July / August 2016

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 VOL. 25 NO. 4

Probation & Parole Reform Food Service: Commanding the Complexities

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Corrections Forum

Post-release Medicaid Coverage

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Publisher & Executive Editor

Thomas S. Kapinos Assistant Publisher

Jennifer A. Kapinos

JULY/AUGUST 2016

Associate Publishers Art Sylvie Peggy Virgadamo (480) 816-3448 asylvie@cox.net

(718) 456-7329 pegpaulv@aol.com

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The Pulse

Northeast Central U.S. Sales Managers Bonnie Dodson (828) 479-7472

Editor-in-Chief

Donna Rogers

Post-release Medicaid Coverage

Contributing Editors Michael Grohs, Kelly Mason, Bill Schiffner, G.F. Guercio Art Director

Jamie Stroud

Commissary Management Making Buying a Snap Contraband Scanning & Detection Tools

CORRECTIONS FORUM (ISSN10729275) is published bi-monthly by: Criminal Justice Media, Inc 565 Pier Avenue PO Box 213 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 (310) 374-2700 Send address changes to:

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Probation & Parole Reform Food Service: Commanding the Complexities

The Evolution of Video

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NC ADULT CORRECTION AND JUVENILE JUSTICE ADDS KAPLAN UNIVERSITY AS EDUCATIONAL PARTNER On July 12 the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice (DACJJ) announced a partnership that offers employees the opportunity to efficiently pursue a bachelor’s degree at regionally-accredited Kaplan University—saving them time and money in the process.

WE CARE (Wellness Education Committed to Assisting and Reaching our Employees) is an initiative created by the North Car-

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olina Department of Public Safety to address overall employee wellness for the whole person—physically, mentally and emotionally.

Regionally accredited Kaplan University offers online courses and degree programs that help working adults pursue their postsecondary education while juggling other competing responsibilities that include work and family.

DACJJ employees who pursue an undergraduate degree at Kaplan University will benefit from a tuition discount and have the cost of books included as a result of the partnership, as well as have the technology fee of $295 per term waived.

UNION: ESCAPE SHOWS NEED FOR MORE STAFF, BETTER TECHNOLOGY According to a June 6 story in the Press Republican, New York Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott recently released a 150-page report on the investigation into the escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat from Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6, 2015.

An initial response from the union representing correctional officers indicated a potential need for major changes in staffing and technology.

In the IG's report, officers were blamed for lack of proper cell checks that should have turned up the holes cut in Matt and Sweat's

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cell walls, and it noted officers had about 400 opportunities to discover the breaches.

Front-gate checks and monitoring of inmates were among other lapses, the report said. "Staffing shortages are the underlying culprit behind many of the procedural failures identified in the inspector general’s report," the union said, adding that prison safety "depends on the presence of adequate staff assigned to thoroughly conduct each security measure required.”

The union also called for the administration to consider an alternative selection mechanism to reduce the burden on correction

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officers to maintain objectivity and signal that any cell can be searched at any time. the union also emphasized strengthening procedures for investigating and addressing improper conduct between officers and inmates. "According to the report, Joyce Mitchell’s improper interactions with the escapees were reported to management, yet no actions were taken to remove her from the Tailor Shop.”

PROBATION KEY TO PRISON REFORM A 16-person committee charged with reviewing potential reforms to the North Dakota corrections

system recently heard testimony about the state's rate of probation revocation, which may indicate a need for changes in the way that parolees are supervised, reported The Bismarck Tribune. Improved access to treatment and increased access to jails for short-term incarceration, as well as additional resources for probation and parole officers, all could lead to improvements in the success of community supervision. North Dakota uses probation for felony offenses less frequently than many other states, and increasing probation for low-level felonies could improve overcrowding in the state's correctional facilities. CF

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BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

‘Medicaiding’ Ex-offenders

How states are providing post-incarceration continuity of care.

When

t h e Affordable Care Act (ACA) became the law of the land, a situation arose in the correctional arena. The ACA requires almost everyone to have health insurance. That includes inmates who have been released, sometimes after years of incarceration.

Inmates already tend to be less healthy than the general population and often lose access to medical services once they are released from custody. They now need to be aligned with health care, and often that alignment is enrollment with Medicaid.

While the process may be complicated, the success of doing so 8 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

has been experienced in the 31 states (and Washington, DC) that expanded access to Medicaid under the ACA. Nick Little, vice president of Strategic Contracting & Compliance at Wexford Health Sources, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based provider of correctional health care, notes that with the passing of the ACA, most inmates qualify for Medicaid benefits “as long as their state approves the expansion of its Medicaid-eligible population.”

Inmates often enter a facility with a substance abuse disorder or a mental illness, and the demographic tends to have high rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and infectious diseases such as hepati-

tis and HIV. Continuity of care has long been an issue with the inmate population, but the ACA and Medicaid enrollment has had a significant impact on that. For example, says Little, “ACA Medicaid coverage reduces the duplication of medical services for chronically ill inmates” and “increased Medicaid coverage reduces the number of emergency room visits for general and/or specialty care.”

Martha Harbin, director of External Relations at Corizon Health, says “There is increasing awareness of the importance of a successful re-entry program to reducing recidivism, and many clients are including more discharge-planning positions in

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their health services contracts.”

The funding, says Little, is arranged so the states that did expand Medicaid eligibility will receive a 100% federal funds match through 2017. (In 2020, that rate will diminish to 90%.)

This match “is a significantly greater percentage than anything that has been provided in the past. State correctional agencies are saving millions of dollars through matching federal funds on inpatient hospitalization of inmates alone.”

In May 2016, the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) released a press release stating that the agency had reached a milestone by registering more than 12,000 released inmates with HIP 2.0/Medicaid.

(HIP [Healthy Indiana Plan] 2.0 is essentially Indiana’s Medicaid).

Qualification is based on income and not disability. As a 2015 Pew Report pointed out, correctional expenses and health care are “two fiscal pressure points,” especially when they intersect. The report furthered that in 2011, states alone spent more than $7.7 billion on inmate health care.

Indiana state law required that the DOC begin applying for HIP 2.0/Medicaid for “all offenders released from their custody.” In order to accomplish this, IDOC moved quickly in order to utilize Presumptive Eligibility (HPE) to enroll offenders. This allows offenders to be covered under Medicaid while hospitalized, thus allowing the hospital to bill Medicaid rather than IDOC. By doing so, IDOC’s health care provider realized significant cost savings and then reimbursed IDOC. According to an April 2016 report, since July 2015, the sum of claims paid by Medicaid for offenders with HPE has been more than $3.8 million.

Other states have reported similar savings. According to a 2015 study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in combined fiscal years 2015 and 2016, states have reported signifi10 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

cant savings: Arkansas ($2.8 million), Colorado ($10 million), Kentucky ($16.4 million), and Michigan ($19.2 million). Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska advocated expanding the state’s Medicaid program anticipating that in 2016, $4.1 million in federal reimbursements would be realized from inmate inpatient health costs alone. According to the study, the state auditor in Massachusetts reviewed correctional health costs from 2011 and 2012. She found that over that period, the state had failed to submit claims for roughly $11.6 million in eligible services. These lost reimbursements were divided between county jails ($7.6 million) and state facilities ($4.1 million).

State-to-state Differences The enrollment process is not universal. Corizon’s Harbin says, “There is no standard process for aligning inmates with Medicaid services. Medicaid coverage eligibility varies from state to state as do the services that prisons and jails have the staffing and funding to provide. For example, after passage of the Affordable Care Act, some of our clients invited Navigators into their facilities to enroll patients while other communities did not have Navigators available.”

Inmates who are in custody are not eligible for Medicaid coverage (unless they are hospitalized), and if they are on Medicaid upon arrival, that coverage is suspended until the time at which they are released. IDOC screens each offender who enters the Department using a daily report and master tracking database.

Those tools are used by the facility’s Medicaid Processing Unit to fulfill one of HIP 2.0’s requirements, which involves reporting offenders who have active coverage to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) for suspension. Upon notification, FSSA completes a status

change, and the offender’s coverage is suspended throughout incarceration. (Coverage can be easily reactivated upon the inmate’s release.) In an effort to facilitate the on-boarding process, IDOC implemented the Medicaid Processing Unit, which completes Medicaid applications on behalf of all offenders 60 days before release.

As part of the re-entry process, the unit’s staff encourages offenders who are about to be released to use their coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatments in addition to their medical needs.

Transitional Case Management Program Krissi Khokhobashvili, Public Information Officer at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) explains that their facilities’ reentry plan begins about 120 days prior to release when the Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) uses contracted social workers to provide Transitional Case Management Program (TCMP) for inmates transitioning back into the community. TCMP provides services in two components: institutional based and community based. There are 68 case workers statewide who help inmates with the applications for Medi-Cal and get the applications to the counties where the inmate will be going 60 to 90 days prior to release. The county then sends back a benefit card. Before release, there is an exit interview in which the benefit worker and inmate discuss the benefit status, which is available upon release. On the institutional based component, TCMP provides counseling, guidance and parole plan services for those with HIV and/or AIDS. This is voluntary on the inmate’s part. According the CDCR’s website, TCMP also provides “pre-release assessments on a prioritized workload for inmates identified as part of the prison's Mental Health Services Delivery System, by way of information

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gathering, and referral to the DAPO Parole Outpatient Clinics (POC).” In this case, as a condition of parole, inmate participation is mandatory.

TCMP also serves as a liaison between prison staff and DAPO's Nursing Consultant, Program Review (Medical Placement Coordinator) to identify and refer inmates who will require continuity of care upon release. TCMP also participates in the completion of inmate service plans and documents the details in the database.

As for community-based components, TCMP develops parole service plans prior to release and, within the first 90 days of release, offers guidance counseling to parolees who have been diagnosed with HIV and/or AIDS. Similar services will be provided for high risk inmates who have been identified as having needs for services based on the assessment tool the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, as well as serving as a resource person to DAPO staff, referring parolees requiring medical placement to the DAPO Medical Placement Coordinator, and documenting the service plan components in the appropriate database.

The Minnesota DOC, says Nanette Larson, director of Health Services at the Minnesota Department of Corrections, “Employs dedicated release planners to assist the inmate with the application process.

We have worked directly with the Department of Human Services, the state’s Medicaid agency, to develop an enrollment process for those who receive release planning services.”

At Wexford, says Little, there are two steps to ensuring an inmate has access to Medicaid benefits upon his or her release. The first is that inmate must go through a process to be enrolled. Corrections agencies coordinate with their state’s Medicaid agency to develop policies and procedures to efficiently register inmates in Medicaid and align them with services. “Wexford Health currently works with multiple states with effective Re-Entry Programs that have policies and procedures in place to ensure as many inmates are enrolled as possible.”

The second step is that the inmate being released will need to be connected to a medical provider working in the community. “Our correctional discharge planners are crucial in identifying medical providers in the inmate’s community that see Medicaid patients and can provide the care that is specifically needed for that inmate.” Discharge planners are the ones who often make the initial doctor’s appointment for the soon-to-be released inmate as well as facilitate the release of medical records from the corrections agency to the medical provider in the community to ensure accuracy and consistency of care.

Harbin notes that in facilities that work with Corizon, Medicaid alignment “ideally begins about three months before release and includes educating patients about the options available to them and helping them with their applications. In the Arizona VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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Released inmates can be covered under Medicaid in 31 states and the District of Columbia that expanded access to heath care under the Affordable Care Act.

DOC, where we recently launched a re-entry program, our staff works with about 10 to 12 inmates per week, and we are actively working with our client to greatly increase the number being served.”

Qualification does not seem to pose a challenge for those in the 31 states or Washington, D.C., that opted to expand Medicaid.

Most inmates qualify because so few earn more than $15,000 per year while incarcerated. (The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility to those who had an income of less than 133% of the federal poverty level.) Says Little, “The 19 states that have chosen not to expand their Medicaid eligible population in accordance with the ACA are not able to receive federal matching funds for inmates that are admitted to a community hospital.” They are also not eligible to receive federal funding for additional community programs such as mental health, substance abuse treatment, etc.

‘Unique Challenges’ The process is not simple.

“Enrolling inmates in Medicaid presents a number of unique 12 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

challenges,” says Little. For one, Medicaid requires having a mailing address and very often an inmate’s address changes from institution to institution, or they do not have a permanent address when they are released into the community. Larson agrees. A serious challenge is “finding housing for persons with felony histories and mental health and medical challenges.”

There is also the matter of follow-through on the inmate’s part to keep the appointment and see the community physician, which is necessary for success “but not always a guarantee.” In addition, there is the concern of finding specialty providers that meets the specific needs of the inmate in their community. Harbin points out that the ACA has provided a bridge to released inmates and health care; however, “Even in those states, instituting changes in both the correction and Medicaid agencies is challenging.

Some states, such as Arizona, Colorado and Oregon have made significant efforts to align processes.” She furthers that the goal is for those who are now eligible for

Medicaid or other insurance to have better access to primary care services upon release so they will be better able to manage chronic conditions. “Continuity of care is particularly important for those with mental illnesses. Without access to regular health care and necessary medications, they often decompensate and wind up back in the criminal justice system.”

A critical aspect for success, stresses Little, is coordination between the various state agencies. “At a minimum, the correction agency and Medicaid agency need to agree on policies. In many states the human services agency does the Medicaid enrollment, so they need to be involved.” Harbin furthers, “An important role for the correctional health care provider is to help ensure that individuals leaving the criminal justice system have their personal medical histories. Often, the correctional health care provider has been the patient’s only consistent primary care provider and may possess the most complete history.

Successful application for coverage often requires documentation of conditions.” J

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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Making Buying A

SSna napp

From kiosks to card readers to must-have snacks, here are products that cash in on commissary sales.

The ACA Show is set for the first week in August and companies are scrambling to get their latest new commissary offerings ready to show to corrections management—whether it’s software or hardware that makes purchasing easier, and keeps the trust fund instantly up to date, or items for purchase that sell well and bolster funds for the facility.

Value-Added Vending People like to have immediate access to their money. If the ATM is down, the bank is closed, a refund is in the mail or a web site is temporarily offline, it’s always a source of frustration. Inmates and their families and friends are no exception.

To overcome that frustration, Microtronic is introducing its 14 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

The Microtronic RFID reader for vending machines with optional antennas are the only ones with no moving parts, so there’s nothing to break down.

Guest Station Kiosk for Visitor Vending, which enhances its current Cash and Cash/Credit Card Loading Stations and Card Dispenser. The kiosk allows visitors to purchase an RFID card, which can be retrofitted with its contactless reader, and add value with cash and then take the card

into visitation as the only means of payment at vending machines.

Importantly, when leaving the facility, visitors can now obtain an instant refund at the kiosk for the balance on their card, which has not been the case in the past.

“This greatly increases satisfaction and ease of use for both visitors and management,” says Terri Starnes-Bryant, president, sales.

An announcement of note, Microtronic Cashless has now been integrated with Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) for use with their Offender Funds Administration. ATG’s cloudenabled Offender Funds Administration (OFA) is specifically designed to manage offender funds and trust accounts for institutions, and communitybased correction facilities. “It incorporates sophisticated trans-

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reports included with the system allow users to analyze information from any perspective and the system also supports use of third-party analytical software.”

(While it is their first integration, Microtronic is not exclusive to ATG and can integrate into any inmate trust account system.)

One advantage that sets them apart, continues Starnes-Bryant, is the RFID readers for the vending system. “Our RFID readers are the only ones with no moving parts, so nothing to break down.

We’ve literally only replaced one reader in 10 years that died. It’s that robust a system.”

This makes life easier for corrections clients because the Visitor Vending is made more convenient and more secure. “Many facilities that we have converted were allowing visitors to bring tokens

card is captured by the kiosk to be recycled for further use.

Doubling Up Instant gratification is one reason people enjoy making purchases. With Trinity Services Group’s new Dual Screen Kiosk, multiple inmates can place commissary orders, check their account balance and perform other kiosk tasks at the same time, therefore eliminating inmate wait times in the pods and minimizing the security issues that go along with that process. The commissary leader is also in the process of beta testing a new Trust Fund Software that will debut at ACA. “This industry-leading software combines the best features of our current systems, Cobra Banker,

In today’s environment delivering timely information to all inmates is a very important aspect of any solution.

The Microtronic Guest Station/Refund Kiosk permits visitors to load the card for use at vending during a visit and to get a refund when they depart for the unused portion, if they so desire.

action automation that dramatically reduces the time needed to perform these functions while enforcing consistent accounting processes,” Starnes-Bryant notes.

“At the same time its extensive transaction integrity and security system ensures that the system inherently meets auditor requirements, thereby eliminating many non-productive tasks such as printing and filing daily transaction journals.”

She furthers: “It supports realtime integration with other systems such as commissary, medical, telephone and case management so that inmate accounts are always current. The extensive 16 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

or cash into visitation and staff had little control over it becoming contraband within the offender population. With our RFID cards, there is nothing that can become contraband, since the offenders to not have access to the vending machines except during visitation.

Also, it cuts down the wear and tear on vending machines and virtually eliminates service calls.”

She says that in the offing are kiosks that will be used by those released to obtain the money in their trust account in cash immediately. The scenario would be that staff would be able to load the trust account value onto one of the cards, and the released offender can go directly to the kiosk, insert the card and get cash. This is of benefit to the person released who may have challenges using the standard debit card provided at release at certain places and off hours. Finally, the

Canteen Manager, and Customer Feedback into one powerful, easyto-use software package,” says Mark Dennis, VP sales/marketing.

“It’s been designed with jail staff in mind, making it more intuitive to use. “ It offers flexibility with user-defined settings, it allows users conduct extensive data mining and to easily create custom reports, he adds.

The dual-screen kiosk brings other advantages to the facility.

Fewer pieces of hardware are required per pod, thus less wall space is required. Because it’s wireless and powered through Ethernet, it offers lower cost and faster installation and helps minimize security issues in the pods.

Yet it still has the same features of a traditional kiosk, says Rachel Simons, marketing manager.

Trinity’s tablet (with partner Telmate) offers another attribute: mobility. Its tablet solution,

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Trinity Dual Screen Kiosks give a double bang for the buck.

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installed currently in facilities in the Midwest and Northeast, with quite a few more installations scheduled for the next 90 days, are popular with clients for a number of reasons, comments Simons.

That is, “everything from the flexibility of the installation; the ability to deploy them mobile or locked down, depending on security level; the fact that they are smaller, take up less space and easy to change the number of tablets in a given area quickly.”

“Clients like the fact that by leveraging our software and hardware investment, they can deliver new tools to the inmate,” furthers Dennis. “Primarily, this is to cut down time to deliver information to the inmate—in today’s environment delivering timely information to all inmates is a very important aspect of any solution.”

Trinity tablets provide multiple services including commissary ordering, checking account balance and an inmate handbook at

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no charge to the inmate, as well as paid entertainment services such as movies, books, etc.

Finally, they add, safety counts in this environment, and customers are finding “the investigative side of tablets to be a big benefit.”

Instant gratification is definitely at play here, not only for the inmates but for jail staff alike.

Cashing In What’s better than managing a jail more efficiently? Generating money too! says Katy Melstrom, director of Marketing,

Food options from Union Supply Group reflect inmates’ ethnic backgrounds.

our equipment, we can customize equipment to best meet the needs of each facility that we serve for both permanently mounted kiosks and more portable devices,“ she points out.

“Typically, jails pay no cost for our equipment, and generally earn

kiosks manage four of the five elements necessary for PREA compliance; offer law library connections; manage all communication between inmates and staff; and manage sign up for classes and group meetings—while keeping "keep separate" inmates apart.

“In short, TurnKey kiosks take all the paperwork that used to occur between a staff member and the inmate and puts that interaction in a safe, paper-free interaction that is permanently recorded,” she concludes.

Snack Happy

Trinity Dual Screen Kiosk

TurnKey Corrections, an innovator in kiosks for commissary, video visitation, and inmate email and SMS for several years.

“Our system returns the most commissions to jails because we sell more: we sell brand names with which inmates are familiar, we market aggressively to inmates' friends and family, and make it very easy for people to put funds on inmates' accounts,” she says.

“TurnKey manufactures 100% of its own kiosks right at its headquarters in Wisconsin. Because we manufacture and design all 18 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

more revenue than they have experienced in the past,” Melstrom says. On the software side, “Our GAAP-compliant TurnKey Elite Account Management (TEAM) provides jails with every tool they need to easily manage inmates' accounts, pay vendors, and release inmates with different options that make tracking released inmates' funds seamless.”

“Our highly customizable kiosks are packed with features that make managing a jail more efficient in terms of staff time and reducing paper,” she says.

Beyond the commissary, the

Familiarity brings comfort.

And that is why old snack standbys remain popular, says commissary vendor Union Supply Group.

To accommodate this craving, they have recently brought in over 15 Hostess products to offer an affordable pastry line for the inmate. Favorites such as Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Streusel Coffee Cake and chocolate frosted Mini Donettes are included in the offerings, says Debbi Drewry, Union’s director of marketing.

Following the diets of the general population, the hottest food items available in prisons keep changing to reflect latest nutrition trends and to attract a wider variety of ethnicities. Drewry says, We are also continuing to offer new popular Hispanic flavored items. “Tapa Rosa Spicy Bean Dip with Chorizo and Legendary Snacks Buffalo Wing Cheese Sticks are a couple of spicy winners!”

Our new Beladi Halal Beef sticks not only meet the needs of the halal customers but also come in 1 oz. small jail size, as well as the larger 5 oz., she continues. And for both halal and kosher customers

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Healthier choices are some of the new options offered by Union Supply Group.

Old standbys remain popular, too.

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seafood is always a top seller, Drewry notes. “We have come out with ten new exciting flavors. A few unique ones to the prison market are Fisherman’s Paradise Mackerel in Spicy Thai Sauce as well as Fish Steaks in Sweet Thai Chili Sauce.

“Tortillas are a staple item in all commissaries, however, we recently introduced two new flavors to liven it up. Sayulita butter flavored flour tortillas are sure to be a hit as well as a Sayulita wheat tortillas for the more health conscious,” she points out. In addition, they have recently introduced eight new Comal Hispanic seasoned meat products, in chicken, pork and beef. Drewry sums up: “Not only are the Comal meat products chock full of perfectly seasoned protein to satisfy the majority of hungry inmates, but they are all gluten free and contain no preservatives for those health-conscious inmates. The shredded chicken and carnitas are also made with 100% natural ingredients.” J

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BY BILL SCHIFFNER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

SCANNING AND DETECTION TOOLS Technology that helps fight the war on contraband. he smuggling of illicit items such as cell phones, weapons and drugs into prisons and jails continues to be a significant problem throughout the United States and Canada. However, new developments in scanning and detection technology are aiding in the battle on contraband.

“Security checkpoint screening, including metal detection scanning technology, is also becoming increasing important to more public sectors as well where patron safety is a concern due to the global increase of terrorism,”

T

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reports Steve Moore, director, Marketing Communications at Garrett Metal Detectors.

ConTraband on The rise According to a report released earlier this year from The Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC), a Columbus, Ohio-based legislative prison-overseeing agency, the number of cell phones, weapons, drugs, tobacco and other contraband seized in the state of Ohio prisons alone increased drastically almost 64 percent from 2013 to 2015. The CIIC study also points

out that there were a total of 6,497 seizures in contraband in 2015, a huge spike from the 5,173 in 2014 and 3,963 in 2013.

The report stated that drugs and alcohol were the most commonly confiscated items, followed by weapons such as shivs and other handmade knives, cell phones and tobacco.

In all there were 2,637 cell phones seized from 2010 to 2015, according to the study.

The Ross Correctional Institution had the highest number of confiscations from fiscal year 20102015 with 3,188.

The report also points out that the increase is most likely the result of a combination of more

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contraband coming into prisons and prison officials conducting more searches for prohibited items.

dealing wiTh drones Today contraband is being brought into prisons via staff members, visitors, through the mail or thrown over fences. The latest trend in this area involves smugglers using fly-by drones to drop contraband into prison yards. Probably one of the first uses of drones in this area that made headlines was in 2014 when prison officials discovered a drone carrying marijuana and a mobile phone caught in power lines outside a South Carolina jail.

Since then, prison officials have intercepted a number attempted drone drug drops at other institutions across the country utilizing new drone detection technology.

“Correctional institutions are a focus area for our company and we are definitely invested in stopping criminals from getting contraband into prisons,” says Zain Naboulsi, CEO at Drone Labs, LLC, makers of Drone Detector. He says the most effective way to detect drones is with radio frequency (RF) technology, and Drone Detector is the only system utilizing that technology. “It has a long range, up to 3,200 feet (1 kilometer), and is nearly impossible to circumvent.

Unlike other methods, RF detection can do more than just identify that a drone is nearby. Within this vector we can sometimes glean additional information such as: GPS coordinates of the drone, altitude of the drone, GPS coordinates of the pilot and unique identifier of the drone.

“We can gather enough additional data to not only find the drone but to find its operator, and with the unique identifier we can definitively prove that a particular incursion was done using a specific drone. In other words, we can provide enough evidence for criminal 22 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

prosecution. This is isn’t just a job for us, it’s a passion,” he explains.

Naboulsi says that currently a drone is considered aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) and it is a crime to bring one down. “With that being said, we have many countermeasures that can be employed when it becomes legal to do so,” he adds.

More Funding being Made available Many states are committing more money to aid in the detection and elimination in the amount of contraband being trafficked into facilities. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced more than $1 million to expand the use of Cellsense technology from Metrasens, Inc. to all 54 state prisons and strengthen the efforts of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to crack down on contraband and weapons inside these facilities.

Cellsense devices are portable detection systems used to conduct full-body searches of inmates and screen mail, laundry, mattresses and other inmate property. Since April, they have been placed in 48 of New York State’s 54 state prisons, with the remaining facilities to receive them by year’s end.

At the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman, N.Y., Cellsense alerted staff to an inmate who was later found to have ingested a razor blade wrapped in electrical tape, something that is often undetectable by traditional means given how the weapon was wrapped and hidden in the body.

TeChnology iMproves saFeTy “As threats evolve, so must technology. We have seen technology improve and enhance

safety throughout correctional facilities, especially as inmates continue to innovate ways to hide contraband. Body scanning solutions such as transmission Xray people screening systems that detect objects hidden on or inside the body help eliminate many avenues of smuggling, explains Dana Knox-Gower, director, Marketing Communications, Americas at Smiths Detection Inc. “We work to develop our technology to help our customers meet the latest challenges. Our advanced technology such as the B-SCAN body scanner is some of the most thorough and reliable on the market, helping correctional facilities intercept the widest range of drugs and other contraband possible, quickly, to help keep staff, visitors and inmates safe, she adds.

Detection solutions come in many forms, from walk-through metal detectors to complex package and people screening units to drone detection devices. Here is a sampling of some of the latest products on the market.

MANAGED ACCESS SOLUTIONS Take on the contraband cell phone issue with Securus Technologies’ Managed Access Solutions (MAS). Securus’ proprietary technology casts an electronic net around facilities that

renders unauthorized devices incapable of accessing commercial networks. Reduce physical searches for and investigations into contraband cellphones and

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crimes conducted or coordinated by their use. www.SecurusTechnologies.com, 972.277.0665

HAND-HELP DETECTOR Garrett Metal Detectors has introduced the new CSI ProPointer AT pinpointer. This allterrain handheld detector is used to speed the recovery of small ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless steel metallic crime scene evidence such as bullets, shell cas-

ings, and metallic arson evidence.

The CSI Pro-Pointer AT is fully waterproof to 10 feet, and features variable sensitivity settings, including three “stealth” options with silent, vibrate-only alarms.

The Garrett pinpointer also has Fast Retune, a quick button-press method to tune out mineralized ground, saltwater, or other challenging environments. www.garrett.com, 1.800.234.6151

CELL PHONE DETECTION SYSTEM The DetectTalk Cell Phone Detection System detects, locates and eliminates all contraband cell phones, according to its supplier

a proven way to eliminate contraband cell phones. It records and time/date stamps every detection/location as well as sends an e-mail, text or audio alert. It also monitors all 12 bands of radio frequencies to cover all USA and worldwide cellphone carriers. www.bobbarker.com/services/cell-phonedetection, 1.877.430.4866

AERIAL INTRUSION DETECTION DroneTracker is a softwarebased aerial intrusion detection platform that detects and identifies unauthorized drones reliably by combining multiple sensors, data correlation, and intelligent analytical technologies.

DroneTracker is the complete drone detection and counter-

drone platform for all applications, e.g. the protection of prisons, datacenters, stadiums, and other critical infrastructure installations against smugglers, spies and terrorist attacks with drones.

DroneTracker is being used by a growing number of prisons including the Suffolk County Correctional System facility (pictured), Riverhead, N.Y. www.dedrone.com/en/, 1.650 278.4461

SECURITY SCREENING SYSTEMS Bob Barker Company. It alerts users when a cell phone is detected and self-monitors and alerts users if tampered with and identifies each cell phone by frequency.

The hard-wired sensor system detects and locates cellular activity and provides your facility with 24 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

tion systems, Scintrex trace detectors and Fed-Labs metal detectors. http://a-clear.com, 1.800.231.6414

X-RAY SCANNING Smiths Detection Inc.’s B-SCAN transmission X-ray series is a leading-edge security solution to people screening. B-SCAN can detect concealed contraband hidden internally or beneath clothing, externally on the body. This system features a high throughput of less than 7 seconds. B-SCAN uses

fixed X-ray components, which mean an uncomplicated, easily maintained, reliable mechanical construction with a low cost of ownership during its lifetime. It is also backed by access to Smiths’ 24/7 ReachBack ID line. www.smithsdetection.com, 1.800.297.0955

DRONE DETECTION The DD610AR Drone Detector from Texas-based Drone Labs is a high sensitivity device designed to detect recreational and commercial drones. Smuggling con-

Autoclear offers a wide array of innovative and affordable security screening systems using cutting-edge imaging and detection technology for checkpoint, mail, people and cargo screening applications. Threats detected include explosives, weapons, contraband and narcotics. Their brands include Autoclear X-ray inspecVISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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traband, weapons, and cell phones into correctional facilities with drones is a growing problem. Drone Detector provides advance notice of drones commonly used by criminals. Alerts are sent and can be linked to alarms and security response teams. Forensic data, such as a unique identifier for an intruding drone, is preserved for legal proceedings. Custom Application Programming Interfaces (API’s)

allow for easy integration with existing systems. www.DroneDetector.com, 844.437.6635

CELL PHONE DETECTION Cellsense Plus offers virtually unmatched detection and deployment options for cell phones, weapons and contraband. It’s unsurpassed at detecting concealed contraband including small blades and cell phones, reports Metrasens. Cellsense is

versatile, converting between portable or wall-mounted for screening objects, mail, or searching people in a fast walk-by. www.metrasens.com, 630.541.6509

DETECTION SYSTEM The ProVision 2 with Automatic Target Detection quickly screens people using safe millimeter wave technology to automatically detect concealed objects made of a broad variety of

concealed materials–both metallic and non-metallic. www.L-3com.com/sds, 781.939.3800

DRONE MONITORING SYSTEM DroneShield consists of a small device mounted near exterior and interior peripheries, which users can maintain remotely. It con26 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

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tains a database of acoustic signatures unique to drones commonly used in smuggling, and is linked to a browserbased interface to let users view local acoustic activity in real time. Prisons can integrate DroneShield into their zone-based alarm systems to achieve consistent, complete monitoring of their perimeters, airspace and centralized facilities. Its alerts give advanced warning of drone activity, allowing law enforcement to quickly counteract threats to the security, safety and mission of the facility. www.droneshield.com, 844.8SHIELD

TRACE DETECTOR Smiths Detection Inc.’s IONSCAN 600 trace detector has been enhanced to detect and identify narcotics, in addition to its existing capabilities to detect explosives. The portable desktop IONSCAN 600 will be able to detect a range of narcotics such as amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, ketamine, MDA, MDMA and others. This capability will be important to front-line organizations including customs authorities, prisons and other secure facilities, which have a growing requirement to detect and identify illegal narcotics and other controlled substances. www.smithsdetection.com, 1.800.297.0955

LETTER AND PARCEL INSPECTION The EMIS-MAIL is designed to detect a wide variety of metal threat items including detonators, batteries, trigger circuits and other metal components of parcel bombs without false alarms for non-threat items such as metal staples, paper clips and metal binding spirals. The EMISMAIL is very easy to use and provides a fast and automatic alarm/no alarm signal confirmation per each inspected package, CEIA notes. Its compact, VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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ergonomic design along with the electric and built-in NiMH rechargeable battery power supply allows for independent operation in a variety of locations.

An optional embedded radioactive detector is also available for radioactive material threat detection. www.ceia-usa.com, 1.888.532.CEIA

LOCATION BASED SERVICE Securus’ Location Based Service investigative solution provides called-party location of inmate calls to cellular devices and allows investigators to create geofences around facilities to track movement of called parties that may be attempting to smuggle contraband into the facility.

Securus currently supports over 3 million nationwide LBS requests each month, empowering investigators to take a proactive stance toward this illegal activity. www.SecurusTechnologies.com, 972.277.0665

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NATIONAL CELLULAR FORENSICS Securus’ National Cellular Forensics extracts cellular information for public and private investigative agencies across the nation. Pulling information from cellular devices is an important step in determining legitimacy within an investigative scenario.

Investigating cell phone data often requires more time and resources than agencies are capable of providing. Securus provides the latest in cellular forensic resources assisting customers who need to gain access to data that could help them close an investigation. www.SecurusTechnologies.com, 972.277.0665

FULL BODY SCREENING SYSTEM The RadPRO SecurPASS System is able to detect contraband both inside, and on the body in high security environments, including

jails, prisons, border crossings and government facilities. This device uses a low-dose X-ray scanning system that can detect many types of dangerous or illegal substances and weapons. http://virtualimaging-fl.com, 1.866.288.9729

CELL PHONE & CONTRABAND DETECTION Cellsense has the highest sensitivity for detection of cell phones, whether turned on or off, or located on or inside the body, says Metrasens. The firm offers detection capabilities for weapons such as small blades, knives, shanks, lighters, etc. and delivers fast, full-body scans in a single walk-by, up to 40 inmates per minute. Convert between the freestanding and wall-mount mode by simply removing the base. www.metrasens.com, 630.541.6509

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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PROBATION AND PAROLE REFORM ationally, approximately 80 percent of prisoners will be released before the expiration of their prison sentence, according to Pew Center on the States (2014), and many will serve less than half of that sentence behind bars. In fact, first-time releases served, on average, 49 percent of their sentences in 1999, according to a 2001 research study (Hughes, Wilson, and Beck).

Unfortunately, a sizable portion of individuals on supervision will violate one or more terms of their parole and violations can prolong time served on supervision and even result in additional prison time.

According to a March 2015 report by the Urban Institute called The Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Thinking Local for State Justice Reinvestment, one study estimates that about half of individuals on

N Because a large numbers of those on community supervision either abscond or violate their conditions of release, supervision agencies are seeking ways to improve treatment and care.

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Although projected savings and time periods involved vary across the 17 states participating in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, the report estimates that savings could amount to as much as $4.7 billion over a 10-year period.

—Bureau of Justice Statistics

parole in California had at least one technical or criminal violation and about a quarter violated multiple times, typically for minor violations (Grattet, Petersilia, and Lin, 2008).

This results in an unnecessary drain on correctional resources, notes the Urban Institute report, “especially with the growing body of literature suggesting more effective ways of responding to violations. Accordingly, many states have developed policies that require or encourage the use of intermediate sanctions (in lieu of revocation) in responding to minor supervision infractions.”

The report furthers that if community supervisors, some of whom have the authority to sanction a violator to a jail term, initiate revocation proceedings, probationers or parolees may spend weeks in jail awaiting a hearing. Supervision officers may inadvertently overwhelm counties with probation and parole violators.

Because supervision functions 32 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

are rarely controlled by sheriffs or jail administrators even if they are local functions, the report states, “parole and probation officers have little financial incentive to moderate their use of jail beds.

Limited space in county jails could eventually push this population back into the prison system, as one analysis in Ohio showed (Vigne, 2003).

The report further points out that some counties have responded proactively by implementing policies that reduce expenditures without sacrificing “swift and certain” response. For example, the postprison supervision department of Multnomah County, Oregon, was able to cut its jail consumption by 75 beds by limiting violators’ length of stay in jail. The department expanded the number of sanctions available to supervision officers, resulting in more clients under heightened community supervision, and also allowed more violators to be sent to jail, but for shorter periods of time. The program is estimated to have saved the county over $2

million in jail costs with no adverse impact on public safety (Taylor, 2009).

To assist them in criminal justice reform, leaders in 24 states and 17 localities thus far have implemented the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), a program launched in 2010 by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), with funding appropriated by Congress in recognition of earlier successes of justice reinvestment efforts. JRI, a public-private partnership between BJA and The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a datadriven approach to criminal justice reform designed to examine and address cost and population drivers and generate cost savings that can be reinvested in other high-performing public safety strategies.

The JRI State Assessment Report, released by the Urban Institute in January 2014, showed that the 17 assessed JRI states are making steady progress toward achieving the goals of JRI: reducing correctional spending and reinvesting in recidivism-reduction strategies.

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Of the 17 states, eight had JRI policies in effect for at least one year. All eight have experienced meaningful reductions in their prison populations, and five of them have met or exceeded their population reduction goals.

Although projected savings vary across the 17 states and time periods, the report estimates that savings could amount to as much as $4.7 billion over a 10-year period, according to the BJA. For example, South Carolina’s JRI legislation provides incentives for effective probation and parole management by making the Department of Probation, Pardon, and Parole Services eligible to receive a portion of the savings that accrue to the Department of Corrections as a result of reducing revocations (La Vigne et al. 2014).

Similarly, Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction administers incentive grants to probation departments supervising felony offenders to reduce probation revocations (La Vigne et al. 2014).

Utah’s Juvenile Services Another positive example of supervision reform is a program run by the Utah Division of Juvenile Justice Services (JJS).

Utah has recently engaged in Justice Reinvestment in the adult system, and is currently working with the Pew Foundation to assess the needs in the juvenile justice system. Over the recent past, they have been implementing changes to their program, including accepting highest-risk individuals into their six longterm secure facilities for youth recommended by the court for secure care up to age 21. The Division of Juvenile Justice Services also is responsible for supervising youths once parole is granted.

They have approached the change in population in several ways, explains Susan Burke, director, Division of Juvenile Justice Services. “I believe that successful reentry begins upon entry into a 34 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

facility. Therefore, effective and evidence-based programming and treatment must be provided while an individual is on the ‘inside’ and should continue when the individual transitions to the community.”

Utah JJS has implemented Child and Family Team meetings to develop treatment plans and reentry plans for each youth.

These meetings occur on a regular basis and give the youth and the parents a voice and ownership in the plan. Each youth is assigned an advocate who meets with them regularly, assesses their strengths and weaknesses, and helps to support their treatment and progress.

Utah has also expanded learning opportunities for its youths.

Every youth leaves with two or more work-related certificates, which include construction, robotics, computers, and work place safety standards. In addition there are opportunities for their high school graduates to continue their education through online university and community college classes. “This is all a new approach,” Burke explains.

“These types of opportunities did not exist a few years ago. We want the time they spend inside a facility to be meaningful and provide them with marketable skills so they can be independent adults.”

Maricopa County’s Improved Outcomes Maricopa County, with the city of Phoenix as its county seat, is the fourth most populous county in the nation and has been engaged in reentry services for several years. Under the guidance of Maricopa County Adult Probation Department (MCAPD), probationers are released from both the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Jail. In FY 2015, the MCAPD supervised an average monthly active population of 27,568 probationers and

employed 1,143 staff.

In 2009, MCAPD was awarded a Department of Justice grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop a Prison Reentry Initiative in order to effectively manage the high volume of probationers being released from ADOC. At that time, MCAPD had approximately 8,500 inmates pending a probation grant upon release from prison with about 200 per month being released to probation—and 23% were absconding upon release. The two-year grant funded 15 staff. Within two years, the team achieved a 90% reduction in absconders, 29% decrease in new felony convictions and a 21% decrease in revocations to ADOC, while increasing successful completions of probation by 36%. Since December 2011, the County has continued to fund the Reentry Program, which has grown to two supervisors, 18 probation officers (PO) and six surveillance officers (SO).

Lessons Learned Strategies Lessons learned from the first two years have strengthened our current practices, which focus on engagement and re-engagement, assessment to identify risk and needs, and case plans development to address needs, notes Therese Wagner, deputy chief, Assessment and Development Bureau, MCAPD. Through their program, the SOs meet pre-release with probationers and prison staff to gather relevant information, including their immediate needs and establish rapport with the probationer.

They also meet with families and social supports to educate them about the impact of prison on their family, including what to expect from the probationer upon release.

Treatment is individualized, she says. For instance, one SO is assigned to actively investigate and locate and (re)-engage any missing probationer. The PO conducts a

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risk needs assessment to identify needs and collaborates with the probationer to develop a case plan.

Maricopa POs then collaborate with community providers to address needs of housing, transportation, and health care to include chronic and communicable diseases, mental health and substance use disorders, antisocial thinking and peers, poor coping skills, and employment, details Wagner. “Low caseload ratios and contingency management are additional factors that help with successful reintegration, as it allows the PO to work with the probationer on realistic expectations with adjusting to their release and positively reinforce the desired behaviors.”

The individualized and evidence-based treatment has improved success rates.

“Outcomes through FY2015 show a 93.9% reduction in initial absconders, 60% decrease in filed petitions to revoke probation and an 11.6% decrease in new felony convictions,” Wagner says.

However, she points out the road to success is steep: “These significant efforts must be sustained, as the number of inmates pending a probation term is now over 12,000.”

MCAPD leveraged the Maricopa County’s Smart Justice Committee and the expansion of Medicaid in Arizona as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to improve probationer reentry from the jail to the community. Smart Justice was launched in 2011 to create collaboration amongst County criminal justice partners in order to leverage county resources to improve public safety and reduce recidivism into the jail system. MCAPD and MCSO aligned evidenced-based programming and MCSO moved away from voluntary participation to participation based on risk to reoffend. Primary programming for moderate to high-risk offenders shifted to address anti-social attitudes, cognition and behaviors. MCAPD led an expansion of 36 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

Utah’s Juvenile Justice Services has a mentoring program whereby community business leaders have helped youth obtain jobs, get education or even play college football.

a systemwide Thinking For a Change (T4C) program, facilitated in the jail, and in the community at both MCAPD and a community provider. Additionally, MCAPD assigned one PO to case manage the probationers participating in MCSO’s 18-week substance abuse program.

“The ACA brought rapid change in healthcare and strengthened the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS,) our State Medicaid,” Wagner states. MCAPD collaborated with AHCCCS and the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) to increase substance abuse treatment opportunities for probationers in jail.

Eligibility for AHCCCS is determined prior to release, she points out, so “health care is in place on the first day of release.” Thus, in the first two quarters of FY2016, only 12% of those in need of residential treatment were placed. In the last two quarters, 72% of those in need have been placed and with improved care coordination (transportation, medical discharge summary). “The goal is to achieve 100% placement for

all of those in need,” Wagner furthers. In addition, “over 50% have successfully completed treatment.”

Another important improvement in the County is access to mental health care. MCAPD is making referrals on probationers in jail to RBHA community providers for outpatient general mental health and substance abuse services, which results in timely visits for vital services. The appointments are scheduled based on their release dates and occur within seven days of their jail release. To date, 169 referrals have been made, with 52% attending their initial appointment, Wagner says.

Beyond Programming While treatment services and education is of importance to successful reentry of their youthful offenders, says Utah’s Burke, “Programming itself, however, is not enough. Youth need a connection to the community and a caring adult to help maintain the success that was learned inside the facility,” she underscores.

“Our volunteer mentor program

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has been a key component of a youth's long-term success.”

Through this program, mentors visit the facilities weekly, and when the youth is paroled the mentor is often the person who has found the youth a job.

Mentoring continues weekly after the youth is released, and this person helps connect the youth to other social supports in the community.

Burke explains that mentors are typically adult business leaders who are well connected. The employment opportunities are wide-ranging. For example, one mentor found a youth a job at a mortuary, another encouraged

the offender’s dream of playing college football with support for training and equipment, and even arranged a walk-on try-out at a local college. The youth made it onto the team and was awarded a scholarship to play.

Another mentor helped a youth with an interest in zoology get a job at the local zoo upon release.

The mentors work with our parole officers to ensure the youth is meeting the terms of the parole agreement, and so the mentor can also support and reinforce the continuing treatment plan, Burke explains.

Yet, despite the programs they have initiated, Burke acknowl-

Justice Reinvestment Initiative Success Stories KENTUCKY In Kentucky, the prison population had increased from 14,919 to 21,638 inmates from 2000 to 2009. With an average increase of 4.2 percent per year, Kentucky had the fifth fastest growing prison population in the nation, despite steady crime rates.

In March 2011, Kentucky passed sweeping JRI legislation focused on three goals: improve public safety, lower costs, and reduce recidivism while still holding offenders accountable. At the time of passage, state leaders estimated the policy package would save Kentucky $422 million dollars over the next decade and reduce the number of prison inmates by 3,824 by 2020. The JRI State Assessment Report notes that Kentucky's pretrial release rates have increased since JRI enactment: comparing rates from the year before and the year after enactment, 5% fewer defendants were held in jail prior to disposition, with no harmful effects on public safety.

Because of this one aspect of the legislation, counties have saved roughly $25 million.

NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina's prison population was expected to grow by 10%, or about 3,900 people, by 2020.

Analyses indicated that more than half of prison admissions were people who had failed on probation. Only a small percentage—around 15%—of the people released from prison first underwent a period of community supervision, resulting in many high-risk offenders returning to the community without supervision or services.

The North Carolina JRI working group, with the support of OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance techni38 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

edges, “Reducing recidivism rates has not been easy for us because our population is shifting.” And because of their efforts to only place the highest-risk individuals in their secure facilities when previously they had worked primarily with low-risk offenders means they are working with individuals who are more likely to reoffend.

“While we have many success stories to share, our recidivism rates have not declined at the same progressive level,” in part because “our population is more challenging today.” However, she adds, “we hope the changes we are currently making will demonstrate declines in the future.” J

cal assistance, developed a set of policy options designed to address gaps in the state's sentencing, supervision and treatment systems. North Carolina's Justice Reinvestment Act passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in both houses and was signed into law on June 23, 2011. As a result, North Carolina projects that its prison population in 2017 will be reduced by 5,000 inmates compared to previous projections, which translates into $560 million in averted costs and cumulative savings. Early indications are that Justice Reinvestment Act is having the intended impact: the prison population decreased almost 5.6% between December 2011 and June 2013, in part due to the state's Justice Reinvestment Act. This allowed five prisons to close.

SOUTH CAROLINA Since South Carolina enacted its justice reinvestment legislation in 2010, the total number of state prisoners is down 8.2%. Recidivism rates have declined as well—the percentage of prisoners who return to prison has dropped from over 31% to 27.5%; and 49% fewer people on supervision are revoked for violations of supervision conditions, and 6 percent fewer are revoked due to a new crime.

Another of South Carolina's goals was to reserve prison for those convicted of violent and serious crimes. By this measure, the State has been successful as well: before the reforms, over half of state prisoners were low-level, nonviolent offenders; only 37% of prisoners are in this category now. Crime has dropped by 14% over the last five years. In all, the state has saved $12.5 million while increasing public safety.

Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Justice Reinvestment Success Stories VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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BY G.F. GUERCIO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

COMMANDING THE COMPLEXITIES OF FOOD SERVICE Food service demands rigorous controls.

Here are ways to handle every facet efficiently.

Trinity supports the requirements of the American Correctional Association and state level accrediting bodies.

From menu planning, through the process of procurement, meeting nutritional and dietary needs, to meal delivery and food safety and everything in between, there are ways to efficiently navigate through the multiple facets of food service. When support is needed, vendor partners can be invaluable.

Trinity Services Group, for instance, enhances food service operations by allowing the facility to transfer the following burdens to the company: Menu development, purchasing, food safety, food service training, menu management systems, cost controls, inventory man40 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

Cook’s introduced the first 8-ounce Disher because customers were serving 8-ounce portions but had to approximate the size with current tools.

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Filling Stations: Optimize food assembly lines, Cook’s recommends, with hot going on last by way of the shortest distance to the tray; and keep the line moving to avoid distracted workers.

agement, contingency/emergency plans, nutritional analysis, therapeutic diets, religious menus/ requirement, provision of smallwares, and lastly capital equipment, according to Chris Watt, vice president. “The facility is able to reduce overall liability by shifting employment burden and inventory responsibility to Trinity and allows the correctional facility to focus on their core business, corrections,” says Watt.

“Trinity is able to bring efficiencies to food service operations through our automated production management system, which provides for inventory management, production planning and control, cost analysis and purchasing,” says Sue Huffman, Trinity vice president.

“Our production system ties all food service management functions together, allowing our staff to focus on actual food production, inmate management, meal service and sanitation.

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Additionally, Trinity implements standardized procedures for maintaining kitchen sanitation, workplace safety, labor management and safe food handling per HACCP [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point].”

Trinity works to establish partnerships with facilities’ management at various levels, they explain. “Our local Food Service Directors (FSD) are the daily ‘go to’ person on all things operational. The FSD maintains open communication with shift supervisors so that security operations has transparency into food service operations. The FSD performs their functions as a part of the facility’s management team, participating in facility meetings and functions.

District and regional management positions provide direct support to the local FSD and work to maintain partnerships with jail administrators, prison wardens and sheriffs.”

Capturing the Complexities To capture the nuances needed for efficiency, Stacy Langin, associate vice president, Marketing, for Aramark Correctional Services says, “At the core of our business, is an unwavering commitment to food safety and ensuring offenders get the nutrients they need.

Our team of dietitians is the largest in the country, and work with culinary staff to create nutritional, satisfying meals for offenders that are customized to our clients’ budgets.

“Creating compelling menus within the facilities’ constraints, managing the supply chain to ensure quality and safety and production can be extremely complicated. Our clients have recognized that they need to focus on safety and security and leave the complexities of food to us.

“Our team of dietitians, using our propriety menu manage-

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ment software, works with each client to design quality menus that fit their individual needs,” she continues. This system ensures that our teams are purchasing the right ingredients for each facility. And, as a national food service provider, our purchasing power allows us to meet our clients’ commitments to the taxpayers,” she says.

“For Aramark, procurement isn’t solely about getting products at a competitive price. It’s about

Are Your Correctional Facility’s Surfaces Really Clean and Disinfected?

BY PAUL SOUTH

Your staff has just properly cleaned all your facility’s restrooms with an EPA-registered disinfectant. As instructed, they have first cleaned all surfaces with a general purpose cleaner to actually remove surface soils and then applied the disinfectant. This “two-step” process is often overlooked in professional cleaning but is necessary to ensure a floor, fixture, food prep surface, or toilet is properly disinfected. If this process is followed, administrators can rest assured, they have done their job in keeping their correctional facility clean and healthy.

Well, not so fast.

We now know two things that can happen when disinfecting surfaces that can negatively impact the effectiveness of the disinfectant. These are: 1. As the disinfectant is used, the quats (quaternary ammonium chloride), the active ingredients in the disinfectant, are being absorbed into the wipes, cleaning cloths, and mop heads.

Aramark’s mission is to “enrich and nourish lives” which begins with a portfolio of solutions customized for clients’ success based on agreed upon key performance indicators.

maintaining the security of the supply chain. Using our proprietary software, we are monitoring where ingredients are purchased and where they are being used.

Should a recall arise, we can quickly communicate with our clients and put a plan in place to resolve the issue.”

Langin adds, “We have a variety of innovative programs designed to keep offenders satisfied and encourage good behavior so our partners can focus on their most important task—maintaining a safe and secure environment.”

“Programs like FreshFavorites provide alternative, restaurantstyle meal options that can be purchased by the offender or their family,” Langin furthers. Our FreshFavorites program has been proven to improve offender behavior. And, perhaps most importantly, we offer offender vocational training in food service (and retail), providing hands-on 44 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

Two things can happen when disinfecting surfaces that can negatively impact the effectiveness of the disinfectant.

2. Not only are they being absorbed into wipes, cloths, and mops, they are actually being pulled into these items. Quats have positively charged ions, and these cleaning applicators typically have negatively charged ions.

In both situations, the effectiveness of the disinfectant is being reduced. This was proven by a very simple test. A cleaning cloth was soaked in a disinfectant solution for about 10 minutes. Quat levels, which were measured before and after the test, had been cut in half after just 10 minutes. In this case, the quats were absorbed into the cleaning cloth. When this happens, not only have the disinfecting powers of the disinfectant been reduced, the product will likely not meet the “kill claims” listed on its label.*

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Awareness and Addressing the Problem If you and your staff have never heard of quat binding, join the club. The director of environmental services for a major Florida hospital admits he just learned about quat binding in 2015. Many in the food service industry may have heard about quat binding, but according to Tara Miller, who works with a company that makes a variety of products for the food service industry, “They may know about quat binding, but most are still in the dark as to what it is.”

However, as awareness spreads, medical, food service, and other types of facilities are taking steps to address this problem. Many of these steps can also be used in a correctional facility. Among them are the following: • Use higher concentrations of disinfectant than are called for, especially if a number of surfaces and fixtures are to be cleaned • If using cleaning cloths and spray bottles, do not spray the disinfectant on the cleaning cloth; spray the disinfectant directly on the surface to be cleaned; allow adequate dwell time for the product to work (five to 10 minutes); and then wipe** • Transfer to automated cleaning systems that do not require cleaning cloths or mops; typically this refers to spray-and-vac or no-touch cleaning systems that apply the disinfectant directly to surfaces, rinse these areas, and then vacuum-up solution and contaminants.

For a correctional facility, automating the cleaning process may be the most effective approach because it is also a faster way to clean surfaces.

However, at this point, the most important thing is to be aware of quat binding, what it is, why it happens, and the negative implications it can have for the health of your facility.

experience and marketable skills to assist offenders in job placement post-release.”

Dealing with the complexities of correctional food service needs is something Cook’s Correctional Kitchen Equipment and Supplies does spot on, according to Candace Meneou, marketing manager.

“Our products focus on three major concerns that our customers express to us: “Durability—because the correctional environment is much more abusive than most other food service operations; portion control—because when you are serving three meals a day, seven days a week, saving even a penny per meal adds up quickly and that can be done through proper portion control; and security—because the safety of officers and inmates is of the utmost importance in a correctional situation where it just isn’t an issue in other types of environments.

“Cook’s Correctional provides a comprehensive line of food service equipment and supplies that is specifically curated to meet the needs of the correctional operation,” she says. “We are also the manufacturer and exclusive distributor of Cook’s Brand, a line of products that have been developed to address problems that our correctional customers were facing in their kitchens where we could not find anything that existed on the market.

“We see products that are specified for projects that we know aren’t a good fit for the environment and just won’t last, but are low in price,” she points out.

Paul South is a veteran of the professional cleaning industry and now serves as president and general manager of Valley Janitorial, a 30-year-old janitorial supply company based in Hamilton, Ohio. * All EPA-registered disinfectants will list “kill claims” on the product’s label. This lists the germs, bacteria, and pathogens the product has been tested against and designed to eliminate. ** In most cases, it is recommended to spray the cleaning cloth first and not the surface because it tends to protect indoor air quality. However, due to quat binding issues, it is best to spray the areas to be cleaned first and allow the disinfectant to “sit” on the surface for five to 10 minutes before wiping.

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The JonesZylon Model JZHA-120 is a dual-temperature meal delivery cart popular with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It has a divider wall so one side can be heated while the other is heated, refrigerated or ambient.

“Keep in mind that if your new equipment isn’t working because it got damaged, it wasn’t such a good deal.

When a ‘tight’ specification is written for a product that will meet the needs of the organization, then the organization is comparing apples to apples between bidders, which allows them to get the right products CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016 45

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at the best price. We also suggest that you include the ability to bid alternates along with the original specification. This way the customer gets the best of both worlds.

“We provide recommendations for products that will withstand the challenges of the correctional environment and provide products specifically made for use by inmates,” Meneou furthers. “We also understand the nuances of designing a correctional operation, one where you need to see the trustees at all times as they work in the kitchen and can suggest ways that our clients can make their operation run smoothly from a safety standpoint as well as efficiently with regards to tray assembly and meal delivery because we have years of experience helping correctional operators do this better.”

Covering the facet of nutritional requirements, Barbara Wakeen, MA, RDN, LD, CCFP,

CCHP of Correctional Nutrition Consultants, Ltd. notes, “My services positively impact compliance with nutritional adequacy, standards and accreditations, and food costs as related to correctional food service and nutrition.” Her credentials also include Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, NCCHC Advisory Committee Representative; ACFSA Chair Dietitians in Corrections; OCD-HCF Secretary; and NCCHC Secretary.

Wakeen provides nutritionallyadequate menus for specified populations based on the governing agency—federal, state, facility, court mandated and contractual— requirements along with any related accreditation standards such as ACA (American Correctional Association) or NCCHC (National Commission of Correctional Health Care). She sets up and implements standardized medical and religious diet programs with facilities’ disciplines to ensure they are meeting medical and religious needs of the populations.

And she provides consultations as related to nutritional compliance, food service purchasing, products, medical and religious diets, and food safety.

“I work with facilities—federal/state/county/private/ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)—food contractors, and food manufacturers, distributors and processors to provide menus and resources to maximize nutritional content of meals while controlling costs and meeting the needs of the populations.

When determining product feasibility ‘cost per calories and/or nutrients’ is key along with acceptability and approval with the clients.” Finally, Wakeen says she tries to bring all the disciplines together—food service, medical, security, administration.

Special Delivery Bringing it all down to the delivery, Rob Zachrich, president, JonesZylon says, “We provide 46 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

The JonesZylon JZDR-92-1 is a unique meal tray drying rack where the trays sit in plastic inserts which can be lifted out and run through the wash tunnel to maintain sanitation.

design consultation and all of the needed products for meal delivery systems. Unlike food service consultants, we do not get involved with kitchen design and layout and such. We specialize in meal delivery and we go all the way with that particular facet of food service.

We are in many correctional institutions every week and have been exposed to a wide variety of applications. That experience enables us to help design the best solution for how to most effectively deliver meals in each project. We have ‘dialed in’ our product offering to be able to provide the best technology for what is needed in the corrections environment to deliver meals to inmates.

“A meal delivery system designed properly reduces risk for the food service director and for the facility as a whole,” he stresses. “Heated meal delivery carts will reduce the risk of inmate unrest due to cold food and reduce the risk of food-borne illness by keeping food out of the ‘danger zone.’ There are lots of different types of heated carts to choose from. JonesZylon consul-

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With TampAlerT, a twist of the wrist is all you need to dispense liquids in no-leak, tamper-evident unit dose. TampAlerT vials are available from 15 ml to 120 ml, in natural or ultraviolet inhibitant polyethylene, with either regular or child-resistant screw caps. Each cap contains a tamper-evident seal.

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tion properly—especially if it is equipment that is moved around a lot by inmates,” Zachrich explains. “There are unique equipment options out there with interchangeable back-up components that have very low maintenance requirements. This eliminates equipment downtime so you can accomplish the mission of every meal without fail.” J Aramark implements rigorous food safety protocols and third-party inspections to guarantee food preparation and handling is safe and efficient.

tation will help you get the right cart and compatible dinnerware for your application—one that works best in your process and is designed and built for the tough corrections environment.

“Equipment that is truly designed for the corrections environment is built to take a lot of abuse and still continue to func-

48 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

For More Information: Correctional Nutrition Consultants, Ltd., 330.499.1715, www.cnconsult.com JonesZylon, LLC, 1.800.848.8160, www.joneszylon.com Cook’s Correctional Kitchen Equipment and Supplies, 1.866.613.2632, www.cookscorrectional.com Trinity Services Group, 1.877.277.5452, www.trinityservicesgroup.com Aramark Correctional Services, 1.800.777.7090, www.aramarkcorrections.com

Trinity’s procedures for maintaining safe and sanitary conditions are regularly communicated to all team members at the local level and tested in practice on a daily basis.

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BY MICHAEL GROHS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The Evolution of

V i d e o

BY NOW, MOST PEOPLE familiar with video visitation technology are aware of the myriad benefits they offer. From the user’s standpoint, there is convenience, accessibility to family, and cost savings. From the administrative side there is security and operational efficiency. Inmates can be arraigned, seek medical attention, visit family and legal counsel all within the walls of the facility.

When video visitation was first being used in corrections, says Mark Southland, manager of Marketing and Communications at Dallas, Texas-based Securus Technologies, Inc., it was done on-site from separate facility locations with the intention of limiting inmate movement. It then evolved to being able to be conducted remotely by users with 50 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

Visitation, education, arraignment, legal counsel and medical attention are the myriad ways the digital technology is used for offenders. access to a PC and a web cam.

Consumers have since come to expect to be able to communicate with friends and loved ones from anywhere, and they can. Now it can be done using apps and smart phones, tablets and computers, and mobile buses. Children of inmates incarcerated at Riker’s Island can speak to their parents

from the library. Craig Diamond, director of Marketing at San Francisco-based Telmate, LLC, notes some of the numerous benefits of video visitation.

Correctional facilities are often in remote places. They can be harsh environments for children. Visits can be short, there might be crowds and lines, and visits can be expensive when factoring in travel costs, gas money, and lodging if necessary. Now all of that can be eliminated. “It’s win-win.”

Diamond furthers that the quality of video visits are vastly enhanced as opposed to a phone call.

Inmates can see their children’s faces, and family members can read each other’s body language.

“It’s all about convenience.

Among our missions is bringing the technology available in the

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world to the world of corrections.

We believe that more communication is better, and we want to bring that in.” Others agree. Says Southland, in a recent survey of corrections customers at the Securus Technology Center, two thirds of respondents agreed that video visitation would be “critical to their overall success in 2016.”

Video visitation increases safety among correctional staff because terminals are installed inside the housing unit, so there is less inmate movement. There is no direct contact, so there is less contraband. Southland says, “As family and friends continue to visit more from offsite locations, corrections will experience less traffic, contraband, and commotion in their facilities, and with multisession live monitoring, a single facility officer can monitor all live sessions at any given time for suspicious behavior, which allows for fewer staff members to monitor visits. The visits are supported by never-before available investigative intelligence.” Diamond also notes that the benefits of the investigative capabilities have had an effect. “The more touches an inmate has with a platform, the more we know from a criminal investigation standpoint. Law enforcement across the country is scouring data to solve cold cases and make the community safer.”

Video visitation can save (and generate) money. Andy Shu, business development & national accounts executive at Black Creek Integrated Systems points out the recent FCC ruling that slashes how much a facility can charge someone to call an inmate. That ruling does not affect video visitation, and in fact, Black Creek’s revenue model is the opposite as that of phones. What Black Creek is finding is that facilities using their system are keeping 75% to 80% of revenue. The only money Black Creek takes out is for billing and credit card services. Facilities with phones are only taking in about 25% of revenue. Black Creek does not dictate prices, but 52 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

phone companies do.

The trend suggests tablets will bring leading the new wave of video visitation. While they are currently in use, Diamond points out that the devices offer multiple uses including visitation. “One mission is to help inmates get out and stay out.” Giving an inmate a tablet might help build the bridge to the new world. If the most recent technology an inmate has seen is an ATM, he or she will feel lost in the community. Tablets can be the video window to the world on such matters. Jade Trombetta of JPay, an organization that offers video visitation services, notes they also offer Lantern, a “comprehensive, digital education program ...enabling mass education of prison inmates through tablets.”

BLACK CREEK Black Creek’s IP Visitor© Video Visitation System is a solution that was designed to increase security in the facility, enhance the visitation process, reduce the amount of staff required to monitor it, and even generate revenue for a facility. Voice and video streams in a visitation session are fully digitized, synchronized, encrypted, and configured for transmission through conventional data networks over the Internet. Black Creek’s IP-based connectivity allows family members to visit inmates from their

homes or from off-campus family-friendly centers, thus making the process less intrusive to a facility’s operations. Attorneys can visit privately from offices or courthouses, and arraignments can be conducted securely. Black Creek’s biometrically controlled

admission process uses electronic fingerprint capture and photo ID registration of all public visitors, so you will always know who is visiting your facility. www.blackcreekisc.com, 205. 949.9900, sales@blackcreekisc.com

CISCO Cisco Systems video visitation solutions have been chosen by major public libraries to deliver video visitation to jails and prisons. Video visitation sessions that are conducted between the Brooklyn Public Library and NYC's Riker’s Island DOC system have helped to provide children of incarcerated parents to maintain a family continuity during the period of separation. http://demand.cisco.com/publicsafety16, 408.894.1366

JPAY LANTERN Research proves that both ongoing communication with loved ones and inmate education reduces recidivism. JPay offers both in the form of video, benefitting not only the offender population, but also modernizing processes for facility staff.

Arguably one of the most important forms of rehabilitation, JPay

provides access to free education through the power of technology.

JPay’s Lantern is the only comprehensive, digital education program that features a secure Canvas-based Learning Manage-ment System enabling mass education of prison inmates through tablets.

Assignments include videos, quizzes, reading and other coursework, creating a virtual classroom experience in a prison environ-

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ment. As a stand-alone offering or bundled with JPay’s Lantern, inmates can also download thousands of free KA Lite educational videos–ranging from simple math to reading to astronomy–watching the content on JP5 devices. To date, over 3,500 college credits have been earned by inmates through JPay’s digital offerings. www.jpay.com, 1.800.574.5729

TELMATE VIDEO VISITATION Telmate is a technology leader in inmate communications with county and DOC customers across the U.S. and Canada.

Telmate offers a video visitation platform that allows inmates to connect with friends and family remotely, from the comfort of their own home, or from the facility lobby. Last year alone, Telmate facilitated and recorded nearly 500,000 video visits made up of over 11,000,000 remote and onsite minutes. Remote visitation benefits friends and family

SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

by eliminating the costs and frustrations associated with going to a facility for a short visit. Video visitation is an operational, financial and security benefit to facilities because it reduces inmate movement, contraband and the volume of traffic at the facility lobby. Telmate deploys video visitation to inmates via Telmate Stations and wireless Telmate Tablets. Friends and family can access video visitation online at www.gettingout.com, at facility lobbies and soon with a secure, free mobile app. www.telmate.com, 415.300.4305, diamond@telmate.com

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Today’s consumers expect to communicate with their loved ones easily and conveniently from anywhere. That’s why Securus recently enhanced the inmate visitation experience by offering video visitation on Android™ and Apple® smartphones and tablets through the Securus Video Visit app. Now, family and friends can visit from anywhere with Internet access without being tethered to a computer. Can you video visit at a wedding? Yes. Can you video visit at a soccer game? Yes. Can you video visit for bedtime stories? Yes. Mobile visitation has opened a whole new possibility of communication for inmates and their families, and that goes a long way to increasing morale and outlook and decreasing violence and recidivism once released. www.securustechnologies.com, 972.277.0687, msouthland@securustechnologies.com

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N

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AD INDEX

P

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Page No.

Flexible Security Toothbrush

Control Screening ................4

Made of durable, flexible silicone that cannot be made into a weapon.

AUTOCLEAR/ Black Creek Integrated Systems ...........51 Bob Barker..............................55 California Coast University.......4 Carter Goble Lee ....................41 Centurian .................................2 Corizon Health .........................7 Endur ID Incorporated ...........26

U

C

T

S

SABRE Stinger Cell Breaching Tool The SABRE Stinger Cell Breaching Tool (Patent Pending) reduces the need for hard entries by clearing a food/cuff port of any potential obstructions (mattress, bedding, food tray etc.). Furthermore, the SABRE Stinger affords the operators the ability to then introduce chemical agents into a barricaded cell to safely extract a combative inmate while lessening both staff and inmate injuries.

• Textured grip makes the brush easy to handle • Individually wrapped in clear bags • Great for both inmate and officer safety

1-800-334-9880 www.bobbarker.com

Garrett Metal Detectors.........27 Keefe Group ...........................56 Mars........................................15 Medi-Dose Company .............47 Microtronic US .......................17 Millennium Access Control Technology.........................28

www.sabrered.com

Morse Watchman, Inc. ...........23 NaphCare ...............................11 Pellerin Milnor........................49 Point Blank Industries ..............5 Razor Ribbon..........................29 Schedule Anywhere................46 Securus ...................................25 Sentry .....................................49 Slabb, Inc................................28 StunCuff Enterprises, Inc. ........6 STV Architects, Inc ...................6 Swintec Corporation ..............21 Tech Friends ...........................43 The Way To Happiness Found .................................31 Time Keeping Systems, Inc. ...35 TriActive America ...................19 TrinityServices Group, Inc......39 Union Supply Group ..............13 University of Phoenix .............33 Western Union .......................37 Wexford Health Sources ..........9 This advertisers index is provided as a service to our readers only. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.

54 CORRECTIONS FORUM • JULY/AUGUST 2016

CLEAR CLOGS

Larson Electronics Portable Solar Powered Tower on Seven Foot Trailer The SPLT-.53K-LM30-2XN3B-PWTLR7 portable solar powered tower features two solar panels, a solar charging station, battery bank, and a manual crank up mast mounted to a seven-foot trailer with outriggers. This system delivers 12 volts for lighting, cameras, sensors or other electrical equipment mounted atop the manual crank mast. The three-stage steel mast is designed to allow operators to quickly and safely deploy electrical equipment. It can be extended 30 feet above the trailer floor for maximum coverage and collapsed to 13 ½ feet. The light tower can also be elevated to its full height by a 1,000-lb rated hand winch fitted with 3/16” galvanized steel cable.

Made from translucent PVC for visibility—providing extra security.

• Ventilated design promotes airflow • Molded foot bed with arch support for cupping fit • Non-marking and slip resistant

1-800-334-9880 www.bobbarker.com

www.larsonelectronics.com VISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

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