a lot of time on cleaning, validating, increasing participation rate, and
ensuring that NCRP is a balanced set of data that can be used for analysis Would like to generate additional ideas about how it can be used for analysis
o Examples of progress Time served algorithm developed, recidivism enhancements, and linking data to Ryan White
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Data provides a brand new way of looking at recidivism; thinking about what the prison career is of an individual, and what burden does that individual place on the system during the observation window (only about half have spent more than one term in prison) - Release cohort: may over represent the offenders that do return, increased recidivism
rates - Can add in risk factors for more insightful analysis
Ryan White is a great application of linking NCRP data to another database o Future: Two major changes upcoming to NCRP to provide greater insight and better information
Discussion of the E and F records and adding those to NCRP - End game is to help come to terms with a common definition of someone who came in
on a new admission and someone who is revoked - Ability to compare across the states even though there are nuances - Will help with term served estimates that break out new admissions from revocations
Adding the FBI number - Create an index for system with state identification numbers, FBI numbers, and linking
whether or not people are recommitting in other states - Will help with recidivism studies that reflect out of state recidivism as well
• William Sabol, Principal Deputy Director, BJS and Christopher Innes, Chief, Research and Information Services Division, NIC o Thanks to everyone that has been contributing to this data; hopes that everyone has seen
demonstrations of the utility Goals for Abt were to stabilize NCRP, enhance number of states, and expand data
- Improved working relation with DOCs and Abt - Using term records to look at the revolving door
Trying to give back - Certain ideas to inform and generate research - Tools: time served models and NCRP website can help address requests
Information sharing - Expand opportunities to use data - Visiting fellowship programs - Address research questions of mutual interest and benefit to BJS and agencies
o BJS and NIC would like to host another meeting in 12‐18 months Would like to build research exchange part of the meeting
- Volunteers needed
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APPENDIX A: Second Annual ICRN/NCRP Participant List
SECOND ANNUAL ICRN/NCRP PARTICIPANT LIST
NAME AGENCY TITLE
Jay Atkinson [email protected]
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Chief, Offender Information Services
Branch
Bonnie Barr [email protected]
Colorado Department of Corrections
Senior Researcher, Office of Planning and
Analysis Scott Bollinger
South Dakota Department of Corrections Director of Operations
Charles Bradberry [email protected]
South Carolina Department of Corrections
Director of Research and Statistics
Jerry Brinegar [email protected]
New Mexico Corrections Department
Interim Business Analysis Manager
Jennifer Bryant [email protected]
New York State Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision
Chief of Population Projections
Shawn Bushway (Participated remotely) [email protected]
University at Albany, SUNY
Professor of Criminal Justice at the
University at Albany (SUNY)
Tama Celi [email protected]
Virginia Department of Corrections
Research & Forecast Manager
Tiffanye Compton [email protected]
Arkansas Department of Correction
Research & Planning Administrator
Ashley Dickinson [email protected]
Kansas Department of Corrections Director of Research
Kenneth Dimoff [email protected]
Michigan Department of Corrections
Statistician Specialist, Office of Research &
Planning Nancy Dittes
Connecticut Department of Correction Research Analyst
Michael Dolny [email protected]
Arizona Department of Corrections Research Manager
Ruth Edwards [email protected]
Kentucky Department of Corrections Internal Policy Analyst
David Ensley [email protected]
Florida Department of Corrections
Chief of Research and Data Analysis
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SECOND ANNUAL ICRN/NCRP PARTICIPANT LIST
NAME AGENCY TITLE
Bob Flaherty [email protected]
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Chief of Data Analysis
Aaron Garner [email protected]
Indiana Department of Correction
Executive Director, Research & Technology
Melanie Gueho [email protected]
Louisiana Department of Corrections
I/T Deputy Director, Office of Information
Services Karen Hall
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Manager, Executive Support
Catherine Halper [email protected]
New Jersey State Department of Corrections
Supervisor, Resource Review & Study Unit
Patricia Hardyman [email protected]
Association of State Correctional Administrators Principal
Ron Henry [email protected]
Georgia Department of Corrections
Analysis Section Manager
David Huffer [email protected]
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency
Deputy Director, Office of Research and
Evaluation
Pamela Jenkins [email protected]
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
IT Applications Manager, Business and
Technology Applications
Mark Johnson [email protected]
Montana Department of Corrections Lead Statistician
Deborah Kerschner [email protected]
Minnesota Department of Corrections
Director, Planning and Performance
Fred Klunk [email protected]
Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole
Director, Statistical Reporting and Evidence‐Based
Program Evaluation Office
Rhiana Kohl [email protected]
Massachusetts Department of Correction
Executive Director, Strategic Planning &
Research Robert Lampert [email protected]
Wyoming Department of Corrections Director
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SECOND ANNUAL ICRN/NCRP PARTICIPANT LIST
NAME AGENCY TITLE Michael Matthews
Alaska Department of Corrections Research Analyst IV
Audrey McAfee [email protected]
Mississippi Department of Corrections MIS Director
George Mitchell [email protected]
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services
Program Manager, Office of Grants,
Policy, and Statistics
Keith Perry [email protected]
Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Assistant Director of Application Development
Mohsen Pourett [email protected]
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Administrator Evaluation & Analysis Unit
Lettie Prell [email protected]
Iowa Department of Corrections Director of Research
Hank Robinson [email protected]
Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Research Director
Rosie Shingles [email protected]
Alabama Department of Corrections Administrative Analyst
Sharon Shipinski [email protected]
Illinois Department of Corrections
Public Service Administrator
Mark Smith [email protected]
Nevada DPS/ Parole and Probation Captain
Linda Socha [email protected]
New Hampshire Department of Corrections
Information Technology Manager
Michele Staley [email protected]
New York State Department of Corrections and
Community Supervision
Chief, Correction Program Research
Anthony Streveler [email protected]
Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Director, Research and Policy
Martha Torney [email protected]
Hawaii Department of Public Safety
Deputy Director for Administration
Jennifer Turner [email protected]
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services
Research & Evaluation Analyst
Steve Van Dine [email protected]
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
Chief, Bureau of Research and Evaluation
Robert Wolfe [email protected]
West Virginia Division of Corrections
Criminal Justice Specialist
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SECOND ANNUAL ICRN/NCRP PARTICIPANT LIST
NAME AGENCY TITLE John Woodlock
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Business & Technology Applications Manager
ATTENDEES REPRESENTING THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS NAME AGENCY TITLE
Ingrid Binswanger [email protected]
Division of General Internal Medicine, University of
Colorado School of Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine, BJS Visiting Fellow
Ann Carson [email protected]
Bureau of Justice Statistics Statistician
Lauren Glaze [email protected]
Bureau of Justice Statistics Statistician
William Sabol [email protected]
Bureau of Justice Statistics Principal Deputy Director
ATTENDEES REPRESENTING NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS, FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS
NAME AGENCY TITLE Jennifer Batchelder [email protected]
Federal Bureau of Prisons Supervisory Research Analyst
Christopher Innes [email protected]
National Institute of Corrections
Chief, Research and Information Services Division
ATTENDEES REPRESENTING ABT ASSOCIATESMichael Costa
Gerry Gaes [email protected]
Ryan Kling [email protected]
Jeremy Luallen (participated remotely)
William Rhodes [email protected]
Tom Rich [email protected]
Michael Shively [email protected]
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ATTENDEES REPRESENTING THE CRIME AND JUSTICE INSTITUTE NAME TITLE
Kristy Pierce‐Danford [email protected]
Associate
Brandon Miles [email protected]
Research Assistant
Kristen Nielsen [email protected]
Project Assistant
Gabriella Priest [email protected]
Research Assistant
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APPENDIX B: Second Annual ICRN/NCRP Agenda
SECOND ANNUAL INSTITUTIONAL CORRECTIONS RESEARCH NETWORK (ICRN)/
NATIONAL CORRECTIONS REPORTING PROGRAM (NCRP) DATA PROVIDERS MEETING AGENDA
October 29th 8:30am‐5:00pm and October 30th 8:30am‐12:00pm
National Corrections Academy (NCA), 11900 E. Cornell Ave, Aurora, Colorado 80014
Sunday October 28th 7:00‐9:00pm Informal gathering in DoubleTree Hotel lobby area; NCRP website demonstration Monday October 29th
6:00‐8:00 Breakfast at DoubleTree Hotel (provided)
7:30‐8:00 Bus transfers to NCA meeting facility
8:30‐9:00 Welcome and introductions • William J. Sabol, Ph.D., Principal Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) • Christopher A. Innes, Ph. D., Chief, Research and Information Services Division, National Institute
of Corrections (NIC) • Kristy Pierce‐Danford, MPA, Associate, Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ
9:00‐9:45 Keynote speaker • Shawn D. Bushway, Ph.D., Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Criminal Justice and
Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany (SUNY) ‘The iconic “age‐crime” curve meets mass incarceration – Describing and then explaining changes in the U.S. prison population’
9:45‐10:00 Break
10:00‐12:00 Current efforts to improve the reliability and uses of the NCRP • Tom Rich, Jeremy Luallen, William Rhodes, Michael Costa, Abt Associates; Gerry Gaes,
Consultant to Abt Associates • Ann Carson, BJS
12:00‐1:00 Lunch (provided) • Presentation by NIC information center
1:00‐2:00 New initiatives: Collection of post‐confinement community supervision records and proposed variables for NCRP
• Ryan Kling and Michael Shively, Abt Associates • Ann Carson, BJS
2:00‐2:30 Break/reconfiguration of room
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2:30‐3:30 Breakout Sessions #1: • Cross‐state recidivism: Results from the BJS recidivism study (William J. Sabol, BJS) • Detailed follow‐up discussion of new initiative on post‐confinement community supervision
(Michael Shively and Tom Rich, Abt Associates) • The Association of State Correctional Administrator’s Performance Based Management System
(PBMS); Discussion and questions about the PBMS (Patricia Hardyman, Association of State Correctional Administrators and Robert Lampert, Wyoming Department of Corrections)
• BJS Data Collections: Institutional corrections (Ann Carson and Lauren Glaze, BJS)
3:30‐3:45 – Break
3:45‐5:00 – Breakout Sessions #2 • Research exchange (Presentations by participants Deborah Kerschner‐ Minnesota, Tama Celi‐
Virginia, and Pam Jenkins‐ North Carolina) • Detailed follow‐up discussion of NCRP term‐record data processing (Ryan Kling and Jeremy
Luallen, Abt Associates) • Smoking‐attributable mortality among state prisoners in the United States: 2001‐2009 (Dr.
Ingrid Binswanger, University of Colorado School of Medicine and BJS Visiting Fellow) • BJS Data Collections: Community corrections (Lauren Glaze, William J. Sabol, BJS)
5:00‐5:30 Bus transfers to DoubleTree Hotel
6:00‐7:30 Dinner at DoubleTree Hotel (provided)
Tuesday October 30th
6:00‐8:00 Breakfast at DoubleTree Hotel (provided)
7:30‐8:00 Bus transfers to NCA meeting facility
8:30‐9:30 Group discussion on NCRP variables, reliability, and burden
9:30‐9:45 – Break/reconfiguration of room
9:45‐10:45 Issues sessions: Use and expansion of correctional records • HIV continued discussion (Michael Costa, Abt Associates) • NCRP website and collaborative (Tome Rich, Mike Shively, Abt Associates) • Calculating estimated time served using NCRP term records (William Rhodes, Abt Associates;
Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates) • Open question and answer session on the submission and use of data in BJS collections (Lauren
Glaze, Ann Carson, BJS; Ryan Kling, Jeremy Luallen, Abt Associates)
10:45‐11:00 – Break/reconfiguration of room
11:00‐12:00 Closeout • William J. Sabol, Ph.D., Principal Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics • Christopher A. Innes, Ph. D., Chief, Research and Information Services Division, National Institute
of Corrections • Gerry Gaes, Consultant to Abt Associates
12:00‐12:30 Bus transfers to hotel/airport
Thereafter, transportation between the hotel and airport will be provided each half hour.