NCJ Number
82220
Date Published
1980
Length
175 pages
Annotation
This body of assessed information on the operational issues of administering correctional functions through a board of corrections was commissioned in anticipation of Washington State's proposed legislation to establish a corrections commission with authority over a separate corrections department.
Abstract
Following a description of the study's methodology, correctional reorganizational experience is reviewed, including a brief history of the organization of corrections and a discussion of rationales for correctional reorganization and current trends in this area. Standards and recommendations promulgated by a number of national organizations and study commissions regarding corrections reorganization are also outlined. The role that corrections commissions or boards of corrections have played in such reorganization is considered. A major section of the report presents data on alternative correctional structures. Chapters in this section describe the alternative correctional structures to be examined. The experiences of States with the board structure are chronicled, and the impact of the board structure is compared with the effects of other structures regarding a number of issues. Another section discusses other issues which should be examined if a preliminary decision were made to consider the board alternative. The issues discussed include board structure and implementation. The concluding section examines all the benefits generally associated with the board structure and considers whether these benefits might be more effectively derived from other approaches to corrections organization. Appended are the interview protocol, a list of persons interviewed, models of State boards of corrections, and statutory references for the scope of jurisdiction and a State board of corrections. Twelve notes are provided.