SOP 211.06: In-House Transitional Center Dorms (ITC)

|GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Standard Operating Procedures|Col2|Col3|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area: `
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Reference Number: `
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|`Revises`
`Previous`
`Effective Date:`
`9/15/10`|
|`Subject:`
`IN-HOUSE TRANSITIONAL`
`CENTER DORMS (ITC)`|||
|`Authority:`
`Bryson/Ward`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Page``1`` of`
`7 `|

I. POLICY:

   The selection of inmates for the In-House Transitional Centers
   (ITC) shall be inmates originally sentenced under SB441 (two
   strikes and you are out), SB440 (juveniles sentenced as
   adults), and inmates with Maximum Release Dates or Tentative
   Parole Months (TPM) within 18 months of release. Those inmates
   shall be identified and placed in a specialized housing unit
   at selected state facilities for delivery of programs targeted
   at preparing them for successfully re-entering society with a
   reduced risk of returning to prison.

II. APPLICABILITY:

   All state, county, and private prisons housing targeted
   inmates

III. RELATED DIRECTIVES:

   O.C.G.A. 17-10-6.1, 15-11-28(b)(2)(A)

IV. DEFINITIONS:

   A. SB441 : A bill enacted into law effective January 1, 1995
      now codified as O.C.G.A. 17-19-6.1. Better known as “two
      strikes and you are out,”SB441 requires that anyone
      convicted of any of the seven serious violent felonies
      (also known as seven deadly sins) must serve a minimum of
      ten years in prison without parole. Any sentences handed
      down by the court beyond ten years are also not eligible
      for parole. Anyone convicted of a second “deadly sin”
      receives a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 2 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

B. SB440 : A bill enacted into law effective January 1,1995
   now codified as O.C.G.A. 15-11-28(b)(2)(A) gives the
   superior court exclusive jurisdiction over children ages
   13-17 who are alleged to have committed one of the “seven
   deadly sin.”

C. Seven Deadly Sins: The “serious violent felonies” are:
   Murder or Felony Murder, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Rape,
   Aggravated Child Molestation, Aggravated Sodomy, and
   Aggravated Sexual Battery.

D. In-House Transitional Center (ITC) : A housing unit of
   varied size housing only the inmates assigned to this
   program.

E. Volunteers : Individuals or groups with specific knowledge
   and skills who provide services or resources within their
   area of expertise.

F. COMPAS : The Correctional Offender Management Profiling
   for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) is an automated,
   statistically based assessment instrument designed to
   assess key risk and criminogenic need factors for
   correctional populations. COMPAS is used for developing
   case plans for placement, supervision and case-management
   of offenders.

G. TCUDS: The Texas Christian University Drug Screen (TCUDS)
   is a 15-question substance abuse screening device. It is
   a self-assessment of an offender’s need and readiness for
   substance abuse treatment.

H. `SAGE:` `The` `System for Assessment and Group Evaluation`

   (SAGE) measures vocational aptitude, cognitive and
   conceptual abilities, vocational interest inventory, work
   attitude, temperament factor assessment, learning styles
   and work ethics.

I. TABE: Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) is a national
   assessment examination to determine individual adult
   academic achievement.

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 3 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

   J. Interest Profiler: An occupational assessment instrument
      used to build a career plan leading to employment.

   K. Inmate Career Center: Located within GDC facilities,
      staffed with inmates trained as career clerks; contains
      resources used to build career/ employment plans.

V. ATTACHMENTS:

   Attachment 1 – Career Plan

   Attachment 2 – In-House Transition Center Dorm (ITC) Action
            Plan

VI. PROCEDURE:

   A. Inmates meeting the criteria of this program shall be
      assigned to the specialized housing unit designated for
      the In-House Transitional Center. Eligible inmates within
      eighteen months of release date, either max or TPM may be
      placed in this program.

1. `Inmates with no more than eighteen (18) months and`

         no less than six (6) months remaining on their
         sentence may be eligible for In-House Transitional
         Center assignment. Approval for assignment of
         inmates in the ITC with tentative release dates
         beyond the 18-month criteria should be obtained
         through the ITC State Coordinator and this approval
         shall be noted in SCRIBE.

      2. A Program Coordinator will be assigned to the
         housing unit program. This person will preferably be
         a staff counselor. It is strongly recommended that
         the person assigned to this program not carry other
         caseload in the institution due to the intensive
         nature of the program. The Coordinator/Counselor
         will be expected to document once a month in case
         notes.

      3. The Program Coordinator will provide a monthly
         roster to the Institutional Classification Committee

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 4 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

   of eligible candidates for placement in this program
   based on their discharge date. Institutional
   Classification Committee will then assign eligible
   inmates to the designated housing units at
   participating facilities. Once an inmate is assigned
   to this program, it is considered a mandatory
   assignment. Offenders who do not meet the criteria
   for the program shall not be placed in the program
   dorm unless assigned as a clerk, dorm orderly or
   mentor.

4. When determining inmate placement for In-House
   Transitional Center, priority will be given to
   inmates who are maxing out on their sentence.
   Consideration will then be given to those inmates
   with TPMs within the identified range. Placement in
   the ITC program should never override an inmate
   being placed in a Transitional Center or specialty
   type program such as RSAT.

5. It is strongly recommended that a closed dormitory
   be used for placement of the ITC unit. Many aspects
   of the program include increased responsibility and
   this is better done in the closed dormitory
   environment.

6. All inmates placed in this program must be able to
   reside in a general population dorm.

7. Inmates removed from the In-House Transitional
   Center for adjustment/disciplinary reasons should be
   returned to general population and may be
   reconsidered only if referred by the Institutional
   Classification Committee. However, all other
   alternatives for dealing with the disciplinary
   infraction should be explored before removal from
   the program.

8. Any inmate in the program, whose TPM date is
   adjusted beyond the 18-month criteria, should be
   placed back into general population upon the
   discretion of the institution. The inmate may

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 5 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

      rejoin the program again when the maximum discharge
      or TPM date is back within the 18-month time range.

   9. It is strongly recommended that a designated officer
      be assigned to the ITC dormitory. The designated
      officer will receive specialized ITC staff training.

B. The programs of this specialized unit shall be designed
   to address the assessed criminogenic needs, risk, and
   responsivity factors of the assigned population as
   identified through COMPAS with the intent to accomplish
   the major components of this program. All inmates
   assigned to this program must participate in their
   individual assessed program plan and be assigned to GCI
   work, vocational training, OJT, or a specialized work
   detail.

   1. Incentive programming is also a key part of the ITC
      unit. It is expected that each facility will
      develop incentives to use with the inmates in the
      program.

      a. REENTRY: Reentry begins at the offender’s
         earliest point of entry to the facility.
         Reentry will link clients to program services
         necessary for successful transition and
         reintegration into the community. Reentry will
         increase the community and correctional
         capacity to address the offender’s needs and
         identify community resources to match assessed
         needs. Reentry will link community support and
         aftercare for released offenders. Reentry will
         collaborate with agencies that provide services
         such as mental health, social services, housing
         and employment services to affect the lives of
         offenders once they are released from custody.

      b. EDUCATION: The participants shall enroll in an
         appropriate level of education program based on
         TABE scores and results with an emphasis to
         complete a GED program. TABE will be given if

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 6 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

   they have not had one done in the past year or
   if directed by COMPAS.

c. SUBSTANCE ABUSE: All offenders in the ITC
   program must complete the state minimum
   substance abuse guidelines.

   Based on the COMPAS, a referral to the more
   advanced programming will be made. The TCUDS
   score on all ITC participants will be reviewed
   and this noted in SCRIBE.

d. EMPLOYMENT READINESS : The participants shall be
   assigned to a work assignment to develop
   specific employment skills. Emphasis will be
   placed on the concepts of going to work, being
   on time and productivity. Employment readiness
   will prepare offenders to work in society.
   Participants will be oriented and trained in
   work ethics, interviewing skills, job
   etiquette, payroll and budgeting. The dorm unit
   will house a minimum of one computer,
   maintaining an in-dorm career center for the
   participants. All participants will complete
   the Interest Profiler, attached career plan and
   a working resume. It is recommended that the
   resume and any other documents created in the
   career center be saved on disk by the counselor
   and placed in the offender’s TOPPSTEP file. The
   SAGE will be administered when COMPAS indicates
   assessment.

   1) Volunteers from the community will be
      recruited to deliver specific
      presentations to enhance the participants
      understanding of current trends and job
      opportunities available.

   2) Collaboration with other agencies to
      conduct career and resource fairs will be
      used to enhance education for viable jobs.
      All career and resource fairs must be

|Functional Area:
FACILITIES OPERATIONS|Prev. Eff. Date:
9/15/10|Page 7 of
7|
|---|---|---|
|`Functional Area:`
`FACILITIES OPERATIONS`|`Effective Date:`
`07/10/15`|`Reference Number:`
`IIB16-0002`
`(211.06)`|

               approved first through the state
               vocational coordinator.

            3) Some job placement will be identified
               prior to release through a pre-qualified
               list of employers.

            4) Utilizing the “Interest Profiler”, all
               program participants will develop a “Job
               Plan” as part of their participating in
               the “Career Center”.

         e. COGNITIVE/Behavioral Programming : Cognitive            behavioral programs will be available to
            participants in the specialized unit. These
            programs are designed to change criminal
            thinking and behavior. These approaches hold
            offenders accountable for their behavior with
            interventions that are structured and
            directive. The counselor will prepare a program
            plan based on identified needs and risks of the
            offender. COMPAS will be used as an assessment
            tool to develop a program plan. Cognitive            behavioral curriculum will be determined by
            Risk Reduction Services.

   C. The Deputy Warden CT or designee will have oversight of
      the ITC program to ensure compliance with this policy.
      The Warden will ensure that the ITC is a part of the
      facility mission and an institutional team concept that
      is supported throughout to enhance success in reducing
      recidivism and better manage offenders.

VII. Retention Schedule:

   A. Attachment 1 of this SOP will be retained in the inmate’s
      institutional file.

   B. Attachment 2 of this SOP will be maintained in the
      inmate’s institutional file.