NCJ Number
126083
Date Published
1990
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study was conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate the operation of the District of Columbia (DC) Criminal Justice Initiative (CJI); an attempt to relieve overcrowding in the prisons and break the cycle of recidivism in part through providing inmates with basic life skills and vocational training. Specifically, the study sought to determine what program planning challenges DC faced in organizing the CJI program, how CJI operating funds were spent, and how many inmates obtained jobs related to the CJI training that they had received.
Abstract
Using DC Department of Corrections data as well as interviews with DOC officials, the GAO found that the DC government had faced formidable challenges in implementing the CJI program due to the timing of Congressional appropriations and certain DOC management practices. The total CJI Federal appropriation was divided approximately two-thirds for operating expenses and one-third for capital projects. The proportions allocated to the education portion of the program increased each year. The DOC's current job placement information system severely limits the ability of managers to accurately assess and manage programs. Data records were incomplete, inaccurate, and unstandardized. The data do indicate that of the nearly 4,000 job placements of inmates, only 10 percent were related to CJI training. This low ratio was influenced by several noneducation factors. Finally, prison overcrowding in DC inhibits efforts to develop and sustain an effective education program. The GAO recommends that the DOC review and improve job placement input controls, develop standardized job title information, and provide information relating to job description, its relationship to CJI training, and noneducation factors that influence an inmate's decision to accept a particular job. 5 tables, 5 figures, and 5 appendixes.