NCJ Number
75655
Date Published
1977
Length
255 pages
Annotation
Besides a summary of the results of a 1977 telephone survey of 50 state planning agency (SPA) corrections specialists to update and verify the priority corrections technical assistance (TA) needs in each State, this document provides the interview and response instruments, study data, and other related materials.
Abstract
The survey identified prison overcrowding and probation management as the two top priority issues. LEAA's Office of Regional Operations (ORO) of the National Corrections Technical Assistance Project (NCTAP) had earlier idenitified these two top priorities from eight major corrections issues, including jails (upgrading, alternatives, and overcrowding); restitution; recruitment, selection, and retention of women and minorities; management of jail facilities; health care in correctional institutions; and prison industries. Because of NCTAP contract requirements to allocate 60 percent of its resources to the top two priorities, overcrowding and probation management were further analyzed by respondent region and size of population group. The analysis shows that concern for the overcrowding issue is most prevalent in the South where 69 percent identified it as a priority; the North Central States follow closely with 66 percent. The need for TA in probation management is highest in the North Central (66 percent) and North Eastern States (50 percent). Almost all States with populations of 4-10 million identified overcrowding as a priority need. The need for TA in probation mamagement appears evenly distributed among population groups. Finally, of the 27 areas of probable need identified, jail standards, training, and jail upgrading were the most frequently mentioned. In addition to the telephone survey forms and the response data the following tables are provided: (1) top priority TA needs by SPA, (2) regional variations of top priorities, (3) population groupings, (4) possible areas of TA need (ad hoc and brokered) by State, and (5) possible areas of TA need (ad hoc and brokered) by area.