The Oregon Way promotes positive and healthy organizational culture within correctional institutions. It empowers staff to engage actively with AICs, guiding them toward rehabilitation and successful reintegration. By implementing innovative approaches and enhancing conditions, it aims to improve outcomes for both staff and adults in custody.
PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMIC SECURITY
To maintain order and ensure the safety and well-being of both staff and AICs, it's crucial to balance Static Security, Organizational/Procedural Security, and Dynamic Security.
Neglecting any one of these types of security can leas to instability, conflict, and ultimately compromise the facility's effectiveness.
Each type plays a critical role in maintaining good order and finding the right balance among them is key to successful correctional management.
OPERATIONAL PRACTICES
Resource Team -
The Resource Team approach empowers staff to work safely and effectively with the highest-risk, highest-need incarcerated individuals to dramatically increase timeout- of-cell and ultimately support them to live safely and successfully without isolation. Resource Teams are based in a restrictive housing unit and focuses on people who are self-isolating and other high-risk individuals who need extra support to stay on track and out of restrictive housing. Resource Team members receive extensive additional training, and dedicated project time, to work effectively with the most complex individuals.
Contact Team -
A Contact Officer is a correctional officer or staff person who is assigned to a small number of incarcerated individuals to support their success and prevent problems before they arise. The Contact Officer might connect incarcerated individuals to resources and opportunities, support them as a coach, mentor, and role model, or create events or small projects that make their housing unit a better place to work and live. The Contact Officer has more tools to hold incarcerated individuals' accountable because they are empowered to make important decisions in their unit and can create meaningful opportunities for the population they're working with.
Isolation Reduction Team -
The Isolation Reduction Team is a diverse group of staff members who share the same goals and values. They work with targeted AICs (Adults in Custody) who are refusing to leave Special Housing (self-isolation). The primary goal of the Isolation Reduction Team is to reintegrate these self-isolating AICs back into the general population by taking a staff wellness approach and introducing a sense of humanity.
Activity Team -
The Activity Team approach empowers uniformed staff to work safely and effectively with the highest-risk, highest-need incarcerated individuals to dramatically increase time-out-of-cell and ultimately support them to live safely and successfully without isolation. The Activity Team is mobile, working throughout the prison, and focuses on people who are self-isolating and other high-risk individuals who need extra support to stay on track and out of restrictive housing. The goals of the Activity Team is to maximize time out-of-cell engaged in social activity, programming, treatment, and to support each incarcerated individual to live at the lowest level of security possible.