March 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
And Remember the Effects of Budget Cuts
A story here on the national increase in meth production and use again, after the temporary effect of the Actifed-behind-the-counter laws that turned out to be “whack-a-mole.” Note, though, that the data come from 2008, just when the current economic problems started and remember the story we linked to on Monday concerning the impact of budget cuts on proactive search-and-seizure of meth labs. Anybody really taking the “under” on how many labs we have when the next fed report comes out???
This Week at NCJRS
After a hiatus last week, the good folks at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service are back this week with a potpourri (without the smell) of research abstracts of interesting reports and studies. Here are few titles to get you going and to click the link:
- HIV Testing of Inmates at Release From Maryland State Correctional Facilities: A Feasibility Study
- Change in Offence Seriousness Across Early Criminal Careers
- Effect of Prison on Adult Re-Offending
- Sentencing Circles in Canada and the Gacaca in Rwanda: A Comparative Analysis
- Hispanic Victims and Homicide Clearance by Arrest
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Science Daily and Substance Abuse
Not that one automatically leads to the other. Either way. But the first has had a lot of articles lately on the second which might be of use to you if you have inclined to interest in the second. Follow that? If so, follow these as well. This one on how a mother’s drinking patterns during pregnancy can affect the offspring’s behavior disorders later on, and this one on how parents can also influence alcohol (non)behavior in offspring in the teen years (you know, those years when the brain basically develop the ability to resist temptations but their peers are saying don’t listen to all that). This one on how gambling problems are actually more of a problem than drinking problems. This one on changes in the brain after long-term methadone use to prevent the changes in the brain from long-term heroin use. And this one on how brain scans are being used to predict effectiveness of cigarette cessation treatment, with some pretty obvious ramifications for use in other areas of abuse as well. So read up.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Despite the Odds
Overview and links here to a new longitudinal study of violent teenagers and their experiences and activities years later. Here’s some of the interesting results to get you to click that little link above:
“Pathways to Desistance followed1,354 serious juvenile offenders ages 14–18 (184 females and 1,170 males) for years after their conviction. Some findings released after a seven year data collection include: Most youth who commit felonies greatly reduce their offending over time, regardless of the intervention, longer stays in juvenile institutions do not reduce recidivism, community-based supervision as a component of aftercare is effective for youth who have committed serious offenses, and substance abuse treatment reduces both substance use and criminal offending.”
Despite the Odds II
And, on the heels of studies of youths turning their lives around, here’s a good article on a federal reentry court program in Kansas City and a story of one young woman in particular who seems to have gotten her head screwed back down tight, proof that it really is possible for corrections to turn some folks around. Yeah, yeah, one anecdote doesn’t equal data, but sometimes you just need one example to show something’s possible, too.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Who’s Gunna Clean Up This Meth?
Not what you want to hear. Budget cuts mean that there’s way less money from the feds to clean up meth labs after they’re busted so guess what?
"I think it will change enforcement strategy," said Tony Saucedo, the meth enforcement director for Michigan State Police. "There's no way to be proactive. If we come across [a meth lab], obviously it's going to have to be handled. You can probably bet that nobody's going to go actively looking for meth labs."
Well, that’s one way to get prison populations down . . . .
Speaking of Bad Drug News
Press release from SAMHSA:
SAMHSA News Release
Date: 3/24/2011 12:01 AM
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130
Emergency department visits related to “Ecstasy” use increased nearly 75 percent from 2004 to 2008
Nearly 70 percent of these visits involved patients aged 18 to 29
A new national study indicates that the number of hospital emergency visits involving the illicit drug Ecstasy increased from 10,220 in 2004 to 17,865 visits in 2008 – a 74.8 percent increase. According to this new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) most of these Ecstasy-related visits (69.3 percent) involved patients aged 18 to 29, but notably 17.9 percent involved adolescents aged 12 to 17. Ecstasy use can produce psychedelic and stimulant side effects such as anxiety attacks, tachycardia, hypertension and hyperthermia. The variety and severity of adverse reactions associated with Ecstasy use can increase when the drug is used in combination with other substances of abuse -- a common occurrence among Ecstasy users.
A new national study indicates that the number of hospital emergency visits involving the illicit drug Ecstasy increased from 10,220 in 2004 to 17,865 visits in 2008 – a 74.8 percent increase. According to this new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) most of these Ecstasy-related visits (69.3 percent) involved patients aged 18 to 29, but notably 17.9 percent involved adolescents aged 12 to 17. Ecstasy use can produce psychedelic and stimulant side effects such as anxiety attacks, tachycardia, hypertension and hyperthermia. The variety and severity of adverse reactions associated with Ecstasy use can increase when the drug is used in combination with other substances of abuse -- a common occurrence among Ecstasy users.
A new national study indicates that the number of hospital emergency visits involving the illicit drug Ecstasy increased from 10,220 in 2004 to 17,865 visits in 2008 – a 74.8 percent increase. According to this new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) most of these Ecstasy-related visits (69.3 percent) involved patients aged 18 to 29, but notably 17.9 percent involved adolescents aged 12 to 17.
Ecstasy use can produce psychedelic and stimulant side effects such as anxiety attacks, tachycardia, hypertension and hyperthermia. The variety and severity of adverse reactions associated with Ecstasy use can increase when the drug is used in combination with other substances of abuse -- a common occurrence among Ecstasy users.
This SAMHSA study indicates that 77.8 percent of the emergency department visits involving Ecstasy use also involve the use of at least one or more other substances of abuse. Among Ecstasy-related emergency department cases involving patients aged 21 or older 39.7 percent of the patients had used Ecstasy with three or more other substances of abuse.
“The resurgence of Ecstasy use is cause for alarm that demands immediate attention and action,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “The aggressive prevention efforts being put into place by SAMHSA will help reduce use in states and communities, resulting in less costly emergency department visits related to drug use.”
Emergency Department Visits Involving Ecstasy was developed as part of the agency’s strategic initiative on data, quality and outcomes. It is based on data from SAMHSA’s 2004 - 2008 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports. DAWN is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related hospital emergency department visits reported throughout the nation. A copy of the report is accessible at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k11/dawn027/ecstasy.cfm.
On the Other Hand, Some Good News
Of inmate programs that involve food, good will, and budget offsets. This one on the Rikers Island bakery program that does enough bread each week to feed the whole prison, while developing baking skills among the inmate participants that might actually pay off for reentry. And this one on how Ohio State University and the state prison system are negotiating a partnership to buy their common food items in bulk together to get reduced costs. And since dorm students have always said that cafeteria food tastes like prison food anyway . . . .
Friday, March 25, 2011
Citizens or Hermits?
Interesting piece up over at Corrections One on different prison management styles, focusing on whether you might be a “citizen” or a “hermit.” Don’t know which one to be? Or afraid of finding out? Hit the link and learn. You might just be your very own category.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Uh . . . Is Anger Management Always a Good Idea?
It’s kinda an article of faith among treatment folks that anger management is a good way to go with many offenders. So what will they think of this research?
“"Research has shown that exerting self-control makes people more likely to behave aggressively toward others and people on diets are known to be irritable and quick to anger," the authors explain. The researchers found that people who exerted self-control were more likely to prefer anger-themed movies, were more interested in looking at angry facial expressions, were more persuaded by anger-framed appeals, and expressed more irritation at a message that used controlling language to convince them to change their exercise habits.”
Now, that doesn’t mean that anger management is always a bad idea, clearly, but it does demonstrate again the importance of being aware of the possibility, when dealing with “good ideas,” the immortal words of the philosopher Homer Simpson, “D’oh!!”
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Using Substances to Offset Substances
Advances in pharmaceutical remedies for substance abuse continue, in this case the development of an enzyme that could lead to drugs to offset nicotine addiction, although your breath should apparently be held for a while. The good part of this for corrections is that, as success in these efforts progresses, it draws resources to deal with similar remedies for other abused substances.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Domestic Violence Victims Usually Not Recognized
In emergency rooms anyway, despite around 80% of such victims ending up there. Almost three-quarters of these victims go unidentified as domestic violence victims:
“A total of 993 female victims of domestic violence generated 3,246 related police incidents over the four-year period. Approximately 80 percent went to emergency departments after the date of the documented incident. Nearly 80 percent of them came with medical complaints and 72 percent were never identified as victims of abuse, even though, on average, these women visited the emergency department seven times over the study period. Women who had filed a police complaint that day, or been taken to the hospital by the police, those who self-disclosed domestic assault, and those who had mental health and substance abuse issues, were more likely to be identified as victims of intimate partner violence.”
The researchers call for more diligence by hospitals and law enforcement, which is absolutely correct. But do you see the possible consequences for prison bedspace in these difficult fiscal times if they are successful? And domestic violence isn’t the only area where this is true. See why they call them “difficult fiscal times”?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Paying for Their Crimes
Literally, apparently in Ohio. This post describes efforts there to get inmates to pay a buck a month for the electricity to run the appliances in their cells, not to mention having to pay for things like flavored drinks, too. Not clear how this is going to work if inmates don’t have the funds, but it will save a quarter of a million dollars, which might or might not cover damages if this doesn’t go over well.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
♪ ♪. . . Just Another Furlough Friday . . . ♪ ♪
No posts tomorrow as the Oklahoma Department of Corrections will be closed for the most part for a furlough day to offset the budget cuts it took for FY 2011. Enjoy your weekend.
Smells Like Teen Something
When a number of news items and blog posts have lately been highlighting state returns to assigning juveniles to juvenile facilities rather than moving them into adult systems, here’s some research indicating the best return on investment for those juvenile dollars:
“Charles Borduin, a professor of psychological sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science finds that multisystemic therapy (MST) is more effective in the lives of troubled youth and costs less.
Borduin has pioneered the model for the treatment and prevention of serious mental health problems in children and adolescents throughout the course of his career. MST interventions involve the offender's entire family and community, as opposed to the current method of individual therapy, where the offender visits a therapist who offers feedback, support and encouragement for behavior change.
With the assistance of Steve Aos from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy and Stephanie Klietz, a psychological science graduate student, Borduin formulated a cost-benefit analysis based on 176 juvenile offenders. With factors such as re-arrest costs and for resources such as law enforcement and correctional facilities, Borduin found that MST cost nearly 10 times less than the current system.”
Yeah, the guy selling the program is the one hyping it, but anyone who knows the work of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy knows its work is sound. So the question becomes, do you put the greater dollars up front for the longer-term payoff or short the front end and pay more over the long run, as the article also describes? But you already knew that because you’d hit the link and read all the details already.
Science Daily on Drugs
So to speak. Three interesting substance abuse pieces up right now:
This one: “At least 60 percent of individuals treated for an alcohol use disorder will relapse, typically within six months of treatment Given that the brain reward system (BRS) is implicated in the development and maintenance of all forms of addictive disorders, this study compared thickness, surface area and volume of neocortical components of the BRS among three groups: light drinkers, alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals still abstinent after treatment, and those who relapsed. Findings support the influence of neurobiological factors on relapse.”
This one: “Young adults whose parents monitor their social interactions may be less likely to display impulsive behavior traits and to have alcohol-related problems, a new study suggests. The level of monitoring is linked to parenting style, and the link is stronger with the parent of the opposite gender.”
And this one: “A new legal high has emerged that seems to be replacing the banned substance mephedrone or "miaow miaow," warns a critical care paramedic in Emergency Medicine Journal. . . .
The new drug in circulation is "ivory wave," also known as "purple wave," "ivory coast," or "vanilla sky." And its use has already been implicated in hospital admissions and deaths in various parts of England, says the author.
Ivory wave is usually sold online as bath salts in packets of between 200 and 500 mg, for £15 a pop. It can be snorted or swallowed.”
Of course you need the details, so hit the links.
This Week at NCJRS
And speaking of research, head into the furlough weekend with plans to visit the National Criminal Justice Reference Service to look over the great research abstracts they’ve got up right now. Here are a few titles to prove the point:
- Core Competencies: A Resource for Parole Board Chairs, Members, and Executive Staff
- Employment and Female Offenders: An Update of the Empirical Research
- Prison to Society: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Coping With Reentry
- Screening and Brief Intervention of Detainees for Alcohol Use: A Social Crime Prevention Approach to Combating Alcohol-Related Crime?
- Factors Associated With Recidivism Among Offenders With Mental Illness
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Corrections’ Own Tsunami
The growing number of aging inmates who end up with Alzheimer’s. This story explains the social concerns and costs that are making their way onto our social agenda, but all of it applies directly to correctional operations, too. Teaser: “This is going to be so epic,” she said. “The proportions are going to get out of hand really quickly. They already are out of hand.”
Form 47
Thought-provoking piece here on the importance of making sure staff see the connection(s) between their work and the outcomes that it produces and whether they are tied to organization goals. Here are some takeaways that will make more sense once you’ve clicked the link:
- Put a human face on the mission. Leighty did this when he arranged the visits from the trooper and MADD leader.
- Offer short-term rotations. When employees work in other units that interact with their own unit, it helps them connect the dots.
- Experience the organization as a customer. Doing so gives us a different and critical perspective.
- Ensure that training sessions include people from multiple units. Inevitably, people leave such programs aware that they share many of the same issues that others have. As we all know, some of the best training moments occur outside the formal sessions, when individuals learn whom to contact in other units for various needs.
- Flow chart important work processes. This should be done with people from every unit that works on the process. It highlights redundancies, delays and opportunities for improvement. Flow charting helps staff see their unit's connection to the larger picture.
- "Get up on the balcony." The term is from the wonderful book, Leadership on the Line by Martin Lensky and Ronald A. Heifetz, who suggest that we sometimes need to remove ourselves from the "dance floor," where daily operations take place, and get up on the balcony to see how the pieces fit together, or don't. "Balcony" moments can include a staff retreat, meetings with senior managers to learn their perspectives, interviews with customers or trips to other organizations to learn their processes.
How Memory Helps (Hurts) Cheaters
Good article here on the way people who cheat in life can, yes, rationalize away how it wasn’t such a bad thing to do but, more importantly, how our memory systems actually help them store the event(s) away in such a way to minimize them, too. Relation to corrections? Well, do we ever deal with people who rationalize away their actions and seem to have poor memories of what they did????
All Treatment Blog en Fuego
Haven’t checked in over at All Treatment Blog in a while and found a ton of interesting things that might also interest you. For instance, if you hurry over, you’ll find posts on a poll showing increasing support for marijuana legalization, another set of cases of drug dealers lacing their crack products with dog dewormer (all together . . . ewwww, and it’s not really healthful either, unless you have worms presumably), the blog’s selections for the top 10 Drug and Addiction related blogs, and news of Fentanyl, an opiate pain killer better (or worse, depending on point of view) than heroin and gaining greater popularity thereby. Just so you can be changing your drug fields in your data systems in the near future. Go on. Click the link and make it a habit, since we don’t seem to get over there enough ourselves.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Canaries, Coal Mines, Criminal Justice and Suicides
Intriguing piece here on the positive association of criminal justice involvement and suicides, more so for females than males but positive for both. As the article notes, correlation is not causation and other things go on, too, but look at this excerpt and try to conclude that this shouldn’t be a concern for everyone in criminal justice, especially corrections:
“First, they confirmed that men were more likely to die by suicide than women – a finding that has been replicated over and over again. Having a criminal justice history of any kind raised the risk for suicide substantially, and this effect was more pronounced for women. Thus, while the risk for suicide doubled for men with a criminal justice history, it more than tripled for women with a criminal justice history.
Drilling down further, the findings were even more interesting. It was not just convictions that raised the risk, but even arrests that did not lead to convictions raised the risk – often significantly more than did a conviction. Thus, fore example, men who were acquitted were 3.8 times as likely to die by suicide, and women who were acquitted were 5.5 times as likely to die by suicide, when compared to those without a criminal justice history. But the most powerful risk factor was an outcome of “sentenced to psychiatric treatment” – this outcome raised the risk by over 13 times for men, and over 25 times for women!”
The author argues the proximate factor isn’t the involvement but the mental illness that goes inadequately addressed and may be exacerbated by the involvement. You can, of course, draw your own conclusions after you click on the link and read the whole thing.
More “Correlation Is Not Causation”
Just because you have genes that predispose you to substance abuse problems, particularly alcohol problems, that doesn’t mean you will become a substance abuser. Just increases the odds. Especially if you are drinking to suppress or otherwise cope with emotional problems. Get the details here.
Just Sayin’ No
A revolt apparently brewing within the psychology profession over the involvement of psychologists in proceedings to move sex offenders into potentially lifelong confinement under state civil commitment procedures. The author doesn’t pretend to be objective in her posting, but she does a pretty good job of describing the various pros and cons, as well as predicting that the costs of those systems in these tough fiscal times may just make the whole argument moot. Interesting reading, though, for those who like to be on the outside looking in on a dispute, so, if that fits you . . . .
Monday, March 14, 2011
Research News Doesn’t Get Furloughed
Lot of good stuff over the last few days that we’ve been away, so here are some items you might want to look into to catch up, if you’re into substance abuse. So to speak. Here’s one on the spread of Oxycontin spreading out of Kentucky of all places, with a really great quote from a federal prosecutor in KY (“You could leave a bag of cocaine on the street and no one would touch it, but leave one OxyContin in the back of an armored car and they'll blow it up to get at it," U.S. Attorney Joseph Famularo said at the February 2001 news conference announcing the first major roundup involving the drug.”). But it’s not oxycontin driving the addiction bus in Washington state, according to this story; it’s our old buddy heroin. This article pins some blame for female substance abuse on earlier-than-usual association with boys, the pigs that they are. And, in case you needed another reason to avoid substance abuse, read the article associated with this headline: “Drug Use Increasingly Associated With Microbial Infections.” Over at Addiction Inbox, a couple of good posts, one on how “runner’s high” shares a lot with the same brain systems that pot does and one on how addiction is really in need of “chronic care,” not the “acute care” that it typically gets and why that difference makes a difference. Finally, if you’re one of those people who insist problems not be talked about unless one or more solutions are offered (which pretty much makes sure you ignore most problems), here’s one way of dealing with addictions (cigarette smoking) that may work with other abused substances and certainly keeps you in with the technologically cool—text messaging support for smoking cessation and its apparent effectiveness.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
♪ ♪. . . Just Another Furlough Friday . . . ♪ ♪
No posts tomorrow as the Oklahoma Department of Corrections will be closed for the most part for a furlough day to offset the budget cuts it took for FY 2011. Enjoy your weekend.
Cuts of a Different Kind
With all the correctional furloughs and budget cuts, we may forget that another kind of cutting is growing behind bars, that that inmates do to themselves.
“Cutting is the most prevalent form of self-injurious behavior in prison, a new study found. The first national survey to inquire about self-injurious behavior in incarcerated prison populations, researchers received responses from 230 mental health professionals working in State facilities, representing 473 prison facilities that provided mental health services and housed 100 plus inmates.
Researches also found that institutional characteristics associated with the prevalence of inmate self-injury include female-only institutions, specialized maximum-security units, and elevated staffing ratios.”
This Week at NCJRS
Prep for your fun-filled weekend by getting to the latest research abstracts over at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Here are some titles to get you to click on the link and enjoy.
- Participation in the Prison Economy and Likelihood of Physical Victimization
- Predicting Noncompliant Behavior: Disparities in the Social Locations of Male and Female Probationers
- Sex Offender Residence Restrictions: Unintended Consequences and Community Reentry
- One Year Longitudinal Study of the Psychological Effects of Administrative Segregation
- Comparing the Criminal History Profiles of Serial and Single-Victim Homicide Offenders
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Stopping Crime Before It Starts
Practically every study done on the most effective public programs to stop crime winds up on early childhood care and education. One dollar spent up front can prevent dozens of dollars having to be spent on the back end, on things like corrections. Here’s a very good report of research extending that knowledge to even the prenatal stages of someone’s life. A bit to get you to read the whole thing:
“Liu cites a number of studies showing that the fetus and the infant child are highly vulnerable to maternal smoking, maternal mental health problems, maternal drug and alcohol use, lead exposure, malnutrition and domestic violence in the home — and that these influences can lead to brain dysfunction, low IQ and a lifetime of antisocial and criminal behavior.
In earlier research, Liu has shown that birth complications are linked with behavioral problems in 11-year-olds. Other studies by Liu suggest that malnutrition and deficiencies in protein, zinc, iron and omega-3 fatty acids can disturb brain functioning and predispose children to misbehave. Other researchers have shown that maternal depression and poor child-rearing behavior can predispose children to act out aggressively.
To prevent patterns of violence from developing, Liu said, a national public health program could include a free and mandatory course for future parents about pre- and postnatal nutrition, and the risks of smoking and drug and alcohol abuse. Prospective and expecting mothers could be screened for substance use and referred to treatment programs, she said.
Monthly home visits by nurses during pregnancy and early childhood also could help reduce problems later on, Liu said. Such home visits through age 2 have been linked to fewer behavioral problems — including running away, using drugs and alcohol, and getting suspended or arrested — in 15-year-olds.
Finally, Liu said, Early Head Start programs could be expanded to help stimulate learning during the most critical window for brain development, before the age of 3.”
Now if people would just start paying attention and following through, we might have a whole lot fewer crime victims in the near future.
Absurdly Low
That’s what reported prison sexual abuse numbers have been called. Fear of retaliation appears to be the problem, which will, of course, shock, simply shock people familiar with the problem. Which doesn’t seem to help getting that problem resolved, though, does it?
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
So Much Biology, So Little Time
A BUNCH of stories in the last few days detailing how much of what we deal with in corrections is actually a subfield of biology. Here are the examples for you to ponder:
It’s not just the drug abuse that reduces the number of neurons in your brain. It’s also your genetic makeup.
While we’re on drugs, so to speak, here are some pieces on how smoking cigarettes also impacts young people’s brains, how certain parts of the brain get active when effective cigarette cessation messages are heard, how our protectors against pot addiction are working on a patch like a nicotine patch (and have a couple of promising leads), although exercise (another of those biological things) may have a good an impact.
Although we may be able to reason better than other species (sometimes . . . some of us . . . ), the reason cognitive behavioral treatment is one of our most effective interventions is because it works directly on non-reasoned behavior, you know, like other animals have (sometimes . . . some of them . . . ).
Speaking of reasoned behavior and the lack thereof, here’s an example, another case of how “reasoned” perception of one’s future affects so-called “impulsive” behavior—thinking you’re going to die can lead to risky actions, even more than the binge drinking and its consequences described here.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Breaking the Cycle
CORRECTIONS TODAY has some of its most recent stories up online right now, focusing on reentry efforts and nuances. If you have the hard copy edition, you’ll also find an article on how our DOC has partnered with higher education institutions to build synergy in our efforts and get research needed for evidence-based practice still done in the face of the budget crisis that this and other states are facing. And it’s all work-related!!!
Spicy Drugs
The feds have stepped into the restriction of designer drugs, such as fake pot known as Spice, that we’ve mentioned states having to deal with occasionally here in the past. These drugs are basically new creatures molecularly like banned drugs except for a changed molecule or two. Every time a particular one gets banned, whoa, a new molecule switch-out and you’ve got a legal drug. Sound like “Whack-a-mole”? Well, it may get worse:
“One problem with the whack-a-mole approach to drug enforcement is that developers of designer drugs can easily stay one jump ahead of the law. What many drug officials and agencies, including the International Narcotics Control Board, want to see is sweeping, generic bans on whole categories of chemicals, in order to win the game of leapfrog.
However, as reported by Maia Szalavitz at Time Healthland, broad-spectrum drug bans “could have the unintended effect of keeping potential cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s out of the pharmaceutical pipeline.” As Szalavitz notes, “getting a drug out of Schedule 1 is much harder than getting it into that legal category, as supporters of medical marijuana and MDMA have discovered.”
And if clinical researchers wish, say, to pursue JWH-133--a chemical compound closely related to the newly banned drugs—for its ability to reduce the inflammation associated with plaque buildup in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, they are going to find that research almost impossible to do, as more and more chemicals escape the lab or emerge from the work of underground chemists and ultimately become illegal substances.”
Hmm . . . more fake pot or more Alheimer’s??? Is that above your pay grade, too?
Friday, March 04, 2011
Quote of the Day
The power of numbers: "If you say that there are elephants flying in the sky, people are not going to believe you. But if you say that there are 425 elephants in the sky, people will probably believe you." — Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (h/t GOVERNING)
New News on Corrections and Mental Health
A good new resources now available for folks involved with or interested in corrections and mental health, according to a kind reader who sent this notice:
NIC News & Updates
News & announcements about the National Institute of Corrections. Look for job openings, funding opportunities, and new service offerings.
New - Corrections and Mental Health Update
The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) welcomes you to Corrections & Mental Health, a new electronic publication covering correctional mental health practices. Corrections and mental health issues have long been intertwined. But only in recent decades have they come to the forefront of our attention, and, as recent reports note, they often come to us as a crisis. Learn more about this publication.
This publication provides information in four areas:
New content will be provided monthly and subscribers will receive email notification when new content is available.
Speaking of Mental Conditions
Here’s a thought-provoker from a researcher pondering the impact of violent thinking and offering an assessment tool to forewarn it and its outcomes. Yes, she’s selling a product, but you’ll need to read it on your own to decide whether it’s legit or a blog infomercial.
Crime, Corrections, and Budget Axes
Very good piece here on the struggle Texas is going through right now to maintain its prison diversion programs, that have seen reductions both in prison use and crime rates, in the face of budget pressures that are facing most states right now. Gives a nice history of that state’s corrections policy, some of the politics that got them where they are now, and stories of offenders who have been involved in the diversions. Could have been set in a lot of states except for the reform efforts, and the ending hasn’t been written yet until the appropriations come down. Anyone wanting to understand the basic situation of state corrections in the US right now can walk away from this with a certificate of achievement at the least.
This Week at NCJRS
Speaking of pharmaceuticals, here’s your latest dosage of recent research abstracts over at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Just a few tempting titles but you have to click on the link to get all the good stuff.
- Coaching Packet: Engaging Offenders’ Families in Reentry
- Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2009 Volume II: College Students and Adults Ages 19-50
- Effects of Pathological Gaming on Aggressive Behavior
- Substance Use Trajectories of Black and White Young Men from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: A Two-Part Growth Curve Analysis
- Gene Expression During Blow Fly Development: Improving the Precision of Age Estimates in Forensic Entomology
Okay, just threw that last one in to see if you were paying attention.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
12 Step Program for Better Performance?
Sort of. This article describes the importance and perils of performance measurement for operations in these tough fiscal times, including these tips:
- Start your measurement architecture from the top and gradually add measures at lower levels. Do not roll up measures from the bottom up.
- Keep your measures succinct and your structure simple. Too many systems will collapse under the weight of their own complexity.
- Don't start with software and IT systems. Start with pencil and paper. Build systems over time after you discover what you want to learn from performance measures.
- Use sampling to reduce measurement burden and cost. You don't have to count every case or transaction.
- People's subjective opinion matters big time. Ultimately, government is judged subjectively by those whom it serves. Better to know and manage what people really think rather than hide behind what we know to be true or valid. This can be measured through simple 1,2,3 question surveys.
- Make sure those who do the work are the first to get the data. Performance reports are not for the boss. A good thing for the boss to do is to lead the team in regular review of performance data.
But . . . where are the 12 steps advertised? Did the article need a little performance measurement? Maybe if the editors had just kept the author from going to the bathroom until the article was finished . . . .
Full Bladder, Better Decisions? Controlling Your Bladder Decreases Impulsive Choices
Effective Pharm Management in Corrections
Webinar announcement below for those of you into pharmaceuticals . . . in a good way.
National Institute of Corrections
Notice of Upcoming Live Satellite/Internet Broadcast
April 6, 2011 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST
“Reduce Costs, Lower Risks, Enhance Healthcare Services: The Promise of Effective Pharmaceutical Management” is the latest satellite/internet broadcast to be hosted by the National Institute of Corrections. It addresses the costs and issues surrounding correctional pharmacy management.
For more information and registration, visit www.nicic.gov/Training/SIB11S9001.
This Week at NCJRS
Speaking of pharmaceuticals, here’s your latest dosage of recent research abstracts over at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Just a few tempting titles but you have to click on the link to get all the good stuff.
- Coaching Packet: Engaging Offenders’ Families in Reentry
- Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2009 Volume II: College Students and Adults Ages 19-50
- Effects of Pathological Gaming on Aggressive Behavior
- Substance Use Trajectories of Black and White Young Men from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: A Two-Part Growth Curve Analysis
- Gene Expression During Blow Fly Development: Improving the Precision of Age Estimates in Forensic Entomology
Okay, just threw that last one in to see if you were paying attention.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
To Get You Through the Day
Some interesting items of varying topics but not value, which is all high, except maybe the last one. This one on the George Kaiser Family Foundation’s forum yesterday for Speaker Steele on the ways that Oklahoma can reduce both crime and incarceration, like they have in other states, including Texas, which is, of course, the only state that we will pay attention to. This one on latest research on our growing ability to track areas of the brain that show interest when a person is shown or hears items (such as porn, children, violence, etc., you know, crime stuff), indicating a possible tendency to act on such things, and the question of whether we should track those people more or maybe even lock them up before the fact. This one on how the people with highest performance on the job are also those who are the most honest and humble. Narcissists need not apply, but they know, of course, that such research is crazy. Finally, this one on how rehab costs (non-correctional) may actually be tax deductible if you hit certain conditions, and it’s very probable that Charlie Sheen hits all of them.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Mental Health Cuts
States cut $2b. from their mental health budgets last year. According to this piece, this year looks worse. Why is that a problem for corrections? Well, maybe this will help jog your memory:
As Mental Health Cuts Mount, Psychiatric Cases Fill Jails
“. . . and The Wisdom to Know the Difference.”
Do what we can do, recognize what we can’t. Good advice in light of this article on the limits of prevention programs impacting substance abuse among young people, according to the this research. Here’s one of the conclusions, but you’ll have to click the link to get them all:
“Systematic research has given us no strong cause for hope that school-based programs - even when they are well-designed - can reduce drug and alcohol use.”