National Evaluation Data Services (NEDS)
Beginning with the award of NEDTAC in 1994, then NEDS I in 1997 and NEDS II in 2000, ICF supported the CSAT mission by using available data sets and state-of-the-art analytic methods to explore the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs. Our team helped the CSAT grantee community capture and report performance data in a culturally sensitive, yet standardized manner, then assisted CSAT program managers in using the information to plan scientifically sound services. ICF assisted CSAT’s information dissemination activities through the creation of 156 fact sheets, 41 analytic summaries, 46 briefing tool kits, 12 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 18 professional conference presentations. We presented our work to the CSAT director and Single State Agency directors as well as to the larger substance abuse professional community.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Organizational and Leadership Development
SAMHSA was tasked with confronting a number of challenges related to strategic management of the agency’s human capital. Leadership and workforce challenges arising from the ongoing evolution of the agency’s mission and objectives posed significant concerns to mission accomplishment. Based on interviews and focus groups with employees and leaders in each of the Agency’s Centers and Offices, ICF recommended a multi-pronged approach, including leadership development, workforce planning, and strategic communications. To begin, ICF created a Leadership Development Program (LDP) to build strong management skills, thereby improving employee satisfaction and retention. For the LDP, ICF developed and delivered nine courses on topics ranging from effective communications to change management and labor relations. Simultaneously, ICF conducted a number of workforce analyses to identify mission critical competency gaps, succession planning priorities, and organizational improvement needs. The resulting workforce plans have helped to facilitate change and foster integration and organizational transformation. Together, these interventions have supported compliance with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM),
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), and Health and Human Services (HHS) requirements, and contributed to more effective organizational performance.
Compassion Capital Fund Faith-Based Study
ICF partnered with Kairos Horizon Community Corporation to evaluate the role and effect of a faith-based program operating at Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach, Florida. Supported by the Office of Community Services, the research plan included document review, goals assessment, and interviews with program and correctional staff. A series of publications highlight research findings and illustrate strategies for engaging nonprofits in the provision of reentry services and in-prison programming.
Development of a Guide to Resources on
Faith-Based Organizations in Criminal Justice
ICF developed a guide to resources on faith-based organizations (FBO) in criminal justice for the National Institute on Justice (NIJ). The guide was designed as a resource to assist the development of a research agenda to determine whether and under what circumstances the faith community can promote public safety via reducing crime and delinquency. The guide was developed using a combination of literature review, environmental scan to identify promising faith-based programs supporting criminal justice initiatives, and case studies to identify key elements of successful faith-based interventions in criminal justice.
Florida Department of Corrections:
Organizational Assessment of Personnel, Contracting and Information Technology
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) was intensely scrutinized by the media for a variety of scandals and alleged organizational inefficiencies. The new Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections wanted to identify the organizational problems and obtain recommendations on how to solve them. To address these needs, MGT of America, Inc., and ICF partnered to conduct a large-scale organizational assessment and process review for the Florida Department of Corrections. This 60-day effort required a fast-paced but thorough review of all department operations. This included analyses of the agency’s 28,000 employees, 64 major institutional sites, and two hundred probation locations along with its entire organizational structure, including offices, bureaus and divisions located around the state of Florida. ICF’s role was to examine personnel, contracting, and information technology, and to conduct an organization-wide Web-survey of performance and morale. Recommendations for improvements were documented and presented to the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections. The majority of ICF’s recommendations are currently being implemented.
Missouri Department of Corrections:
Job Task Analysis and Certification Development
The state of Missouri wished to develop a certification system recognizing and benefiting corrections officers, including Missouri Department of Corrections officers, county jailers, jailers in charter counties, and private jail custody staff at various stages in their career. This certification system is expected to advance recruitment and retention efforts and result in several other positive outcomes, including increases in the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of corrections officers and jailers. To develop a valid and useful certification system, the state needed to have a clear understanding of content and requirements of correctional officer jobs at state, county, and municipal levels. To meet this need, ICF conducted a job analysis of all correctional officer positions in the state. This job analysis identified essential tasks and relevant knowledge, skills, abilities, and working conditions associated with the corrections and jailer positions. Based on this analysis, our team made a series of recommendations related to minimum hiring requirements, training needs, physical ability standards, and selection procedures. The recommendations provided were used to develop selection and training requirements and to create a career path for corrections officers. These interventions were designed to reward those who develop and maintain their skills, while providing guidance and encouragement to corrections officers on meeting the cognitive, physical, and psychological demands associated with their career.
Virginia Department of Corrections:
Task Analysis and Recruitment/ Retention Needs Assessment
ICF worked with the Virginia Department of Corrections to conduct a job task analysis and needs assessment of the department's Probation and Parole Officers (POs). At the onset of the project, the department was experiencing a variety of personnel issues, including unusually high turnover among entry-level officers. The purpose of the study was to gather job data and to provide recommendations related to PO hiring, training, recruitment, and retention efforts. Results of the project provided an understanding of the critical competencies required to meet position standards. In addition, the results provided important information related to the essential and desirable resources needed to perform the work of a PO. These findings were used in the redesign of recruitment and retention processes across the state.
Virginia Department of Corrections:
Workforce Development
The Virginia Department of Corrections recently assembled a Probation Officer Work Group to develop skill-blocks for its probation and parole officer staff. Skill-block descriptions were used to define critical skill areas of the probation and parole officer job (e.g., sex offender treatment provider, substance abuse counselor). The Work Group was part of a larger initiative chartered to develop a value proposition that updates the job structure, pay structure, and the job and pay practices for probation officers, aligning them with the strategic direction of community corrections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As part of this effort, we provided technical assistance in the design of skill-blocks and compensation structure for POs. Results of this project are being used statewide to shape and define job structure, pay structure, training requirements, and the pay practices for probation officers in the state of Virginia. In addition, the skill-blocks created will align these practices with the strategic direction of Virginia community corrections.
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency:
Pennsylvania Constables Job Analysis and Training Assessment
ICF worked with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to conduct a detailed job analysis of the Constable position and to make recommendations related to the Constable’s basic and continuing education training programs. ICF staff conducted job observations and focus groups with subject matter experts across the state of Pennsylvania to identify the critical tasks, knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for successful job performance. The data was used to determine which job functions required further training. We then reviewed all aspects of the current Constable training program and assessed gaps or places where there was too little or too much emphasis in the current curriculum. Based on our findings, we made recommendations related to the structure and content of future Constable training. The recommendations will be used to refine the training program and will also be used to inform legislation that establishes requirements for the Constable position.
Office of Community-Oriented Policing:
Developing a Community Policing Implementation Assessment Tool
ICF contracted with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community-Oriented Policing to produce a self-assessment community policing (SACP) instrument for police departments to evaluate their implementation of community policing. This tool will facilitate internal planning and inform training and other initiatives toward the full adoption of community policing. ICF developed and field tested a draft instrument that includes questions tapping organizational performance (e.g., staff morale, perception of management support, adequacy of staffing, resources and adequacy of training), compliance with agency procedures, policies and practices of officers and staff, relationships with the media, and community concerns and perceptions. The different sections of the tool document the organizational changes instituted in support of community policing, as well as an agency's progress toward building community partnerships and using problem-solving techniques. The final tool includes a general/global assessment used for determining the implementation stage of the site, and a second, more detailed exploration of police functioning within a narrower, tailored range of activities (including individual, organizational, and community capacity).
OVC Training and Technical Assistance Centers
In May 2002, ICF took over responsibility for operating the
Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center
(OVC TTAC) and began enhancing its services capabilities and reorganizing its operating structure to more effectively provide technical assistance (TA) resource development and delivery, TA education and outreach, and needs assessment and evaluation. During the course of this contract, ICF successfully managed the following:
- Supported more than 295 T&TA requests from the field
- Deployed more than 330 consultants in support of T&TA and work plan assignments
- Delivered more than 450 Training Calendar events in 28 different cities
- Developed and pilot-tested the American Indian/Alaska Native Victim Assistance Academy
- Launched the OVC TTAC Web site
- Developed and launched five on-line learning communities
ICF staff worked closely and collaboratively with OVC personnel, thereby ensuring that TTAC met the needs of both the agency and the greater professional community. Our staff routinely briefed the OVC director as well as presenting to the Office of Justice Programs director and the Assistant Attorney General. |
