NCJ Number
108788
Date Published
1986
Length
67 pages
Annotation
This study, conducted in the spring of 1986, assessed the effectiveness and efficiency of the administration of the Maryland Parole Commission.
Abstract
Data were obtained from numerous documents and work products along with interviews with commission staff and other corrections personnel familiar with parole operations. Findings indicate that turnover among staff at mid-management levels and below has been extreme to the point of disruption. Overtime is not well controlled or properly managed, and procedural documentation is inadequate to nonexistent for many staff tasks and responsibilities. On-the-job training has been hindered by inadequate procedural documentation, the lack of sufficient time to train new employees, and by managers and supervisors not being adequately trained or sufficiently familiar with subordinate responsibilities. Performance expectations have not always been established or clearly communicated to staff. Job assignments are in a constant state of flux, and management staff needs strengthening. Morale problems are pervasive; personnel services have not always been timely or efficiently handled; and inmates, particularly those with short sentences, are not being scheduled for timely hearings and, in some instances, are not being scheduled for hearings at all. Recommendations are offered to address the aforementioned problems. 8 tables.