Oregon Accountability Model

The Oregon Accountability Model (OAM) encompasses the simultaneous, coordinated, and efficient implementation of many Department of Corrections’ (DOC) initiatives and projects that provide a foundation for adults in custody (AICs) to lead successful lives upon release.

The ultimate goal of the OAM is to improve public safety. The model ties together many concurrent and interrelated efforts of the department and its partners into a cohesive strategy to reduce recidivism and help AICs to become productive citizens.

The OAM has six components. Each of these components stands on its own as a project or a part of the corrections organization and culture. However, woven together these six separate components form a fabric that strengthens the department’s ability to hold offenders accountable for their actions, and DOC staff accountable for achieving the mission and vision of the department:

During the in-depth intake assessment, each AIC receives a personalized corrections plan that is tracked throughout his or her incarceration and supervision in the community. The corrections plan is based on mitigating seven criminogenic risk factors that research indicates predict future criminal behavior: 

The department provides targeted programs and services to mitigate these risk factors during incarceration and community supervision. When offenders transition successfully back into their communities, there is less likelihood they will commit new crimes.

A key part of the OAM recognizes that staff interactions with AICs help shape positive behavior. The department encourages staff to influence AICs’ behavior, acknowledge positive change, and provide incentives to engage in pro-social behavior.

Meaningful work is known to contribute to the success of offenders upon release. DOC assesses AICs’ job skills at intake and includes work or training in each individual’s corrections plan. 

Many correctional programs contribute to AICs’ preparedness for work (such as education and/or treatment) and others teach AICs the skills they need to gain employment and succeed in the workplace. Most DOC AICs have a job while incarcerated to give them on-the-job experience.

DOC encourages productive relationships between families and AICs to strengthen ties and increase the likelihood of success upon release. The period of a parent’s incarceration provides an opportunity for positive intervention with families at risk.

 

The department has a strong interest in the children of incarcerated parents because they are at risk for developing anti-social behaviors. To improve outcomes for these children and their incarcerated parents, DOC offers opportunities for AICs to take the Parenting Inside Out program, which is a curriculum tailored to the special needs of AIC families. 

In addition, DOC coordinates children and family events and other activities designed to bring incarcerated parents together with their children for programming and activities. These and other initiatives provide AICs with tools for successful parenting and allow opportunities for AICs to practice pro-social behaviors. 

DOC embraces a statewide commitment to effective transition, including facilitating the seamless movement of offenders from the community to incarceration to community supervision. Eight of the department’s prisons have been identified as re-entry facilities. These prisons are strategically located to encourage coordination with the community. They also deliver the Road to Success transition program, which provides skills-based transition programming designed to address common barriers to reentry.

Connections to the community before release are an important factor in an offender’s successful transition. DOC’s Home for Good project is building a network of faith-based partnerships to aid in the re-entry of individual AICs back to the community.

There are more than 32,000 offenders on probation or post-prison supervision in Oregon communities. DOC continually works in partnership with each county to develop, deliver, and administer best practices regarding supervision, sanctions, and programs for offenders and their families in the communities. The goal is to reduce the risk of future criminal behavior and prevent future victimization.