Department of
Correction
At a Glance
THERESA C. LANTZ, Commissioner
Brian Murphy, Deputy
Commissioner
Carol Salsbury, Deputy
Commissioner
Dennis Jones, Director
Mary Marcial, Director
Brian Garnett, Director
Established – 1968
Statutory
authority – CGS Sec.
18-78
Central office –
Number of
full-time employees –
6,775
Recurring
operating expenses – $
600,618,379
Capital outlay – $ 6,068,757
Organizational
structure – Five
divisions to include: Operations, Administration, Programs
and Treatment, Security, External Affairs, as well
as an Affirmative Action Unit.
Mission
The
Department of Correction shall protect the public, protect staff, and provide safe,
secure, and humane supervision of offenders with opportunities that support
successful community reintegration.
Statutory Responsibility
The Department of Correction, by direction
of the courts, confines and controls accused and sentenced inmates in
correctional institutions, centers and units, and by statute administers
medical, mental health, rehabilitative, and community based service programs.
Public Service
The agency
on June 30, 2006 confined 18,582 offenders, a 2.53 percent increase when
compared with the incarcerated population on June 30, 2005. Including those inmates on
department-administered community supervision, correctional staff supervised a
population of 23,079 offenders.
Operations Division
The Division consists of 18 correctional
facilities, which are managed by two District Administrators and 17
Wardens. There are 14 Correctional
Institutions and four
This Division also encompasses a wide
range of emergency services to include Correctional Emergency Response Teams,
Special Operations, K-9 Unit and Situational Control hostage negotiators. It
also includes the Parole and Community Services Unit that handles the
supervision of inmates on community release status, which includes 42
residential programs. The Division
maintains a medical-surgical ward at the University of
Connecticut Health Center in
North District South
District
Bergin Correctional Institution (
Brooklyn Correctional Institution (Brooklyn)
MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution (Suffield) (Uncasville)
Northern Correctional Institution (Somers) Garner
Correctional Institution (
Osborn Correctional Institution (Somers) Gates
Correctional Institution (Niantic)
Robinson Correctional Institution (
Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution (
Programs and Treatment Division
This Division
is comprised of seven offices, which are responsible for the management of the
inmate population and offender classification functions; research, development
and implementation of treatment services; health and mental health services;
counseling; educational, vocational, recreational and religious programs; and
the organization of the agency’s volunteer and victim services programs.
Programmatic functions administered by the Division stress
accountability and responsibility to affect successful transition into the
community. In addition to providing comprehensive programs tailored to
individual needs, division personnel work in conjunction with volunteers,
community providers and other human service agencies to develop wrap-around
services to facilitate the successful community reintegration of the offender
population.
This Division works
closely with the community providing support and information to victims of
crimes. Community volunteers augment
program delivery, supplementing education, treatment and religious
services. Offender Classification and
Population Management Unit staff works with the Judicial Branch and with law
enforcement agencies to provide training and to ensure accurate application of
sentenced time. This Unit also completes
detailed assessments of offender risk and service needs, and develops initial
treatment plans. Program Development staff researches and develops
evidence-based services and tracking systems to evaluate program effectiveness
and lessen the likelihood of recidivism.
Addiction services counselors promote recovery through four levels of
substance abuse treatment from admission through community placement. Unified
Offender Classification
and Population Management
Offender Programs and Victim Services
Education Services
Health and Addiction Services
Religious Services
Correctional
Enterprises of
Volunteer &
Recreation Services
Administration
Division
This Division
administers essential support functions and provides all human resources
functions, including labor relations, recruitment and payroll. Through the Fiscal Services Unit, the
Division develops, implements and monitors the budget
and other fiscal functions. All
maintenance, construction and engineering services are planned and administered
by the Division through the Engineering and Facilities Management Unit. The Division maintains the Department’s
computer network and all hardware and software, as well as administering the
data extraction, strategic planning and research advisory function. The Division also oversees all of the
training conducted by the Department, including pre-service for new hires and
ongoing in-service training. Food service
to inmates is provided through the division’s Nutrition and Food Services Unit.
Fiscal Services
Nutrition and Food Services
Human Resources
Training and Staff Development
Management Information Systems
Engineering and Facilities Management
Research and Strategic Planning
Security Division
This Division encompasses both an
investigative unit and intelligence unit. The investigative unit is responsible
for internal investigations, audits and contraband disposal consistent with
departmental policy. The Division is responsible for processing background
checks on perspective employees, vendors and volunteers. In addition, members
of the Security Division are regularly assigned to the Fugitive/Gang Task Force
and Joint Terrorism Task Force and have assisted in numerous investigations
resulting in criminal arrests. They have
also participated in the arrest and/or location of fugitives throughout
The
intelligence unit, which is comprised of Gang Management and Telephone
Monitoring, is highly skilled, trained and equipped to acquire, analyze and
disseminate security pertinent information throughout the agency and law
enforcement community. The Gang Management and Telephone Monitoring Units were
combined into a single entity in 2003 as an overall strategy to effectively
compile and review security sensitive information more effectively. This
concept has resulted in increased efficiency and intelligence sharing with
local, state and federal law enforcement professionals. Through targeted and
random monitoring of non-privileged communications, detection, deterrence and
prevention of criminal activity both internally and externally was effectively
achieved.
Investigations
Security Risk Group
Intelligence/Gang Management
Telephone Monitoring
External
Affairs Division
This division oversees the Department’s
crucial liaison functions with the other components of state government as well
as with the courts, the public and the news media.
The Office of Public Information insures
that information concerning departmental incidents, activities and the inmate
population are provided to the public and media in a timely, proactive and
professional manner, while being cognizant of safety and security issues.
A Legislative Liaison, responsible for
drafting legislation and state regulations, works closely with the General
Assembly on law enforcement and prison issues.
The Freedom of
Information Coordinator insures the Department fully complies with state
statues requiring the open availability of public documents to the public, staff
and the inmate population, while insuring that safety and security are not
compromised.
The Office of Standards and Policy is
responsible for the writing, review and revision of the agency’s Administrative
Directives.
The Legal Affairs Office, which reports directly to the
Commissioner but comes under the Division for Administrative purposes, serves
as special counsel to the Commissioner and as a liaison to the Office of the
Attorney General on all legal matters as well as with the state and federal
courts throughout
The Video
Unit supports the agency’s training function at the
Office of Public
Information
Legislative Liaison
Freedom of Information
Coordinator
Standards and Policy
Administrator
Legal Affairs Unit
Video Unit
Improvements/Achievements 2005-06
Operations Division
In an effort to enhance safety and
security in its facilities, inmate orientation units have been established at Bridgeport
CC, Corrigan-Radgowski CC, Hartford CC, Manson Youth Institution, New Haven CC
and York CI. These orientation units
have been designated to transition newly admitted inmates that exhibit
difficulties adjusting to incarceration or have medical, mental health or
detoxification concerns.
The Department has enacted procedures to screen and identify inmates with severe mental illness prior to transfer to the Administrative Segregation program at Northern Correctional Institution, the state’s male maximum-security prison. Mental health staff must review inmates in an effort to recognize any indicative signs of severe mental illness. In addition, procedures for the management of mentally ill inmates were enhanced at the Garner Correctional Institution.
As part of the
agency’s effort to be in compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act
(Public Law 108-79), a comprehensive plan was developed to educate staff and
inmates in the prevention of sexual assault in
Programs
and Treatment Division
The Offender Classification &
Population Management unit coordinated 68,790 transfers as of June 19,
2006. OCPM staff is also responsible for
implementing an Offender Accountability Plan on all male inmates serving
sentences of two years or greater. This plan is in concert with the Board of
Pardons and Paroles’ recommendations for treatment and discretionary release to
the community under supervision.
The Offender Programs and Victim Services developed
population specific programs for youth and female offenders, created new
curriculum and facility-based job centers to facilitate re-entry planning, and
expanded computerized tracking and data collection programs to assist with
research and evidence-based services.
The
Correctional Enterprises provided employment for 336 inmates on an
average daily basis, offering realistic work experience in twelve industry
programs. Service recipients include
numerous state and federal agencies, municipalities and nonprofit
organizations.
The Health and Addiction Services Unit collaborated with other state
agencies and community providers to provide comprehensive managed health
care. Seventy-one percent of Addiction
Services counselors and supervisors are now certified and/or licensed to
provide substance abuse services.
Religious
Services provided more than 92,000 hours of ministry time. The Volunteer and Recreation Services Unit
coordinated the provision of 144,000 service hours by 864 volunteers, the
equivalent of 72 full-time positions, and completed 8,961 victim contracts.
Administration
Division
The Fiscal Services Unit continued to play
a leading role in utilizing the CoreCT system and to focus on implementing departmental
rules and regulations to support standardized business practices.
The accounts payable unit
processed 41,837 invoices, the purchasing unit processed 20,196 requisitions
and the Inmate Trust unit received and processed 175,022 receipts, representing
$14,746,403 in commissary orders. The average daily direct inmate expenditure
for the fiscal year was approximately $83.85.
The Human Resources Unit along with the Maloney Center
Human Resources also increased outreach
for the Correctional Officer examination process resulting in a 36 percent
total increase in applicants, including increases in all demographic categories
and standardization of the recruitment processes was expanded to include
additional classifications.
In addition, new safety initiatives this
year have helped with the continued decrease in the lost time injuries, which
are down by nine percent.
The
The Food
Service Department, over the past year, provided 19,900,000 inmate meals. Our menu is written to provide normal
population diets, common fare diets and several medically prescribed diets. A
total of 580,000 lbs. of CT grown produce were used in the production of the
meals, with the hope of using 350,000 lbs. more in the upcoming year. The cook/chill plant produced over 4,500,000
lbs. of food for the inmate population consumption.
The Management Information Systems Unit
(MIS) in collaboration with the Engineering and Facilities Management Unit
successfully added six new facilities to the DOC LAN/WAN network. The units also collaborated to upgrade the
existing Parole and Community Services offices onto a single LAN/WAN for each
office. This upgrade ended up saving the
state and the department thousands of dollars from the cost of deploying
multiple T1 lines and routers at these locations. These facilities now have the ability to
interface with the systems involved with the Criminal Justice Information
Systems (CJIS).
MIS was also responsible for replacing or
upgrading over 1200 PC’s this past year as a start to meet the security standards
set by the CJIS group. MIS also
established several new screens in the Offender Based Information System (OBIS)
to help with re-entry planning and tracking as part of the Offender
Accountability Plan. The unit was also
responsible for bringing online the Hearings Division portion of the Case Notes
Tracking system for the Board of Pardons and Parole.
The Research Unit was responsible for processing more than 250 requests for information and statistics from external customers, including legislators, non-profit organizations, researchers, the media and for profit organizations. Among these requests were several involving recidivism and re-entry planning as part of the Legislative Program Review and Investigations study.
Security
Division
In the FY05, the Security Division
conducted more than 200 formal investigations and collaborated with outside law
enforcement in numerous criminal investigations.
The Intelligence Unit of the Security
Division is considered by many in Law Enforcement as a leader in the field of
gang intelligence based on its unique ability to gather, analyze and
disseminate information internally and externally.
Telephone monitoring and the
gathering of gang intelligence information dramatically increased this year. As
the result of cooperative partnerships, significant improvements were made to
streamline the collection, analyzing and dissemination of this criminal
intelligence information. Drawing upon
information sharing from a diverse workforce and the expertise of highly
trained personnel in the area of gang intelligence, the Unit was utilized by
the United State’s Attorney’s Office and many others at all levels of law
enforcement on numerous occasions to provide updated gang information.
External
Affairs Division
The emphasis of the External Affairs
Division during this past fiscal year has involved supporting the Department’s
priority of enhancing successful offender re-entry into the community.
The Office of Policy and Standards
created a new chapter of Administrative Directives, number 11, with three new
directives, which detail the functioning of the Parole and Community Services
Unit in supervising offenders in the community.
The
Legislative Liaison was instrumental in securing legislative support for the
initiative during the General Assembly session including additional funding and
staff to support the expansion of community oversight.
The Office of Public Information secured
local and national media publicity to inform the public of the shift in
correctional philosophy and its associated benefits in public safety. Related additions were also made to the
agency website such as the Offender Management Plan and additional parole and
pardons information.
Additionally, the Division initiated
changes to Administrative Directive 1.5, Public Information and News Media
Relations aimed at making the agency more transparent to the press and
public. The Office of Public Information
also managed and oversaw the first media interviews with offenders on death row
in more than a decade. The Office handled an estimated 6,000 inquiries from the
press and public.
The newly established Legal Affairs Unit
serves as a liaison to the Office of the Attorney General on all legal matters
affecting the agency as well as with the State and Federal Courts throughout
The Office of Policy and Standards revised
nearly half of the agency’s 124 Administrative Directives for the signature of
Commissioner Theresa C. Lantz. The
Freedom of Information (FOI) Coordinator initiated a new telephonic hearing
protocol for offender filings with the FOI Commission and saw a significant
upswing in requests to 610.
Through its Legislative Liaison, the agency was successful
in promoting the passage of bills that further enhance the Department’s ability
to manage offenders while incarcerated and in the community. The liaison also tracked through the end of
the legislative session 147 bills, 17 of which directly effect the agency. This
office also handled 823 inquiries from elected officials and their
constituents.
Information
Reported as Required by State Statute
Affirmative
Action Unit
The purpose of the Affirmative Action Unit
is to ensure that the principles of Equal Employment Opportunities, Affirmative
Action and Diversity are an integral part of the employment and advancement of
all employees of the Department of Correction.
The Affirmative Action Unit developed and submitted, on a timely basis, the agency’s Affirmative Action Plan to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and received approval of the Affirmative Action Plan in March 2006. The plan reinforces the Department’s commitment to having a diversified workforce with equal opportunity for all. During the fiscal year, the number of people of color in the workforce increased from 2,075 (32.0 percent) to 2,118 (32.4 percent). The number of female staff increased from 1,610 (24.8 percent) to 1,656 (25.3 percent).
This unit has continued its emphasis on training Department of Correction staff in the areas of Affirmative Action to include sexual harassment, discrimination and diversity. This training is provided to current staff, new employees and new supervisors. The Department has also continued its Diversity Initiative, which includes Diversity Councils at each facility. The Diversity Councils provides the opportunity for employees to share, value, appreciate, and respect staff diversity. They are also intended to foster open communication in addressing and affecting department policies, which bear upon diversity issues.
This unit is involved with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Attorney General’s Office, the African-American Affairs Commission and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. The number of complaints filed are as follows – CHRO Formal went from 49 to 33, and the Affirmative Action Internal went from 73 to 75 complaints.