Who wins games, defense or offense? If it is defense, why does the coach get fired after too many games with too few points? If it is offense, why do players lose their positions if they can’t do their jobs defensively? I can tell you what ESPN talking heads might say… but let’s face it, every member is crucial in the team’s success.
Departments in community corrections also need to be able to operate as a team and share information. I’ve compared our residential community corrections team at Time to Change to a football team in trainings. You have your defense (security), your offense (case managers) and your coaches (management). You need all parts of the team to get to the end goal of successful client reintegration.
The Previously Tedious Incident Report
Take incident reports (IRs) for example. Accountability and structure is a big part of creating change. We all have rules to follow and we do better when we know the consequences, good or bad, of our behavior. Before we had a fully integrated case management software system, our IR tracking system at Time to Change was… just awful.
- There was the folder to put an IR in once it was written.
- There was the binder with a tracking form to fill out for every client violation. This binder was brought to staff meetings and the sanctions of the IR were written into the forms.
- These IR tracking forms were filed and stored in the manager’s office in another binder and needed to be organized by fiscal year for state audits.
- There was an individual sheet for the client so that each client had an individual record of all incidents and sanctions (so staff wrote the same information on two separate tracking forms).
- The IR was then reviewed by a supervisor and placed in the client file to sign.
- Security staff signed the report as a witness and then put the IR in the folder to be sanctioned in the next staff meeting.
- Once the IR was sanctioned, we would write the restriction on a board and ask that the case manager write it on the client’s sign out approval.
- Then we created a chore sheet (now triplicating the efforts of writing in the violation details on another form).
- The case manager filed the IR in the binder.
- Once the chores were complete, the case manager filed the chore sheet behind the corresponding IR (or misfiled it, making auditing even more tedious).
Does any of this sound familiar? The process was tedious and time-consuming for sure, but these steps were just part of why it was time consuming. There were also the countless hours spent arguing and going over the process repeatedly after IRs went missing, chore sheets went missing, restrictions weren’t logged properly or processes weren’t followed. That didn’t just waste time but also affected staff morale, and consistent implementation of client accountability. Not to mention how many IRs were not written because staff didn’t want to go through the headaches. There already wasn’t enough time to get the job done!
Toss the Folders and Binders, We've Got CorrectTech!
This is just one example of the powerful data sharing performed every day by CorrectTech community corrections software by automating menial tasks to solve problems for our unsung heroes – the front line community corrections staff. For Time to Change Community Corrections, CorrectTech made this tedious and time-consuming procedure a streamlined process. Here is the new process now trained at Time to Change:
- Automated IRs are written for being late to the facility, positive UAs, BTs and even contraband (YES - I am saying that the CorrectTech software writes the IR automatically right into the client file!!).
- Time to Change has a plea system that allows clients to plead guilty, not guilty or guilty with an explanation. A case manager controls the steps by selecting from a drop down menu. Then the system automatically sends the IR to the client to plead via the kiosk. (No more lost IRs!)
- Every step and person who touches the incident is logged and easy to track. If a client doesn’t plead within a certain time, you know.
- The IR and sanctions are created and stored directly in the client file so you don’t need to have any paper tracking or do any filing!
- Any staff can see the information they need on the spot – security, case management and facility management.
- All of the information needed to review operations can be reviewed right there in the staff meetings!
CorrectTech eliminated the need for management to track all facility wide IRs in a paper binder. Any internal or external auditor can now view all IRs written and those found guilty by year, month or however they want to see it!
With the ability to share data, our team’s accountability efforts are being done with fidelity and are working. Now the processes are easier to follow and the Time to Change team shares in successes together and everyone gets credit for the win!
Let Us Show You What Else Is Possible With CorrectTech
Check out this video below for more about CorrectTech's data manager capabilities.
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