North Dakota Department of Corrections Newsletter

In 2003, the North Dakota Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(DOCR) was one of eight states selected
for a technical assistance grant from
the National Institute of Corrections
for the Transition from Prison to
Community Initiative (TPC). The
goals of the initiative were to increase
public safety and reduce corrections
costs through reducing recidivism.
In the years following the
assistance grant, the Department
has made signifi cant advances
in each of the TPC foundations:
Collaboration, the TPCI Model,
and Organizational Development.
TPC - Where We’ve Come
Perhaps the most signifi cant event
since the inception of TPC in North
Dakota was the reorganization of
the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation in 2007. Integration
of two separate and distinct divisions
known as Prisons and Field Services
Divisions into the Adult Services
Division allowed the department to
points, in the TPCI Model. Also during
that same year, the TPC Transition
Leadership Team was re-energized.
This team is made up of state, local, and
private agency heads collaborating to
oversee the process. The Leadership
Team chartered a Steering Committee
to identify barriers to successful
offender reentry state-wide and
develop strategies to address those
barriers. Those barriers include:
• Inability to share the presentence
investigation: Considerable
resources are needed to complete
a presentence investigation (PSI),
and there is needed assessment
information contained in the report.
Though the DOCR produced the
report for the court, the North
Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure
did not allow the department to
share the report-thus requiring the
same assessments to be completed
after the defendant has been
sentenced. In 2008 the Steering
Committee recommended the
DOCR petition the Joint Procedures
Committee to (continue on page 2)
North Dakota Department Of Corrections And Rehabilitation
2003 theNorthDakotaDepartment focus on core decision points outlined
The Insider
North Dakota Transition from
Prison To Community Initiative
Helping to Keep North Dakota the Safest State in the Nation
By: Tom Erhardt, Special Deputy Director for Reentry
PAGE 2 THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010
change the rule to allow the
department to share the PSI
with agencies it contracts with.
The Joint Procedures Committee
agreed and changed the rule,
which went into effect on March 1,
2008. See N.D.R.Crim.P 32 (4).
• Pre-Release: The Steering Committee
identifi ed that the riskiest time
during an offender’s incarceration
was the Reentry Phase. Many issues
arise that hinder successful reentry
such as medication supply, housing,
registration requirements, fi nancial
issues, employment, and reunifi cation
with the family. The Release and
Integration Project was developed
in 2008 to target seriously mentally
ill inmates with a collaborative case
management strategy in order to get
all of the needed community service
delivery agencies involved earlier in
the inmate’s incarceration to develop
a release plan. The department is
looking to expand this strategy for
other offender target populations.
• Expansion of Local Reentry Teams:
There are currently two Reentry Teams
in the state, one in Fargo and one in
Bismarck. Formed under the Serious
Violent Offender Reentry Initiative
(SVORI) grant in 2002 and 2003,
these teams provided a collaborative
case management strategy similar to
the Release and Integration Project;
only the target population was serious,
youthful and violent offenders. The
Steering Committee saw the success
of these teams and the need to
address certain reentry barriers at the
individual community level. In 2008
the Committee asked the department
to expand these teams to other
communities in the state. In 2009
Grand Forks and Devils Lake were
selected for technical assistance from
the department to form reentry teams
and work continues as of this writing.
• ID Cards: While it may seem like a
simple concept, approximately 2/3
of the inmate population is released
without a valid state ID card. In
2008 the Steering Committee asked
the department to team up with
the Department of Transportation
to set up a process for every
identifi ed eligible inmate to obtain a
government-issued ID card. Today,
that project is near completion and
a target date is set for January
1, 2010 to complete this project.
• Enhance Offender Employability:
In 2008 the Steering Committee
recommended that the North Dakota
Department of Commerce Workforce
Development integrate offender
education and employment needs in
the State Strategic Plan for Workforce
Development Training and Attraction.
They also chartered a committee to
take a comprehensive look at how the
department prepares inmates to be
productive workers in the community.
Through several collaborative efforts,
offenders now are assessed through
Key Train assessments, which are
linked with North Dakota Job Service;
several departmental instructors have
conditional certifi cations through the
Department of Career and Technical
Education (CTE); and the United
States Department of Labor has
certifi ed apprenticeships for offenders
completing the requirements in:
cabinet making, bench carpentry,
furniture, machinist (CNC lathe),
upholstery, alterations/production
sewing, and electrician. The committee
has also petitioned North Dakota
Child Support Enforcement to reduce
the interest obligations on offender
child support while incarcerated,
in order to increase the likelihood
that offenders will pay their child
support upon release from prison.
(ND TPC... continued from page 1)
(continue on page 3)
THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010 PAGE 3
• Short Sentenced Offenders: The
department wants to be good
stewards with the resources it
is allocated. In order to reduce
recidivism, there must be enough
time for offenders sentenced to
its custody to access and complete
risk-reduction programming. Some
offenders, who after credit for time
served and good time is applied,
are in the department’s custody
for less than 180 days (6 months).
The department has made several
attempts to mitigate the effects of
these offenders on the correctional
system. Understanding that the
courts are independent bodies,
the department has undertaken
an educational strategy to inform
judges, states attorneys, and defense
attorneys on the negative effects such
sentences have on the department,
the offender, and the community.
Through this effort the number
of short sentenced offenders was
reduced by four from 2007 to 2008.
TPC-Where We’re Going
In early 2009 the department applied
for and was granted technical assistance
from the United States Bureau of Justice
Assistance and the Center for Effective
Public Policy to host a statewide
Reentry Summit. Sponsored by the
North Dakota Parole Board and the
DOCR, the Summit was held in October
2009 and 250 staff from the DOCR and
its stakeholders gathered to discuss
offender reentry. There were plenary and
break-out sessions designed to educate
attendees on national and state reentry
perspectives; and to allow participants to
have input on North Dakota’s continued
work. These recommendations will be
organized, prioritized, and presented
to the Leadership Team in January
2010 for review and planning into
the future. The Summit also allowed
participants to refocus on offender
success as the outcome that will
ultimately lead to safer communities.
TPC-Other Efforts
It should not be ignored that many
other efforts and accomplishments
have been on-going. One major project
is a departmental-wide case plan, or
Transition Accountability Plan (TAP). The
TAP is the risk-reduction roadmap for
each offender under the department’s
custody and supervision that starts
upon a court sentencing an offender
to the department either to prison or
probation supervision; and ends upon
completion of the offender’s sentence.
Along with this are ongoing efforts
to educate staff on the importance
of quality contacts with offenders to
support that offender’s move toward
pro-social behavior. The TAP Committee
was formed in 2008 to address and
bridge the gaps in current case planning
practices. Currently, the committee
is looking to overcome the barriers in
the department’s two informational
database systems, Itag and Docstars.
Other accomplishments
• Contracting for transitional housing
and services in Bismarck, Mandan,
Jamestown, Rugby, and Fargo.
• Departmental-wide use of the Level
of Services Inventory-Revised
criminogenic risk/needs assessment
tool.
• A multi-disciplined Case Planning
Committee reviews every inmate case
and develops a transition plan within
the inmate’s fi rst four weeks in prison.
• Managing Noncompliant Behavior
document developed to provide staff a
guideline on dealing with community
violations and revocation procedures.
(ND TPC... continued from page 2)
(continue on page 8)
PAGE 4 THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010
Youth Correctional Center in
Mandan flfl ourishes with help from
Green and Growing Grant
By: Local News, A ND Department of Agriculture Initiative, Volume 2, No. 10
The Youth Correctional Center, west of
Mandan, accepted seed money from a North
Dakota Department of Agriculture Green and
Growing School Garden Grant and cultivated
a successful garden program this summer.
Lenore Kuntz
applied for
the grant
w h i c h
p r o v i d e d
seeds for
planting, a
tomato slicer
for preparing,
and a fence
to keep
the deer away from the garden. With the
assistance of the head cook, Monika Cox,
students not only learned to tend a garden,
but also ate the produce they harvested.
Careful notes
were taken
by the staff
and the
school netted
$1,250 in
p r o d u c e .
Peas and
corn were
the favorite
vegetables,
but students were also offered fried
green tomatoes to taste. Next year’s
plans are to plant more of the most
popular vegetable, which was peas, as
well as building a trellis for them to climb.
Tomatoes
Onions
Carrots
Pumpkins
Gourds
Peppers
Potatoes
Corn
Zucchini
Radishes
Beans
Peas
Cucumbers
- 500 pounds
- 17 pounds
- 2 pounds
- 40 pumpkins
- 19 gourds
- 12 pounds
- 40 pounds
- 365 ears
- 145 pounds
- 18 pounds
- 12 pounds
- 10 pounds
- 31 pounds
Bounty
THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010 PAGE 5
Four Bismarck DOCR staff went to compete in
shooting and one in golf at the North Dakota
Peace Offi cers Association. They came back
with traveling trophies and surprised a few
with their performance. The team had a total
score of 1805, averaging 451+ per shooter of a
possible 480 in winning their division (Expert)
and overall. Charvat (14th), (6th), Hanlon (5th), and
Stewart (16th) all made the
“Governor’s 20”, which is this
year’s top twenty scorers
in pistol within the NDPOA.
Grabowska and Hanlon won
both their division (Expert)
and overall in the 2-man
Pistol Team competition, while
Stewart and Charvat took 5th
in the Expert division. Hanlon
also won the “Off Duty” pistol
competition and took 2nd in his division (Expert)
in the individual pistol competition. Stewart
took 3rd in individual pistol in his division
(Unclassifi ed), as well. Stewart also competed
in the individual four-gun competition (pistol,
rifl e, shotgun, and sniper), where he placed 5th.
Last year North Dakota State Penitentiary
(NDSP) lost their best pistol shot with the
retirement of Deputy Warden Bob Coad. Others
stepped up this year and worked hard at the
range to develop a competitive 4-man team.
While the Stark County Sheriff’s Offi ce is the
team with their name appearing most often on
this trophy, and James River Correctional Center
JRCC) their name engraved on it twice,
it was a fi rst for the DOCRNDSP
team. Unfortunately,
the powerful JRCC pistol team
did not compete this year due
to the loss of their shooting
range and the fl ooding of
the other Jamestown range.
The Team Pistol trophy
is not the only traveling
trophy that will be housed
in Bismarck this year.
Warden Tim Schuetzle fi red a 74 to win the
golf tournament for the second year in a row.
We are very fortunate in Bismarck to have
a shooting range and support from above
for shooters to practice and improve their
skills. Hopefully, we’ll have more than
four shooters next year…including some
snipers, rifl emen, and shot-gunners.
F Bi k t ff t t t i ti t f D t W d B b C d Oth
DOCR Shooters and a Golfer Bring
Home Trophies from NDPOA
By: Mark Hanson
4th), Grabowska
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Pictured left to right: Tim Schutzle, Mark Hanlon, t
Keith Grabowska, Josh Stewart and Joe Charvat
The Insider Newsletter is an offi cial publication of
the North Dakota Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, and is published four times each year.
Its goal is to enhance communication and keep staff,
and all those interested, informed of developments
and achievements throughout the Department.
All employees are encouraged to submit articles,
letters, comments, and ideas for future issues of
The Insider to be considered in the next publication.
offificial A Message From The Editor
The Editor reserves the right to edit or exclude,
if deemed inappropriate, any items submitted
for publication. Please e-mail articles to:
Editor: Michelle Linster
E-mail: mlinster@nd.gov
Phone: (701) 328-6362
ND Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation
PO Box 1898
Bismarck, ND 58502-1898
PAGE 6 THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010
Organizational Characteristics. All DOCR Inmates.
One Day Counts On The Last Day Of The Month.
These Numbers Use The Association Of State Correctional
Administrator (ASCA) Performance Based Measurement
Standards (PBMS) And Are Based On The Controlling
Sentence
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
General Organization Information
Prisoners Housed By DOCR Institutions 1,067 1,074 1,068 1,057 1,056 1,064 1,062 1,090 1,088 1,080 1,080
Prisoners Outsourced (Not In A ND DOCR Facility) 375 342 372 378 382 368 354 357 365 367 424
Total Inmates Under DOCR Responsibility 1,442 1,416 1,440 1,435 1,438 1,432 1,416 1,447 1,453 1,447 1,504
Average Length of Sentence (Years) 5.05 5.13 5.07 4.97 5.09 5.13 5.13 5.08 5.13 5.17 5.13
Prisoners Serving Sentences Of Court (Prison Sentence)
Inmates Serving Less Than 1 Year 29 25 28 28 29 29 34 37 37 35 35
Inmates Serving 1 To 3 Years 816 799 817 812 810 805 775 802 802 792 830
Inmates Serving 3 To 5 Years (3.01 to 5) 271 266 270 270 270 266 273 271 272 276 288
Inmates Serving 5 To 10 Years (5.01 to 10) 155 154 153 153 157 159 161 163 164 165 170
Inmates Serving 10 To 20 Years (10.01 to 20) 76 77 77 77 76 76 76 78 81 82 84
Inmates Serving 20 To 40 Years (20.01 to 40) 34 34 34 34 34 35 35 35 35 35 36
Inmates Serving More Than 40 Years (40.01 plus) 9 9 9 9 10 10 9 9 9 9 9
Inmates Serving Life With Parole 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 35 36 36 35
Inmates - Life Without Parole 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17
Inmates - Death Sentence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Crime Distribution Statistics (Use Controlling Sentence)
Part I Violent Crime Inmates 462 468 467 459 469 464 455 449 441 449 468
Other Violent Crime Inmates 137 131 144 148 140 139 139 140 130 129 137
Property Crime Inmates 313 301 306 311 312 322 316 325 319 320 335
Drug Offense Inmates 358 345 350 348 351 348 340 361 378 362 374
Other Public Order Offense Inmates 172 171 173 169 166 159 166 172 185 187 190
Other Crime Inmates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inmate Demographics
Average Inmate Age 34.55 34.60 34.49 34.56 34.58 34.60 34.70 34.65 34.60 34.57 34.57
Male Inmates 1,286 1,271 1,281 1,277 1,270 1,270 1,260 1,292 1,294 1,288 1,330
Female Inmates 156 145 159 158 168 162 156 155 159 159 174
White Inmates 949 936 942 935 939 930 911 929 930 920 967
Black Inmates 84 77 79 81 82 82 86 90 91 90 90
Native Hawaiian or Pacifi c Islander Inmates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
American/Alaskan Native Inmates 317 311 327 331 329 337 333 334 334 344 349
Hispanic Or Latino Inmates 82 82 81 78 81 77 80 88 91 88 92
Asian Inmates 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
Other Race/Ethnicity Inmates 5 5 6 6 4 3 3 3 4 2 2
Inmates With Unknown/Missing Race/Ethnicity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inmates Non-Citizens 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 11 11 9
For more ASCA PBMS data please go to: http://www.nd.gov/docr/media/stats.html
THE INSIDER JANUARY 2010 PAGE 7
National Speaker
Delbert Boone Visits NDYCC
By: Ryan Kudrna, Director of Treatment, NDYCC
Delbert Boone, one of the nation’s foremost
experts on addiction and criminality, presented
a two hour presentation for North Dakota
Youth Correctional Center (NDYCC) students
and staff on the evening of July 30, 2009.
A recovering alcoholic and drug addict, Boone
arrived at his current prominence the hard
way. Born in Detroit January 27, 1947, he
started life with high expectations. After
graduating high school with honors in 1964,
he attended Central Michigan University,
completing his BS degree in biology in 1969.
Over the next 10 years, he worked as a high
school teacher, coach, parole offi cer and
drug counselor. Unfortunately, he became
more and more involved in using drugs,
beginning with alcohol and ending with
cocaine and heroin. While his drug habit
grew, so did its costs. The fi nancial pressures
led him to petty crime...and prison. From
1977 to 1982, Boone served four terms in
Missouri and Kansas state penitentiaries.
The prison terms changed his life, but the
real turning point came in 1979, when he
“ran out of lies and excuses” and decided
to do whatever he could to kick his 20 year
drug habit. His own struggle for sobriety
while incarcerated opened his eyes to the
special problems of other inmates, who were
in as desperate need of help as he was.
For the past twenty-eight years, Delbert
has been one of the most compelling voices
on the subject of alcohol and drug abuse.
Boone is President of NND, Inc., a consulting
and training fi rm based in New York.
He is a member of the National Speakers
Bureau and four-time nominee for the National
Council on Alcoholism’s Helen B. Madden Award.
While Boone was on the campus of NDYCC,
he spoke to his past experiences with drugs,
criminal behavior and incarceration. His
presentation not only revolved around his
personal experiences but experiences of
those persons of which the students are
familiar with (Michael Vick, Whitney Houston,
and Michael Phelps) and how they, by the
use of drugs, have hampered their careers.
Boone’s presentation was moving and
inspirational. Boone was able to engage the
students of YCC actively: listening, asking,
challenging. After the presentation, many
students expressed increased desire to change
their behaviors. Other students found that the
presentation provided a different perspective
from their current outlook. Lastly, for some
students, it confi rmed what many students
already knew and opened their eyes to the
reality that is drug abuse and criminal behavior.
Four DOCR Personnel Complete
Staff and Command School
From January 11, 2009
through May 10, 2009
four personnel from
the DOCR successfully
completed Staff and
Command School
(SCS) an intensive
college level training
participants for senior
management positions. DOCR personnel
attending were, Deputy Director of Transitional
Facilities, Robyn Schmalenberger, JRCC Safety
Offi cer, Jeff Lorenz, Special Deputy Director
for Transitional Planning Tom Erhardt, and
NDSP Correctional Case Manager Shaun Fode.
The 10 week training course curriculum
combines academic principles with practical
applications in the work place areas such
as: Principles in Management, Human
Recourses, Skills for Planning, Budgeting, and
Research. Congratulations to the four DOCR
staff members on their completion of SCS.
Comm
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curriculum that prepares
January 10-11
February 8-9
March 7-8
April 11-12
May 10-11
June 6-7
July 11-12
August 8-9
September 12-13
October 10-11
November 7-8
December 5-6
April 13 November 9
Parole Board Meeting
Dates for 2010
Pardon Advisory
Board Dates for 2010
Our mission is…
To enhance public safety, to reduce the risk of
future criminal behavior by holding adult and juvenile
offenders accountable, and to provide opportunities
for change.
Pardon Advisory Board Members are appointed
by the Governor for an open ended term to include
the attorney general, two members of the parole
board, and 2 citizens/residents of the state. The
Pardon Board Members are listed as follows:
Members Location
Duane Dekrey, Chairman Pettibone
Wayne Stenehjem Bismarck
Beverley Adams Fargo
Everett Nels Olson Minot
Vacancy
Parole Board Members are appointed by
the Governor for a three-year term. The
Parole Board Members are listed as follows:
Members Location
John Olson, Chairman Bismarck
Everett Nels Olson Minot
Beverley Adams Fargo
Donna Jacobsen Dickinson
Vacancy
Vacancy
Parole Board
Members
Pardon Advisory
Board Members
(ND TPC... continued from page 3)
• Pre-Release Handbook developed
to assist offenders in documenting
information needed to reenter the
community.
• Parole supervision conditions
designed to address criminogenic
risk and need in addition
to custody and control.
• Research projects completed
to investigate offender access
to services in the community.
• Housing for 8 homeless sex offenders
in a residence placed on the grounds of
the North Dakota State Penitentiary.
• Sex Offender Containment Task
Forces in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand
Forks, Minot, and Jamestown.
• Parole and Probation offi cers
assigned to caseloads specifi c to
sex offenders and reentry/parolees.
The Data
• Approximately 160% increase in
prison admissions from 1992 to 2008.
• 99% of all offenders in North
Dakota prisons return to the
community (1,057 releases in 2008).
• 15.6% new crime return rate for
offenders released from prison in 2005.
• 25.1% technical violation return rate for
offenders released from prison in 2005.
Conclusion
TPCI is not a fl eeting corrections
strategy. The effort to increase
positive outcomes with offenders is one
that is essential to the safety of the
citizens of North Dakota. A decrease
in the recidivism rate = a reduction
in crimes = a reduction in victims:
The long-term goal is to keep North
Dakota the safest state in the nation