NCJ Number
76695
Date Published
1979
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This report describes the activities during 1978 of the Connecticut Department of Correction, a State agency responsible for four felony institutions, six community correctional centers for pretrial individuals and convicted misdemeanants, and parole supervision.
Abstract
The dialog, initiated in 1977, concerning determinate versus indeterminate sentences was brought before the State legislature. Abolition of indeterminate sentences and the substitution of determinate sentences were recommended. Since this would mean the elimination of parole decisions concerning release, 1 year of parole supervision was proposed for all releases. The proposed changes were not enacted, but will be reintroduced in 1979. Another activity during the year was project REDEEM (Redevelopment of Energies Devoted to Enhancing Esteem and Merit), which was initiated at four small community correctional agencies. The project goal was to make the incarceration period more constructive for misdeanants by having them help improve the quality of life in the community. Among projects completed during the year by REDEEM teams were building nature trails for handicapped children and building outdoor picnic facilities for a town recreation area. Of 100 young misdemanants who took part in the program, 78 were released to the community and none were rearrested. In another effort, the needs of parolees were addressed by multiservice centers in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. A fourth center opened in Waterbury, and a fifth, in Stamford, was scheduled for opening in midsummer 1978. Staff training in 1978 included fire drills and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The data showed an increase in numbers of minority employees but the increase was much smaller than those of preceding years. Assistance to inmates in the maintenance of family ties included mailgram notification of the prime family member regarding a family member's transfer from one institution to another and support of Women in Crisis, a volunteer group working with an inmate's wife, mother or sister. Institutional services, drug and alcohol treatment, correctional education, and model prison industries are described. Field services including parole and volunteer services are examined. Evaluation and inspection services program development, staff training and research and library services are also described. Statistical data are included.