NCJ Number
69897
Journal
California Youth Authority Quarterly Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer/Fall 1980) Pages: 67-73
Date Published
1980
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Major policy decisions in a correctional agency are greatly facilitated when ongoing research programs provide the data; countless California Youth Authority (CYA) policy issues have been influenced by such data.
Abstract
Policy issues raised by CYA have centered on the effects of reducing the number of wards in open dormitory settings, on earning time cuts by voluntary participation in programs, on needs for psychiatric treatment or special counseling treatment, on what kinds of educational or vocational skills wards need, and on parole staff's opinions regarding their own training, supervision, and jobs. Methods to obtain information regarding these issues have involved experimental research designs, the establishment of data systems to routinely compile data, conducting surveys, analyzing criminal justice statistics, and reviewing research conducted in the CYA and elsewhere. Findings that have come out of this research have influenced facility use and program planning. Moreover, findings on psychiatric and special counseling programs are anticipated to be used in making program refinements, findings about job survival skills have been put to use in planning preparole and survival programs, and parole staff opinions are likely to be used in policy and program planning for training, safety, and communications. Thus, while research findings have been used in CYA, the responsibility lies with administrative and research staff to increase the use of research findings in making correctional policy decisions. Further issues that could be explored include determining whether fewer offenders could be locked up without increasing risks to the public and which types of programs and services are most effective.