Corrections Today articles from February 2004

Corrections Today archives from February 2004

Kids are kids, not adults.(Editorial)
February 1, 2004... Author's Note: The following is an edited version of the editorial I wrote for the June 1997 issue of Corrections Today, which, like this edition, focused on the theme of juveniles. Although nearly seven years have passed. I still feel the same...

Juvenile corrections: why would anyone want to work in this business?(Commentary)
February 1, 2004... Midway through a recent meeting I was having with a high-level juvenile correctional executive (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) in which we were discussing allegations of staff misconduct, he suddenly paused in mid-sentence and...

Teacher gives students hope for the future.(best in the business)
February 1, 2004... Denwood Barksdale not only likes to teach, he loves to teach. As a result, he has been committed to the students at Blandford High School for nearly 20 years. Barksdale, however, is not the typical teacher, and Blandford is not the typical...

Influencing congress.(Legislative Issues)
February 1, 2004... Several years ago, shortly after I first arrived in Washington, D.C., as a new staff member in a Midwestern governor's office, I paid a visit to a member of the state's congressional delegation to try to elicit support for a project in a small...

Faster HIV tests planned for New York City's jails.(State News)
February 1, 2004... The New York City Health Department was expected to begin offering rapid HIV tests last month to any of the nearly 14,000 inmates in the city's jails who request it, officials said. The New York Times reported that the new rapid-result tests,...

Advice offered to improve Maine's prisons.(State News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The commission to reduce prison populations and corrections costs in Maine has recommended that the state open up 112 new prison beds at a cost of $2.4 million to help provide immediate relief to the state's prisons, the Bangor Daily News...

Does facility size really matter? Myth versus reality on the impact of size in juvenile correctional facilities.(Speak Out)
February 1, 2004... Approximately two and a half years ago, the American Correctional Association Standards Committee, after considerable discussion and deliberation, revised the standards for juvenile training schools (otherwise known as juvenile residential...

Murder rate rises across nation.(National News Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Murders were up slightly nationwide during the first six months of 2003, and gang violence contributed to more killings in some of the nation's largest cities, according to the FBI. USA Today reported that the number of murders rose 1.1 percent...

High court to re-examine death penalty ruling.(National News Briefs)
February 1, 2004... The Supreme Court agreed to determine whether its decision that overturned the death penalty law of five states in 2002 should be applied retroactively, The New York Times reported. If the court's answer is yes, more than 100 death-row inmates...

Assistant professor.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2004... Department of Justice Studies, California University of Pennsylvania California, Pa. The department is seeking candidates with interests and field experience in the area of juvenile justice processes or law enforcement. A Ph.D. or...

General manager.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2004... Prison Industry Authority (PIA) Folsom, Calif. Executive manager to oversee, enhance and expand PIA programs, a self-supporting operation with more than 60 service, manufacturing and agricultural industries at 22 prisons providing work...

Senior sales executive.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2004... Technology Systems International Inc. Scottsdale, Ariz. Candidates for this position must be a highly motivated, well-organized individual with five years experience in selling complex electronic systems to state corrections...

Make ACA your employment source.(Job Bank)
February 1, 2004... ACA's Job Bank column, which appears in each issue of Corrections Today, is a great opportunity for you to reach nearly 20,000 readers with information concerning vacant positions within your agency or facility. The cost is $2 per word for ACA...

Corrections Today talks to first dually Certified Corrections Professional.(Professional Development Update)
February 1, 2004... The American Correctional Association's certification program is designed to advance the overall knowledge of practitioners in the corrections field, promote the capabilities of corrections professionals to the public and enhance society's...

Working collaboratively: addressing the needs of federally sentenced juvenile offenders.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... One of the most common methods for addressing the adverse impact of juvenile delinquency on victims and families is collaboration among the parties involved in the process. Such collaboration helps maintain the balance between holding juveniles...

The challenges of juvenile corrections in a rural state.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... The challenges faced by the juvenile corrections field in a rural state correspond with those faced by other government entities and businesses in a rural state. These challenges stem from a large land area, small population, and low income and...

Navigating your way through class-action lawsuits.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Louisiana's secure care facilities for juveniles were the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice during the late 1990s. The Justice Department investigation centered on quality of life issues, including protection from...

Victims of juvenile offenders: an important component of the juvenile justice equation.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... When the field of victim assistance marked its genesis more than three decades ago in 1972, little attention was initially paid to the creation and implementation of victims' rights and the provision of quality victim services in the nation's...

Placement of state-committed juveniles.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Every day, numerous law enforcement officers across the country raise concerns about the lack of response of juvenile justice systems regarding juvenile delinquency. Many officers see the juvenile justice system as "soft" when it comes to...

Systems change & shrinking budgets: improving a juvenile justice system despite declining resources.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Creating something from virtually nothing, spinning straw into gold, making stone soup and feeding the village, taking a few loaves of bread and a few fish and providing for a multitude of people--these and other traditional stories may have...

Promoting continuous improvement and accountability in community corrections.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... There have been sensational headlines in many states dramatizing the negligence of community corrections agencies to properly supervise their clients. How does a department reduce the occurrence of such failures? One way is to establish...

What works in Indiana: the DOC's Comprehensive Case Management System.(CT FEATURE)(Department of Corrections)
February 1, 2004... The budget for the next fiscal cycle will be cut, corrections departments are receiving an increased number of youths with serious mental health issues and facilities are understaffed to meet the increasing needs of the population. These items...

ACA accreditation in juvenile corrections.(CT FEATURE)(American Correctional Association)
February 1, 2004... At the risk of overusing a cliche: the children are our future. Of the approximate ly 70.2 million youths in the country, nearly 3 million will be arrested each year. And arrests continue to rise. Some youths will be released to their homes,...

Show & Tell: Missouri's Division of Youth Services acts as a national model.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Author's Note: The following article was adapted and updated from a longer story published in the Spring 2003 edition of AdvoCasey, the magazine of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The original article is available online at...

Juvenile justice collaboration in Idaho.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... What are citizens to do about juvenile crime? How can state legislators respond to concerns by their constituents that juveniles are not being held accountable for their crimes? After months of public hearings throughout Idaho by a special...

Assessing and tracking youthful offenders with the Web-based Global Risk Assessment Device.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Corrections professionals continue to search for ways to reduce the number of juvenile offenders in the juvenile justice system and otherwise improve the system's ability to respond to the needs of these youths and their families. One important...

The many benefits of training direct care staff as life-skills instructors.(CT FEATURE)
February 1, 2004... Many juvenile offenders believe that everyone lies, cheats and steals. They think no one can be trusted and that rules and laws do not apply to them. They focus on short-term pleasures--like drugs, sex and alcohol--without considering the...

Welcome new members.(Membership News)(American Correctional Association)
February 1, 2004... ORGANIZATIONAL FLORIDA -- Cross Match Technologies ILLINOIS -- RVJC Juvenile Detention Division MASSACHUSETTS -- L3 Communications, Middlesex Sheriff's Office OHIO -- Sinclair Community College Criminal Justice Department ...

Certification for juvenile careworkers.(Juvenile Justice News)
February 1, 2004... After a one-year development phase, the American Correctional Association began certifying corrections professionals in August 2000. Currently, there are more than 750 applicants (those in the process of qualifying to take an exam) and...

2003 federal legislative roundup.(Judicial News)
February 1, 2004... In 2003, the U.S. Congress actively pursued several pieces of legislation, which if enacted, impact federal, state and local corrections. Of probably the most significant pieces of federal legislation was the Prison Rape Elimination Act of...

Longtime ACA member wins award.(American Correctional Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... John Braithwaite, chair of the Canadian National Resource Group, recently was honored with the Salvation Army's Good Samaritan Award. This award goes to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the criminal justice field....

Ontario Halfway House Association hosts first training conference.(Probation and Parole Forum)
February 1, 2004... The Ontario Halfway House Association (OHHA) held its inaugural training conference for frontline staff working in residential settings. The goal of the conference, which was held in Kingston, Ontario, Sept. 25-26, 2003, was to provide...

Work force issues and trends in corrections.(NIC Update)(United States. National Institute of Corrections)
February 1, 2004... In an attempt to assist correctional agencies with managing the changing work force, the National Institute of Corrections, Prisons Division has focused on work force issues and trends in corrections for the past three years. Issues that affect...

Correctional Mental Health Handbook.(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Correctional Mental Health Handbook, edited by Thomas J. Fagan and Robert K. Ax, Sage Publications, 2003, 351 pp. Correctional Mental Health Handbook, edited by Thomas J. Fagan and Robert K. Ax, is full of information for hands-on...

Navy provides input to DOJ's officer duress system guide.(Technology Update)(United states. Deparment of Justice)(Department of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare )
February 1, 2004... Correctional facility staff are attacked--that is a reality. Between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000, there were 17,952 assaults on staff in confinement facilities under federal or state authority, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics....

Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc.(Private Sector News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... John H. Spyhalski, PE, project manager at Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc. (HSMM), has passed the exam and has successfully completed all other requirements to be recognized as a Designated Design-Build Professional. Only 130 individuals...

L-3 Communications.(Private Sector News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... L-3 Communications has announced the appointment of Allen Barber as senior vice president and general manager of the security and detection systems division. As general manager, Barber will be responsible for the overall planning, organizing,...

Corrections calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... * National Crime Prevention Council and Youth Crime Watch of America, 15th National Crime Prevention Conference and International Forum, Feb. 14-17, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va. For more information, call (202) 261-4165. *...

Wackenhut Corrections Corp.(Profile)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The year 2003 was a benchmark in Wackenhut Corrections Corp.'s (WCC) history in which the company shed its role as corporate subsidiary and emerged as a truly independent company. The transition from WCC to The Geo Group Inc. began in May...