Why is this goal important?
Partnerships impact delivery of correctional services and promote safety in correctional facilities and the community. The work of the Department of Corrections (DOC) is dependent on many community partnerships: with law enforcement, local and county corrections entities, direct-care providers, offenders and their families, and communities. By working together, resources may be better targeted to reduce offender recidivism, increase public safety, and contribute toward healthier communities.

How will this goal be accomplished?
The DOC is exploring new ways to utilize community partnerships to impact public safety. One example is offender transition from incarceration to the community, which accesses resources of numerous state agencies and community providers. At the Governor’s direction, the Commissioner of Corrections convened state agency representatives to collaborate on implementation of a statewide reentry initiative, the Minnesota Comprehensive Offender Reentry Plan (MCORP). The plan includes a demonstration project involving Hennepin, Ramsey, and Olmsted Counties.

The DOC has actively partnered with corrections professional organizations such as the Minnesota Corrections Association, the Minnesota Association of Community Corrections Act Counties, the Minnesota Community Corrections Association, the Minnesota Association of County Probation Officers, and others. These partnerships are evident in the involvement of Minnesota’s three correctional delivery systems in development of evidence-based best practices, community forums, professional training, and policy development.

In addition to collaborating with local law enforcement to apprehend fugitives, the peace officers in the DOC Office of Special Investigations (OSI) Fugitive Apprehension Unit investigate, locate, and arrest fugitives. OSI also provides intelligence information to local law enforcement. Behind-the-scenes efforts supported by the DOC include entering data on warrants issued into the NCIC database. Warrants are then entered into the law enforcement viewer, and the most-wanted fugitives are posted on the department website.

Productive work assignments are continued in the community by:

Sentencing to Service (STS): Carefully selected, non-violent offenders sentenced by the court to work on community improvement projects in combination with jail time, or as a probation sanction. Started in 1986, about 30,000 offenders participate in STS annually across the state, working over one million hours.

Institution/Community Work Crews (ICWC): Carefully screened, minimum-security, adult male state prison inmates from Faribault, Lino Lakes, Red Wing, and Stillwater. An average of 120 ICWC offenders perform work service daily. An additional 40 ICWC offenders construct affordable housing in greater Minnesota through the ICWC Afford-able Homes Program.

Offenders learn new social and work skills on crews that restore communities through a variety of projects including: fire containment, flood and storm damage control, trail and waterway development, construction, and land restoration.

                

What is the DOC progress to date?
The DOC is aggressively pursuing alternative funding (federal grants, etc.) for more resources to expand investigative efforts leading to apprehension of DOC-warranted sex offenders, most-wanted fugitives, and DOC-warranted gang members.

Eight state agencies, along with state courts administration, have recently begun a state-wide reentry initiative, the Minnesota Comprehensive Offender Reentry Plan (MCORP).

The ICWC Affordable Homes Program began in 1998. Through FY07, over 250 homes have been built.
 

Why is this goal important?
The mission of the DOC is to contribute to a safer Minnesota. This is done through offender management within correctional facilities and under supervision in the community. Recidivism, or an offenders’ rate of return to correctional custody for a new crime(s), is a key performance measure of community safety.

The DOC believes that evidence-based best practices are the gold standard for corrections programs affecting recidivism. These best practices are an integral component in many areas of the DOC. One way to promote the use of evidence-based services throughout the state is by including the use of gender and culture-appropriate programming in department initiatives.      

How will this goal be accomplished?
Successful transition from incarceration to the community is a critical factor in recidivism and a high priority for the department. Every offender who transitions from incarceration to the community affects the quality of life for all citizens. Reentry planning is designed to provide offenders with information on and prepare them for housing, employment, medical services, and treatment support within the community. Reentry activities include: pre-release classes, job fairs, family law workshops, transition fairs, child support work-shops, and library transition resource centers.
          
What is the DOC progress to date?  
In a three year follow-up study, just over one-third (36 percent) of all adult offenders released from a Minnesota prison were convicted of a new felony. Offenders returning to prison with a new felony commitment within those same three years totaled 25 percent. 

Resources are available at all DOC facilities to assist offenders in securing housing and employment, pursuing educational opportunities, obtaining personal ID documents, maintaining physical and mental health, establishing sound personal finances, obtaining transportation, and family reunification.

DOC transition staff partner with a wide variety of community organizations and businesses offering job fairs, transition resource fairs, family law clinics, child support workshops, employment preparation workshops, and pre-release classes to offenders at DOC facilities.

 In an effort to cultivate relationships with employers statewide, a recent initiative was begun to create working relationships with employers statewide. The goal of this initiative is maximizing successful placement of offenders in meaningful employment in the community.
 

Learn more at:
Department of Justice study on recidivism
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rpr94.pdf
DOC Biennial Performance report http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/legislativereports/documents/PerformanceReport200601-31-07.pdf
DOC 2006 Outcome Evaluation of the Challenge Incarceration Program http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/CIPEvaluationReport10-06.pdf
Sex Offender Recidivism in Minnesota
http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/04-07SexOffenderReport-Recidivism.pdf
Residential Proximity & Sex Offense Recidivism in Minnesota
http://www.doc.state.mn.us/documents/04-07SexOffenderReport-Proximity.pdf

Why is this goal important?
Agency administration values the contributions and hard work of staff and believes it is important to provide a work environment free from harassment and to encourage employee participation in mediation processes to resolve conflicts. Employees share the responsibility for creating and maintaining an environment free of harassment. To better serve the disproportionate number of minority offenders in the criminal justice system, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce is a priority for the department.

How will this goal be accomplished?
A recent workplace planning initiative identified mission critical occupations that will be impacted by retirements, separations, and turnover. As part of this DOC overall workplace planning project, an agency Strategic Recruitment Plan was developed. Recruitment survey data and recruitment methods of other organizations and corrections agencies were analyzed, resulting in several recommendations:
■ Establish a centralized DOC recruitment program
■ Increase the diversity of the applicant pool so that under-represented groups can be better represented in our workforce
■ Implement flexible recruitment strategies as needs are identified
■ Conduct ongoing evaluations using identified recruitment performance measures
■ Sustain an adequate budget for aggressive recruitment efforts

What is the DOC progress to date? 
■ Affirmative action manager: In an effort to raise the visibility and commit sufficient resources to affirmative action and diversity functions, a Management Plan position was reestablished and filled in March 2006
■ Recruitment position: The affirmative action manager hired a recruiter to assure focus on protected group members
■ Recruitment Plan (coordinated from central office for all DOC locations): A plan was designed, funded, and implemented in 2004 to coordinate all recruitment activities
■ Standardized recruitment materials: Accomplished in 2004 for department-wide use
■ Training for recruitment teams: Provided annually
■ Minority recruitment: Modification to the existing recruitment plan will focus on reaching minority applicants
■ Diversity: In August 2003, the African American Employment Task Force began an examination of current policies and practices relating to employment. As a result of the work of the task force, significant improvements have been made in the department’s employment policies and practices for all employees
■ Quarterly reports on progress toward affirmative action goals: Since April 2005, all managers have been provided quarterly updates on their progress toward meeting affirmative action goals  ■ Format for missed opportunity requests: In 2005, stricter reporting requirements were instituted department-wide. This new format is intended to ensure that all applicants are compared on the same knowledge, skills, and abilities
■ Retention Strategy Plan: In 2006, agency retention plan strategies were developed and are being implemented
■ Conflict Resolution Initiative: In 2003, the Conflict Resolution Initiative was approved as a department-wide dispute resolution tool. In February 2006, DOC policy was established. Annual staff surveys measure effectiveness

Why is this goal important?
For any program or agency to be successful in achieving strategic goals, it is critical to keep stakeholders informed, involved in establishing program goals, and actively partnered with the DOC toward accomplishment of mutual goals.

How will this goal be accomplished?
The DOC regularly communicates with and solicits feedback from internal and external stakeholders through focus groups, surveys, task forces, work groups, seminars, and public forums.

Staff strives to provide information and education to the public, media, and policymakers in all branches of government to ensure a thorough understanding of the purpose and scope of the DOC. Increasing understanding of agency responsibilities positively impacts public safety, policy, and allocation of resources.

The department provides historical reports, analysis, presentations and other documents on the DOC website. In addition to making these documents available to the public, access on the website reduces state employee time and state copying/mailing expenditures formerly necessary to distribute these reports to the public.

The department also provides online access to policies and procedures. This creates efficiencies within the system as well as providing access to non-DOC stakeholders.

What is the DOC progress to date?
Hits to the department’s home page increased dramatically between FY03 and FY04, more than doubling during this time period and reaching an unprecedented high of 1.5 million hits. Department officials surmise that this dramatic increase resulted from community interest in a highly-publicized crime. The number of hits declined in FY05, but still reached nearly a million in both FY05 and FY06. This figure is expected to increase gradually over time, barring another incident that might garner a high degree of public interest.

The department has implemented sharepoint software services on the DOC employee intranet site, greatly enhancing internal communications. The DOC is considering expanding sharepoint services into the public website, which would allow commit-tees/groups/task forces to share minutes, handouts, etc.
 

Why is this goal important?
The department continues to plan for an increasing prison population, based on projections determined by the agency and the Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Minnesota has been able to manage its increasing population through expansion at existing facilities and construction of a new facility that opened in 2000. Future expansions will be brought on at significantly reduced costs.

Learn more at:
DOC 2007 Population Projections Report     
http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/FY07PrisonPopulationProjectionsReport.pdf
DOC Prison Population Projections Backgrounder http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/backgrounders/documents/Projections2007.pdf

Programming is an integral part of preparing offenders for eventual release to the community. It also reduces inmate idleness, contributing to operating prisons that are relatively safe and free of violence.

The department recognizes that employee injuries are unacceptable losses that negatively impact the organization. While much has been done to standardize, plan, and improve the safety performance at each facility, it is important to continue to look for system improvements that can lead to fewer losses of human and fiscal resources.

The department has also begun implementing quality improvement strategies with staff attending Six Sigma and Lean training. These training sessions introduced management tools for reducing errors and streamlining work processes.

How will this goal be accomplished?
To bring on new beds at marginal per diems, the department considers public and staff safety, in addition to cost efficiencies. Along with annual reviews of facility budgets and spending plans, annual staff deployment reviews at facilities will be part of the ongoing effort to address per diems.

Many inmates enter prison lacking basic job skills and work habits. Through MINNCOR, offenders learn marketable job skills and develop sound work ethics. The challenge is to cultivate the market, and diversify the customer base sufficient to continually generate more inmate assignments. Strategies include increasing the number of private-company partnerships and increasing the activities within the public sector.

Increasing offenders’ level of educational achievement during incarceration is an integral part of preparing offenders for release and transition back into their communities. Offenders undergo educational testing at intake. Those offenders who enter a state correctional facility with less than a GED/12th grade education and who have a period of incarceration longer than one year are included in a literacy target group.

Assessing the safety culture of all facilities to identify potential system improvements will continue in an attempt to reduce injuries and their associated losses while positively impacting morale, attitudes, and behaviors. An employee safety culture survey has been completed and the results discussed with employee focus groups at each facility and in field services. A follow-up survey will be administered in 2007 to assess improvements.

Work teams have completed training in quality improvement and applied learned techniques to specific projects. Additional work teams will complete training during the fiscal year.

What is the DOC progress to date?
■ Per diems: The per diem rose in FY06 for the first time in several years. The increase is due largely to rising health care costs, the need to rent high-cost beds, and inflation.
■ MINNCOR: MINNCOR employs approximately 15% of the inmate population (more than twice the national average).
■ Education: Approximately 5,500 offenders participate in facility literacy programs, while over 7,100 offenders will participate in educational programming during any given year. During FY06, 607 GEDs and high school diplomas were awarded.
■ Safety:
         Improvement plans, based on the results of the safety culture survey, were developed with
            specific steps to be implemented at each work location. Plans focused on four main areas:
            Improved communication, supervisor and management visibility and support, increased
            access to safety-related communication, and employee participation and recognition.
         Training has been conducted at every facility and location. Safety Leadership Teams are
             being developed at every facility to help guide improvement strategies and ensure
             completion of initiatives.
■ Quality improvement: Projects have demonstrated success in improved efficiency in MINNCOR, streamlining payroll processes, and reducing facility linen costs.
 

Learn more at:
www.minncor.com

Last update on 07/20/2007