Department of Corrections Seeks Public Safety Councils' Input

The department has reached out to nine of the state's 33 local public safety coordinating councils with an opportunity to provide input regarding the direction of ODOC's proposed budget for the next biennium.
The first two overview and feedback sessions were March 2 and 10 in Malheur and Marion counties respectively. Other visits are scheduled; all must conclude by April 3. The general question being posed to the LPSCC's is: Assuming the department's funding essentially maintains current service levels, are there programs or services local communities believe we should strengthen and/or reduce next biennium? Your ideas are welcome; please contact Sue Acuff at (503)945-9006.

 
Employment Outlook

 
According to the Employment Department, voters' mandates to sentence more felons to longer prison stints will change Oregon's job market by 2006. The number of corrections officers and jailers will rise an estimated 38 percent above 1996 levels.

 
Work Program Activity

• The tally of inmates who were working the last week of January shows that 56 percent, or 3,605 inmates, were in full compliance with Measure 17. Another 28 percent were in partial compliance. Sixteen percent were idle.
• Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City reports that an inmate crew, using only picks, shovels and wheelbarrows, saved the minimum security prison $3,300 during a needed parking lot expansion.

Offender Stats at a Glance

 
On March 1, 1998, 17,794 offenders were under probation supervision by the counties; 618 of whom were admitted in February. The counties are also supervising 9,766 offenders on parole or post-prison supervision. On March 1, 1,088 offenders were supervised locally under the provisions of SB 1145, excluding rent-backs. There were 373 prison admissions that month as opposed to 247 releases, making the prison census 7,880 inmates on March 1, including rent-backs.

 
Umatilla Prison has Rock Solid Foundation

 
TRCI is sited on solid bedrock, so 270,000 cubic yards of fill was hauled in to create a buildable surface. This amount of fill could cover 162 football fields, one foot deep.

 
Publications Available

 
The DOC Public Affairs Office, (503) 945-0925, has the following publications available free of charge: Quick Facts about the ODOC; An Overview of the ODOC; Common Questions and Answers about the ODOC; Careers in Corrections; The Oregon Summit Program; Capital Punishment in Oregon; A Brief History of Capital Punishment in Oregon, 1864 - 1996. These and other publications are also available on the Internet at http://www.doc.state.or.us.

 
Transitional Planning a Key to Success

 
The time when an offender nears the end of a prison term and prepares to be supervised in the community provides a window of opportunity to influence the chances of his/her success upon release. Multitudes of research studies link effective management of transition time with crime prevention and lower recidivism rates. As part of its mission to promote public safety, ODOC is considering linking with local community service providers and organizations to embark on an ambitious course to standardize and expand the commitment to transition planning.
Some highlights of the in-prison components of the transition program being considered by ODOC management include:

• Designating certain prisons as primary transition centers, allowing them to focus on transition services.

• Considering ways for inmates to save money while incarcerated to prepare for the costs associated with transition to the community

• Offering transition programs and services outside of the inmates' normal work hours in order to prevent interference with Ballot Measure 17 requirements.

• Continuing or creating mandatory programs that emphasize life skills in the areas of housing, parenting, financial support, employment, support networks, education and transportation.

A critical component of the transition plan depends upon partnering with community corrections offices statewide to provide every offender, upon release, a continuum of individualized services and activities designed to maximize the chance of success.
 
Transitional planning is crucial if offenders are to succeed as citizens, neighbors, employees, and parents. The DOC and its community partners expect to continue to refine the components of an effective transition program and present the results of their work as a potential budget concept to promote local safety.

 
Construction Update

 
T wo Rivers Correctional Institution, Umatilla:

• Most of the site roads have been cut; paving will be done later, near project completion.

• 25 percent of the pre-cast cells are on site.

• Most underground utilities are in place.

• The minimum custody building foundation is complete.

Snake River Correctional Institution, Ontario:

• Expansion is proceeding within budget and as scheduled with completion in June.

• The central medical building will open this month with 16 infirmary beds, an outpatient clinic and staff offices.

Work-Based Education Programs

 
A new national study¹ outlines compelling evidence linking prison-based education pro-grams to drastically reduced recidivism rates and crime prevention. These material findings are consistent with the Oregon experience.
Building on "what works," ODOC's Workforce Development Program is crafting a new generation of inmate training programs around a progressive work-based education model in support of Measure 17. The logic is simple and clear. Teach inmates marketable skills through a strong classroom focus on real work from the private and public sectors. At a single site, students move back and forth between classroom participation and "real work" production.
Today over 370 inmates in Oregon's Workforce Development Program are involved in work-based education and their numbers are climbing.
s ¹ Center on Crime, Communities and Culture, "Education as Crime Prevention: Providing Education to Prisoners," Open Society Institute.
3/26/98 westa

last revision 2-28-2000 peg cook