Prison Staffing Analysis: A Training Manual with Staffing Considerations for Special Populations

摘要

Correctional staffing and workforce issues have been at the forefront of topics addressed by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) for a number of years. One way that NIC helps correctional administrators and officials address these issues is to make informative analyses and training materials available to correctional professionals so they may better understand effective staffi ng practices. Staffing issues have become more critical in the face of reductions in state revenues and pressure from labor organizations and the courts to provide additional staff to supervise and manage prisoners, particularly those with special needs. Prison administrators have been searching for precise methods to deploy staff appropriately, effectively, and economically. NICs Staffi ng Analysis Workbook for Jails, now in its second edition, has proven valuable to jail administrators for years. Numerous prison administrators have also used this workbook and participated in the Institutes seminar on prison staffing analysis. Prison Staffi ng Analysis: A Training Manual With Staffi ng Considerations for Special Populations makes use of the concepts and constructs of the workbook and is informed by a number of articles and supplementary materials from the staffing analysis seminar. The unique character of this training manual, however, is attributable to research. The manual benefits from the responses of correctional agencies to four national surveys that sought information about staffing analysis in general, staffi ng of medical units and facilities, staffing of mental health units and facilities, and staffing of facilities for women. Consequently, the manuals discussions of the staffi ng analysis process take current practices into account. The manual is also enriched by the experiences and best practices of representatives from exemplary and diverse staffing analysis programs. As a result, it includes practical staffing considerations for womens facilities and for units that house special populations such as inmates who are chronically ill or disabled and inmates who need residential mental health care.