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    Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program - FY 2015 Funding Overview

    Event Type: 
    Training Delivery - Webinar
    Thursday Mar 12, 2015 - 02:00pm to 03:00pm EDT
    Event Description: 

    Please join the Bureau of Justice Assistance for a webinar about the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI). BCJI supports data-driven, research-informed and community-oriented strategies to address targeted crime issues in neighborhoods. Applications are due April 20 for FY 2015 grants in two categories. The webinar will cover background on the core elements of BCJI and an overview of the FY 2015 funding opportunity. We encourage you to read the new solicitation prior to the session: BCJI 2015 Solicitation

    Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions. Speakers include:

    • Alissa Huntoon, Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance
    • Julia Ryan, Community Safety Initiative Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

    Please click here to register.

    Program Areas: 
    Crime Prevention
    Law Enforcement
    Groups audience: 
    - Private group -
    February 23, 2015

    Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) is seeking responses to two requests for proposals (RFPs) to provide technical assistance (TA) to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC).

    The chosen provider will support ODRC TA to develop a centralized data repository that will gather, aggregate, and make available relevant probation data for state and local decisionmakers. The Provider will work with ODRC, in consultation with key stakeholders, to determine the use-cases, functionality, and other necessary components of the repository. The TTA will also include an implementation plan that stakeholders can execute to adopt recommendations. For information on ODRC, the TA deliverables, instructions to apply, and criteria used to evaluate each response, click here to view the RFP. 

    The Oregon CJC is seeking TA from a multi-disciplinary team to develop a plan for implementing a successful evidence-based sentencing model in two counties, measure performance, and conduct process evaluations. The Oregon CJC seeks to further the goals of Oregon’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative while creating a system that could be replicated in other counties around the state. For more information on the Oregon CJC, the TA deliverables, instructions to apply, and criteria used to evaluate each response, click here to view the RFP.

    If you have any questions, please contact BJA Project Coordinator James Lah at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov or 1-833-872-5174. All responses for both RFPs are due by 5 p.m. EST on March 20, 2015. 

    February 09, 2015

    Please join the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) webinar, “Basics of Evaluation for Practitioners,” on Wednesday, February 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. This webinar will describe the key components of SPI in the context of research and evaluation. In addition, the webinar will review different types of evaluation and data collection, and how evaluation fits into the problem-solving process (i.e., the SARA model).

    Dr. Natalie Kroovand Hipple, SPI Subject Matter Expert and assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Indiana University, will be the presenter for this webinar. She will address how to assess the evaluability of an intervention, including key questions to consider and possible obstacles to conducting an evaluation. She will also discuss examples of SPI evaluations which occurred in the Philadelphia, PA; Los Angeles, CA; and Reno, NV SPI sites. Guest speakers from SPI sites will accompany Dr. Hipple to speak about their first-hand experiences in evaluation

    Prior to this webinar, SPI recommends reading "Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers", a guide from the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

    To register for this webinar, please click here.

    Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) Webinar – Basics of Evaluation for Practitioners Webinar

    Problem Solving Courts in Arizona: A Template for Changing Behaviors

    Event Type: 
    Training Delivery - Webinar
    Wednesday Feb 25, 2015 - 01:00pm to 02:00pm EST
    Event Description: 

    Problem Solving Courts have been in existence in Arizona for over 20 years. Beginning with Drug Courts and evolving to a myriad of other treatment focused courts for different populations, such as Mental Health -, Veterans, DUI -and the Homeless. This webinar will give a brief history of Arizona’s Problem Solving courts as well as identify the key players - and keys to success. Additionally, the presenters will give an overview of the current state of Problem Solving Courts in Arizona, challenges faced and how to evaluate program effectiveness using best practices, national resources and -- the latest research. Lastly, the presenters will share information about the annual Problem Solving Courts conference held in Arizona each spring.

    Kim MacEachern, the staff attorney at the Arizona Prosecuting Attorney’s Advisory Council provides criminal justice policy research and advocacy on behalf of the 800 state, county and municipal prosecutors. MacEachern has over 30 years in public policy work in Arizona in various subject areas, including nearly 5 years focusing on criminal justice issues. She also served as a Pro Tem judge in several municipal courts for the better part of a decade.

    Susan Alameda is a graduate of Arizona State University, School of Social Work where she obtained both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree. Ms. Alameda’s work experience spans over 15 years in the behavioral health and criminal justice systems in positions related to probation, social and behavioral health services for children, youth and families and the probation population.

    Michelle Hart is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, and a Masters in Public Administration. Ms. Hart has been a probation officer in Coconino County, Arizona for 20 years. Ms. Hart has a variety of experience within the probation field, working with juvenile offenders, adult offenders within the Intensive Probation Unit, domestic violence offenders, sex offenders, and drug court. 

    Click here to register.

    Program Areas: 
    Adjudication/Courts
    Corrections
    Crime Prevention
    Groups audience: 
    - Private group -
    February 02, 2015

    Background

    According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at the end of 2013 there were an estimated 4.75 million adults under community supervision. While this was down nearly 30,000 from 2012, it still means an average of one in 51 adults is in such a position. Those high numbers have strained the caseload of community corrections departments, many of which do not have a large number of probation or parole officers.

    That was the exact problem facing Lee County Probation Department (LCPD). The ongoing goal of LCPD is to increase the number and length of face-to-face contacts with probationers for the purpose of reducing rearrest and probation violations, but with just 14 probation officers and nearly 3,000 cases, its resources were strained. LCPD realized it needed help.

    “The overall goal in requesting assistance was to best determine which risk instrument tool should be utilized to classify probationers in accordance with risk factors,” says Ms. Liza Maldonado, Lee County Criminal Division Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. “We recognized the fact that we needed to utilize our resources in the most efficient manner.”

    LCPD sought assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) to ensure those who needed the most oversight were receiving it and help the department make the best possible use of its resources.

    Cultivating Change in the Probation Process

    To help better understand and analyze the problem, and offer solutions, BJA selected Mark Carey and Madeline (Mimi) Carter from The Carey Group to provide technical assistance (TA) to LCPD. Mr. Carey and Ms. Carter noted from the outset that LCPD was very well-equipped for change—it had a strong leadership team that wanted to improve and a progressive-minded staff. The primary outcome LCPD sought to achieve through this TA was to differentiate the level of supervision based on risk to reoffend, allowing them to spend more time on high-risk cases and less time on low-risk ones. To help, LCPD was interested in implementing an actuarial risk instrument that would support classification of probationers by risk. To this end, The Carey Group spent two days onsite with LCPD, conducting interviews, surveying staff, and observing operations, to see how LCPD could better improve their processes and select/implement such a tool.

    “We could tell they wanted to make sure they did the best possible job in terms of public safety,” noted Mr. Carey. “In the course of our work with them, it became pretty clear what needed to happen.” Although there were a number of recommendations stemming from this work, The Carey Group emphasized the overarching need for LCPD to prioritize its supervision services.

    Review the current caseload and restructure it based on need: The Carey Group recommended that for a short period of time LCPD implement the use of a tool called the Proxy Risk Triage Screener in order to gather information about the recidivism risk of the population typically supervised by the agency. Data from the first 60 days of collection identified 46 percent of LCPD’s cases as low-risk, 36 percent as moderate-risk, and 18 percent high-risk. This information is being used to support LCPD’s reallocation of caseloads and establishment of differential supervision levels to ensure each risk level is managed in accordance to the risk principle (increasing levels of supervision level for higher risk cases).

    Establish differential caseloads based upon assessed level of risk: The average LCPD officer manages nearly 250 cases at any given time, with each probationer seen by LCPD an average of five times over a six- to 12-month supervision period. While the Proxy Risk Triage Screener was used to develop a preliminary understanding of the current caseload, LCPD seeks to establish a long-term strategy for assessing risk and assigning probationers to supervision levels accordingly. As noted by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA):

    “Not every offender needs the same type or amount of supervision. To be effective and efficient, there must be varying amounts of supervision provided to offenders. The more serious or higher priority cases are assigned a greater level of supervision, meaning that the officer will be expected to have more frequent contact with that offender. Lower priority cases demand less time of the caseload officer.”

    Effective supervision requires that officers invest greater time and resources, particularly with moderate to high-risk probationers, while low-risk probationers could use less contact. APPA sets the following standards for case to staff ratios: 20:1 for intensive supervision caseloads; 50:1 for moderate to high-risk cases; 200:1 for low-risk cases. By choosing a tool to help them prioritize its cases, LCPD can work toward achieving these caseload standards, reduce recidivism rates, and ultimately save time and resources.

    The Carey Group’s TA culminated with specific recommendations to help LCPD achieve its primary goal: to begin to implement data-driven decisionmaking into the day-to-day processes of the probation department. According to Maldonado, LCPD has implemented the Proxy Risk Triage Screener for initial probationer classification and is in the process of finalizing a differentiated case supervision model. LCPD hopes to implement the model this spring.

    Both Mr. Carey and Ms. Carter see a positive future for LCPD. “We were incredibly impressed by how responsive and progressive they are,” Mr. Carey noted. “We were extremely pleased with their engagement and level of involvement in the technical assistance.”

    If you would like more information about prioritizing probation in Lee County, or if your community is in need of similar assistance or you know of a community that would benefit from these types of offender supervision strategies, please contact BJA NTTAC at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov.

    To submit the work of your organization or jurisdiction for consideration to be featured in a future BJA NTTAC TTA Spotlight, please email BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov. 

    Smart Policing Webinar - Basics of Evaluation for Practitioners

    Event Type: 
    Training Delivery - Webinar
    Wednesday Feb 11, 2015 - 02:00pm to 03:30pm EST
    Event Description: 

    On February 11, 2015 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST, the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) will present a webinar titled “Basics of Evaluation for Practitioners.” This webinar will be presented by Dr. Natalie Kroovand Hipple, SPI Subject Matter Expert and assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Indiana University. This webinar will describe the key components of SPI in the context of research and evaluation. Dr. Hipple will describe different types of evaluation and data collection, and how evaluation fits into the problem-solving process (i.e., the SARA model). She will address how to assess the evaluability of an intervention, including key questions to consider and possible obstacles to conducting an evaluation. Finally, she will discuss examples of SPI evaluations which occurred in the Philadelphia, PA; Los Angeles, CA; and Reno, NV SPI sites. Guest speakers from SPI sites will accompany Dr. Hipple to speak about their first-hand experiences in evaluation.

    Recommended Reading

    Prior to this webinar, SPI recommends reading "Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers", a guide from the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, available online.

     

     

    Organizer Information
    Event Organization: 
    Smart Policing Initiative (SPI)
    Program Areas: 
    Crime Prevention
    Law Enforcement
    Groups audience: 
    - Private group -
    January 14, 2015

    Please join the National Criminal Justice Association webinar, The Evidence Behind Medication Assisted Therapies and Behavioral Interventions for Opioid Addiction, on Thursday, January 15 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST. The interactive webinar will explore what the science says works in helping individuals with opioid addiction. Additionally, presenters will discuss the scope of the problem, the research behind medication assisted therapies and how behavioral interventions can enhance treatment effectiveness

    The presenters for this webinar include:

    To register for the webinar, please click here.

    NCJA Webinar – The Evidence Behind Medication Assisted Therapies and Behavioral Interventions for Opioid Addition

    UK Models of Policing in SPI

    Event Type: 
    Training Delivery - Webinar
    Wednesday Jan 21, 2015 - 02:00pm to 03:30pm EST
    Event Description: 

    On January 21st, 2015 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) will present a webinar titled “UK Models of Policing in SPI”. This webinar will be facilitated by Julie Wartell, SPI Subject Matter Expert and independent public safety advisor, and will feature presentations from the Boston, MA; Columbia, SC; Chula Vista, CA; and Philadelphia, PA SPI sites. This webinar will describe several UK models of law enforcement operations and response, including a homicide investigation model, a graded response to domestic violence model, and the National Intelligence Model (NIM). The participating SPI sites will share their experiences implementing and evaluating these models, along with lessons learned. 

    Recommended Reading
    Prior to this webinar SPI suggests you read: The Fall 2014 SPI Newsletter Reader's Corner article on UK Models in SPI by Julie Wartell. 

     

    Organizer Information
    Event Organization: 
    Smart Policing Initiative (SPI)
    Program Areas: 
    Crime Prevention
    Law Enforcement
    Groups audience: 
    - Private group -
    January 02, 2015

    Did you miss the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) webinar The Impact of Body-Worn Cameras: The Phoenix SPI? If so, SPI has posted the webinar recording, slides, and suggested reading on its website.

    The webinar features Commander Michael Kurtenbach of the Phoenix Police Department and Dr. Charles Katz from Arizona State University (ASU). Phoenix’s SPI intervention involved the deployment of body-worn cameras, and was developed in response to an uptick in crime and citizen complaints in 2010.  The Phoenix Police Department, with assistance from their research partner ASU, recently completed a process and impact evaluation of their quasi-experimental design study.  This webinar describes their approach and results of their body-worn camera study, including lessons learned, from both the research and practitioner perspective.

    December 19, 2014

    The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) is seeking responses to two requests for proposals (RFPs) to provide technical assistance (TA) to the Metropolitan General Sessions Court of Nashville, TN and the State of North Carolina 26th Judicial District.

    The objectives of the Metropolitan General Sessions Court of Nashville TA are to evaluate current work environment, procedures, and workloads and develop a recommendations report for addressing areas of inefficiency. The TTA will also include an implementation plan that stakeholders can execute to adopt recommendations. For information on the Metropolitan General Sessions Court of Nashville, the TA deliverables, instructions to apply and criteria used to evaluate each response, click here to view the RFP. If you have any questions, please contact BJA NTTAC Coordinator Shaun Ali at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov or 1-833-872-5174. 

    The 26th Judicial District of the State of North Carolina is seeking TTA from a multi-disciplinary team to design an approach for a range of tasks including the scheduling of cases from filing to disposition, and the management of the docket within the courtroom itself. The district seeks to establish an efficient criminal process that will result in more productive courtrooms and effective utilization of courtroom time. For more information on the 26th Judicial District of the State of North Carolina, the TA deliverables, instructions to apply and criteria used to evaluate each response, click here to view the RFP. If you have any questions, please contact BJA Project Coordinator Eva McGann at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov or 1-833-872-5174.

    All responses for both RFPs are due by 5 p.m. EST on January 30, 2015. 

     

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