137th Congress of Correction workshops address a variety of topics.

National Incident Management System Training

At an early morning workshop, titled "National Incident Management System Training for Health Care and Security Professionals," attendees learned about the importance of training all levels of staff how to respond to emergency situations. The discussion was led by Ronald K. Day, national safety administrator for the Health Services Division/National Safety and Environment Branch of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP); David Duncan, regional correctional services administrator for the Western Regional Office of the BOP; and William Charles Terrell, regional emergency preparedness officer of the North Central Regional Office for the BOP.

On Feb. 28, 2003, President Bush issued a Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-5), which directed the secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a nationwide blueprint to allow all government, private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents. It was developed so that responders from different jurisdictions and disciplines could collaborate better when responding to critical situations.

In addition, the president issued HSPD-8 on March 31, 2005, which addressed national preparedness. The mandates from these directives called for a national preparedness goal and the creation and implementation of NIMS.

After the terrorism events of Sept. 11, 2001, it became clear that there was a need for better communication, accountability, planning and integration. "NIMS standardizes incident management processes, protocols and procedures for all responders and mandates the use of an incident command system (ICS)," Day said.

The benefits of ICS, according to Day, include: meeting the needs of incidents of any kind or size; allowing personnel from a variety of agencies to meld rapidly into a common management structure; providing logistical and administrative support to operational staff; and maintaining cost-effectiveness by avoiding duplication of resources.

Day noted the importance of common terminology to help define organizational function, incident facilities, resource descriptions and position titles. He said that during an incident, everyday titles and positions are "put on a shelf." This provides a common standard for performance expectations and helps to ensure that qualified individuals fill positions. As far as communication goes, Day said it is essential that individuals do not use radio codes, agency-specific codes or jargon. This is to ensure that everyone involved in an incident is able to communicate clearly.

Duncan spoke about the importance of an incident action plan (IAP), which specifies incident objectives, states all activities to be completed and covers specific timeframes.

A modular organization is necessary and should be developed in a top-down fashion, Day said. It should be based on the size and complexity of the incident, as well as the hazards created by the environment. And only one person should be in charge at all times.

In the ICS organization, Duncan said, "There is no correlation between the administrative structure of any other agency or jurisdiction. This organization's uniqueness helps avoid confusion."

Duncan also stressed the importance of transfer of command. This moves responsibility for incident command from one commander to another when shifts change. The new commander is given a written brief on the current situation so that he or she is prepared to take over.

Terrell told attendees that in some situations, a lower-ranking but more qualified person may be designated as the incident commander. "It's not who you are, it's what you know," he said.

This incident commander ensures incident safety, provides informational services to internal and external stakeholders, and establishes and maintains contact with other agencies involved in the incident. He or she oversees the public information officer, liaison officer, safety officer and general staff.

According to Terrell, general staff include those working in operations, planning, logistics and finance/administration. The operations section directs and coordinates all tactical operations, is typically one of the first groups to be assigned to an incident, has the most incident resources, expands from the bottom-up, and may have staging areas and special organizations. Terrell noted that health care is part of operations.

The planning section maintains resource and situation statistics, prepares the IAP, develops alternative strategies, provides documentation, and prepares a demobilization plan. The logistics section oversees communication, medical support and food for incident personnel, supplies, facilities, and ground support. The finance/administration section directs financial and cost analysis, tracks personnel and equipment time, processes claims for accidents and injuries, oversees contracts, and works with logistics to ensure resources are procured.

Throughout the workshop, Day, Duncan and Terrell stressed the benefits of NIMS, including its unified approach to incident management; standard command and management structures; and emphasis on preparedness, aid and resource management.

In closing, Day noted that NIMS can be used for any event and that continual training is essential for all federal, state and local agencies. This, he said, helps staff learn the system before an incident occurs. "Reach out, develop a network and get to know people."

For more information on NIMS, visit www.fema.gov./nims/.

Therapeutic Community Programs

The workshop, "Therapeutic Community Programs in Prison--Promising Programs in Iowa and Maryland," highlighted two therapeutic community (TC) prison programs that address cognitive-based substance abuse treatment. Presenters, Robin Bagby, associate warden of treatment for the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, and Richard B. Rosenblatt, JD, assistant secretary of treatment services for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, discussed their program designs, how they were implemented and the outcomes they have achieved.

Bagby defined a TC as "a therapeutic residential substance abuse community composed of peers who practice right living skills on a daily basis." In 1999, then-director of corrections Kip Kautzky envisioned bringing TCs to Iowa. So, the process began with site visits to Delaware, Oregon and Missouri, technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections and 40-hour training for key staff. "The 40-hour training was an eye-opening experience, preparing us to be able to meet the challenges," Bagby said. Some of the challenges included getting the staff to buy into the idea and convincing them that it was more than a "feel-good" program. Facilitators also had to assure offenders that it was not a "cult-like" program.

During the early phases of implementing the TC at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, it became clear that changes needed to be made to address the specific needs of females, such as trauma, abuse, parenting, etc. "We had to help staff understand that there are differences between male and female offenders," Bagby said, "so we put into place more gender-specific programming."

Both staff and offenders helped name the program Sisters Together Achieving Recovery (STAR). STAR is a residential inpatient program that lasts for a minimum of nine months. According to Bagby, the goals of the program are:

* Interpersonal change via right living;

* Enabling women to live free of criminal behavior and substance abuse;

* Developing life skills such as learning to secure successful employment; and

* Making contributions to their community with "no more victims."

"They have each created victims in the community," Bagby said, noting that this idea is stressed throughout the program. STAR'S mission statement is "to decrease relapse, recidivism and victimization through conscious awareness and responsible positive right living." Bagby said that the TC is about peer accountability in a residential community-type setting. "We are holding people accountable because we care."

Bagby outlined the core components of the program. Phase 1 is a 30-day orientation, and phase 2 is seven months of programming. Core classes include Criminal Conduct and Substance Abuse, Helping Women Recover, Victim Impact, Families in Transition, and Trauma and Abuse. Phase 3 is a 30-day senior peers component, which helps offenders focus on continuing the recovery process and use the skills they have learned in the general population. After completing each phase, offenders have commencement. Bagby said staff tell program participants, "Commencement is where the journey begins ... It is not the end of the process; it is the beginning of the rest of your life," During the aftercare/reentry stage, which lasts a minimum of three months, offenders practice daily living and job skills. They participate in peer support groups and role play. Bagby said all of these things help them "continue on the road to recovery."

Many former program participants become mentors of the TC program. According to Bagby, they are instrumental because they support others going through the program and they gain a sense of self and responsibility. In closing, Bagby noted that the program has come a long way since 1999-2000. Since 2002, there has been a decrease in disciplinary reports and recidivism. The current rate of recidivism is 15 percent for TC participants, while the recidivism rate for average general population offenders who need substance abuse treatment is 34 percent.

Also at the workshop, Rosenblatt shared with attendees an overview of TCs in Maryland. According to Rosenblatt, the state had developed some good programs with funding from various grants, but when the grants ended so did the programs. When former corrections director Mary Ann Saar came to Maryland, she saw a need to develop a substance abuse treatment program. The two things that needed to be addressed, Rosenblatt said, were what the system was going to look like and who would provide services.

After consulting with Edward Latessa, Ph.D., professor and head of the Division of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services adopted four core principles: risk, need, treatment and fidelity. The risk principle stresses targeting higher-risk offenders. "There is a correlation between the level of risk and the 'dosage' of treatment," Rosenblatt said. In other words, when an offender's risk level is high, the level of treatment should be greater. The need principle says to target criminogenic factors such as substance abuse, anti-social attitudes, anti-social friends, lack of empathy and impulsive behavior. The treatment principle involves using behavioral approaches, and the fidelity principle ensures that there is quality assurance, program integrity, and proper training and supervision of staff. Rosenblatt stressed that effective programs reinforce positive behavior, train, supervise, have oversight and evaluate.

When moving forward with implementing a substance abuse treatment plan, Rosenblatt said the department began to design a comprehensive delivery system. This involved assessment, differentiating the intensity of treatment (inpatient vs. outpatient), developing after-care/transitioning services and figuring out how many people would be served, who would be served and where they would be served. Rosenblatt noted that the state conceptualized and drafted requests for proposals for three male facilities and one female facility. A separate bid was also put out for assessment of the standing population. "There was also a need to address the scope of work at the women's facility, often including greater trauma and co-occurring capability," Rosenblatt said. The TCs needed to address criminogenic factors, cognitive/behavioral treatment, aftercare and adherence to state regulations.

Next, an oversight system and audit tool had to be developed. Rosenblatt said it was also important to ensure adequate infrastructure/supervision, familiarity with criminal justice populations and "what works" literature, acceptance of a "security first" mentality, and knowledge of the importance of boundaries. Staff were trained and program implementation began.

In Maryland, Gaudenzia Inc., a company that already ran TCs in Baltimore City, was chosen to run the prison TCs. According to Rosenblatt, the company has worked to fill the programs by cycling offenders into the program on a regular basis, communicating deficiencies immediately to guarantee an understanding of expectations and ensuring that the assigned offenders "fit" the treatment environment. Each program includes thorough assessment, cognitive behavioral training/psycho-educational seminars, services in addition to group and individual counseling (gender- and cultural-specific services, work training/employment services, support groups, educational services, life skills training and aftercare), and quality assurance.

Rosenblatt ended the workshop by saying that Maryland has been very pleased with the progress of the TCs during the past 13 months. He also noted that there is room for improvement including looking at multiple locations vs. a single institution, front-end vs. back-end treatment, coordination with the Parole Commission, improved aftercare programming, resource allocation and system improvements.