NCJ Number
85361
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The number of correctional enterprises accredited can increase through more regional technical assistance, more money for the Commission of Accreditation for Corrections (CAC), an improved public information program, maintaining confidentiality for accreditation candidates, and clarification of standards.
Abstract
To ensure that candidates for accreditation have the opportunity to work within a consistent and uniform process, regional teams should be established to work with an agency from its initial contact to the final accreditation decision. Emphasis should be given to the CAC working toward survival on its own income. This can happen as fee incomes continue to grow and increased size can produce economies not now possible. Further, public information programs should be better targeted. Decisionmakers outside the correctional professions should be more aware of the standards and what they mean. Legislators and other public officials should be encouraged to incorporate the standards into legislation, ordinances, orders, and long-range planning instructions. The maintaining of confidentiality for accreditation candidates encourages more agencies to apply for accreditation, since no agency wants its deficiencies or failure to be accredited and publicized. Standards should be simplified and clarified. To aid in this goal, the chapters in future manuals might be headed with a statement of the general intent, followed by a statement of the standards without comment. The discussion currently accompanying the standards has been mistakenly interpreted as carrying the same weight as the standards themselves.