Vol. 3, No. 1 In This Issue: Committee Updates p1: Ad Hoc Finance p1: Ad Hoc Treatment in Other Jurisdictions p1: Rules Committee p1: Training Committee p2: Technology Committee + ICOTS + Website Numbers + Putting the Website to Work for You p5: Compliance Committee p6: Executive Committee p6: Spirit Sightings p7: On-Demand in High Demand p8: Best Practices Committee Updates Ad Hoc Finance Committee On November 29, 2007, the Executive Committee established the Ad Hoc Finance Committee based on the vote of the Commission at the 2007 Annual Business Meeting. e committee consists of the existing Finance Committee members and Commissioners Arline Swan (VI) and Wayne eriault (ME). At the first meeting on January 31, 2008, the committee discussed potential adjustments to the dues formula and creation of additional dues tiers. e committee will meet again for more discussion in the coming months. Ad Hoc Committee on Treatment in Other Jurisdictions On November 29, 2007, the Executive Committee established the Ad Hoc on Treatment in Other Jurisdictions Committee based on the vote of the Commission at the 2007 Annual Business Meeting. is committee consists of the existing Rules Committee members, Commissioner Paul Quander, Jr. (DC), Commissioner Patrick McGee (MD), and Official Designee Walter Pulliam, Jr. (VA). At the first meeting on January 22, 2008, the committee discussed expediting neighboring states’ transfer procedures without complete relocation. Deputy Compact Administrator Walter Pulliam, Jr. (VA), Commissioner Paul Quander, Jr. (DC) and Chairman William Rankin (WI) drafted language for discussion, which was recently posted on the Commission’s website under the General Discussion Forum. e committee also sent out a survey to all commissioners to determine the extent of support for this proposal. Rules Committee e Rules Committee is responsible for administering the Commission’s rulemaking procedures and for developing proposed rules for the Commission’s consideration as appropriate. Since the 2007 Annual Business Meeting, the committee met on December 20, 2007 and January 22, 2008. Based on discussions, revisions were made to Rules 3.101-3 and 3.103 which took effect on February 18, 2008 as authorized by Rule 2.109. e committee also adopted a Business Calendar for 2008-2009 and established a deadline of January 2009 for submitting rule proposals for consideration at the 2009 Annual Business Meeting. e committee will meet again in the coming months. Training Committee e Training Committee is responsible for developing educational resources and training materials for use in the member states to help ensure awareness of, and compliance with the terms of the Compact and the Commission’s rules. continued on page 2 Barno Saturday Logistics & Administrative Coordinator
Transcript
Vol. 3, No. 1
In This Issue:Committee Updates
p1: Ad Hoc Finance
p1: Ad Hoc Treatment in
Other Jurisdictions
p1: Rules Committee
p1: Training Committee
p2: Technology Committee
+ ICOTS
+ Website Numbers
+ Putting the Website
to Work for You
p5: Compliance Committee
p6: Executive Committee
p6: Spirit Sightings
p7: On-Demand in
High Demand
p8: Best Practices
Committee Updates
Ad Hoc Finance Committee On November 29, 2007, the Executive Committee established the Ad Hoc Finance Committee based on the vote of the Commission at the 2007 Annual Business Meeting. The committee consists of the existing Finance Committee members and Commissioners Arline Swan (VI) and Wayne Theriault (ME). At the first meeting on January 31, 2008, the committee discussed potential adjustments to the dues formula and creation of additional dues tiers. The committee will meet again for more discussion in the coming months.
Ad Hoc Committee on Treatment in Other JurisdictionsOn November 29, 2007, the Executive Committee established the Ad Hoc on Treatment in Other Jurisdictions Committee based on the vote of the Commission at the 2007 Annual Business Meeting. This committee consists of the existing Rules Committee members, Commissioner Paul Quander, Jr. (DC), Commissioner Patrick McGee (MD), and Official Designee Walter Pulliam, Jr. (VA). At the first meeting on January 22, 2008, the committee discussed expediting neighboring states’ transfer procedures without complete relocation.
Deputy Compact Administrator Walter Pulliam, Jr. (VA), Commissioner Paul Quander, Jr. (DC) and Chairman William Rankin (WI) drafted language for discussion, which was recently posted on the Commission’s website under the General Discussion Forum. The committee also sent out a survey to all commissioners to determine the extent of support for this proposal.
Rules Committee The Rules Committee is responsible for administering the Commission’s rulemaking procedures and for developing proposed rules for the Commission’s consideration as appropriate. Since the 2007 Annual Business Meeting, the committee met on December 20, 2007 and January 22, 2008. Based on discussions, revisions were made to Rules 3.101-3 and 3.103 which took effect on February 18, 2008 as authorized by Rule 2.109.
The committee also adopted a Business Calendar for 2008-2009 and established a deadline of January 2009 for submitting rule proposals for consideration at the 2009 Annual Business Meeting. The committee will meet again in the coming months.
Training CommitteeThe Training Committee is responsible for developing educational resources and training materials for use in the member states to help ensure awareness of, and compliance with the terms of the Compact and the Commission’s rules.
+ Chairman Warren Emmer - ND+ Vice-Chairman Genie Powers - LA+ Treasurer Scott Taylor - OR
+ Executive Committee Warren Emmer - ND+ Rules Committee William Rankin - WI+ Technology Committee David Guntharp - AR+ Compliance Committee Robert Lee Guy - NC+ Finance Committee Scott Taylor - OR+ DCA Liaison Committee Milt Gilliam - OK+ Training, Education & PR Committee Ann Clarke - SC+ Treatment in Other Jurisdictions Ad Hoc William Rankin - WI+ Finance Ad Hoc Scott Taylor - OR+ Victim’s Advocate Pat Tuthill - FL
+ East Region Rich Bitel - NY+ Midwest Region Ken Merz - MN+ South Region Gary Tullock - TN+ West Region Dori Ege - AZ
On December 12-13, 2007, members of the Training Committee facilitated trainings on amended rules for Deputy Compact Administrators. Since March 2006, the Training Committee has also provided trainings on Compact History and Rules. These sessions are held on average two to three times each month.
Due to the questions raised during rule amendment trainings, training bulletins were published to help clarify Rules 3.101-3 and 5.108. Additional developments of the Committee include a new PC Hearing Guide and revised on-demand modules, training curriculums, eligibility worksheet, ICAOS forms and Bench Book for Judges. These documents can be found on the Commission’s website.
As ICOTS implementation nears, the Committee is also assisting in the training efforts for the new system. Specifically, their efforts include reviewing training materials and their delivery means.
Looking forward to the Annual Business Meeting in September 2008, the Committee has identified topics for in-service training to be available to Commissioners and DCAs. These topics include:
ICOTSOperational “Best Practices” Organizing and Running a State Council How To Conduct a Self-Assessment
Technology Committee / ICOTS
The Technology Committee is responsible for identifying and developing appropriate information technology resources to facilitate the tracking of offenders and the administration of Commission activities.
The committee has been working closely with the National Office on developing the Interstate Compact Offender Tracking System (ICOTS). MIS Project Manager Sam Razor held individual readiness meetings with each state regarding ICOTS implementation. Based on the information gathered in these meetings, the following states were selected to be pilot states: North Carolina, Arkansas, North Dakota, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Recently, four ICOTS newsletters were released by the Technology Committee and the National Office to help states understand specifics of the ICOTS implementation process.
To ensure the accurate progress of the ICOTS project, the Committee invited select line officers and compact office personnel to review screenshots and the system process. These individuals came from Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio due to their proximity. This small workgroup is meeting twice a month in Lexington, KY to discuss the development of ICOTS screens and workflow.
On February 15, 2008, the National Office released the ICOTS Migration and Integration Toolkit. The toolkit provides states with instructions on how to organize and format their current caseloads for ICOTS implementation.
••••
2
continued on page 3
3
The New Website – A Look at the NumbersThe Commission’s website is the communications and resource epicenter. The successful launch of a completely new website last November has changed the way the Commission communicates on a daily basis. The following information is a quick look at some statistics for the first three months (December 2007 through February 2008) of the new website.
10,000+ user accounts have been created1,600+ users registered in the first week700+ new user registrations per week on average800 – 2,400 simultaneous online users at any given time346,000+ page views
Top 3 PagesForms Index pageSite Index pageForm Word Templates page
Top 3 File DownloadsICAOS Rules / 49,986/mo avgBench Book / 24,526/mo avgContact Directory / 4,661/mo avg
Top 3 Form DownloadsTransfer Request / 10,396 totalApplication for Transfer / 8,976 totalAction Request / 8,437 total
Putting the Commission Website to Work for YouThe Commission’s website now has a repertoire of new features to help you attain compact information faster, easier, and more efficiently. Compiled below are ten quick and helpful tips that will have the ICAOS website working for you in no time.
1. Receive Latest News via EmailYou can receive the ICAOS Latest News (on the home page) via email by clicking on the “Subscribe to ICAOS News by Email” link under the bottom news story. This link takes you off the ICAOS website to Feedburner.com where you’ll type in your email address and a code. This will keep you informed of the latest news postings without having to go to the ICAOS website. When a new article is posted to the website you will automatically receive an email with all the latest articles the following morning.
2. How To Post Discussion Forum “Threads”A How To page is available to walk registered Commission website users through the steps to post new threads (topics) in the discussion forums. Follow this link to the How To Post New Forum Thread page and begin taking an active role in online Commission discussions.
3. Subscription NewslettersThe National Office is now able to offer Commission members the flexibility to pinpoint the information they wish to receive via email with the ability to subscribe/unsubscribe at anytime to five different online newsletters: Emergency Notification, National Office News, Training Updates, Form Updates, and ICOTS Updates. By offering this flexibility users receive only the information they want to receive.
Please contact Kevin Terry or Xavier Donnelly at [email protected] if you would like to have your compact office email address added to any of the subscription newsletters. Please indicate which office email address to use and which newsletters to subscribe it to.
4. Emergency Notification NewsletterA new online newsletter titled Emergency Notification has been added to the Newsletter Subscription page. The Emergency Notification newsletter will update all subscribers with the latest emergency news from compact offices. Specifically, news regarding emergency office closings, fax, telephone and email outages, etc. This newsletter will only be sent to registered ICAOS website users who sign up to receive it. Click here to sign up for the Emergency Notification newsletter.
5. Advisory Opinions At-A-GlanceThe Advisory Opinion At-A-Glance page provides brief summaries for all Advisory Opinions since 2004. Each Glance provides information on the referenced rule(s), dates, parties involved, the issue, and a summary of the opinion. Each Glance also has a link to the full Advisory Opinion PDF.
6. Training Resource Reference TableThe Training Resource Reference Table has links to 13 key training-related documents/presentations and shows the benefit of each across five different Compact roles - Commissioner & Compact Administrator, DCA, Parole & Probation Officer, State Council Member, and Judiciary & Attorneys.
7. State DocumentsThe State Documents page on the website contains links to all state-specific documents such as sex offender requirements, compact statutes, State Council minutes, and other offender-specific files.
8. Add Events to the Compact Office CalendarExisting members of the Commission have the ability to add events to the Compact Office Calendar. Login to the ICAOS website, go to the Compact Office Calendar, and click on the “Add Event” button in the bottom-left corner under the calendar. Then simply add information about the event (holiday or emergency office closings,
state council meetings, moving, etc.), and click the “Update” button. This reduces the number of emails sent to Commission members and provides a single location to view all important Compact Office events. The National Office will post the event to the Compact Office Calendar as soon as possible, generally within a few hours.
9. Accessing Discussion ForumsDiscussion forums allow for the sharing of compact-related information, ideas, concerns, and observations. Existing members of the Commission already have an account on the new website that grants access to relevant discussion forums. There are forums for each region, standing committee, DCAs, Victim Representatives, and more. All members of the Commission are encouraged to participate in the forums. The National Office will post forum entries to the discussion forums as soon as possible, generally within a few hours.
10. Modifying Directory Search ResultsYou can sort online Directory search results by clicking on the column titles in the blue horizontal bar. By default the results are sorted alphabetically by state abbreviation. For example, this search result shows Commission DCAs alphabetically by state. By clicking on the column title “Name” the results refresh and are sorted A-Z by last name. Clicking on “Name” again refreshes the order Z-A.
If you have a website topic you’d like to learn more about or if there is a web tool you’d like to have added to the website please email the National Office with your comments.
Compliance Committee
The Compliance Committee is responsible for monitoring member states’ compliance with the Compact and the Commission’s rules and for developing appropriate enforcement procedures for the Commission’s consideration.
In December 2007, the committee, along with Commission Chair Warren Emmer (ND), sent out an official letter to states regarding the requirements for submitting data collection numbers and establishing a state council.
Currently, the committee is working on a Self-Assessment Manual which serves two main purposes: a voluntary self-assessment process and a Compliance Committee tool for non-compliant states.
The committee will meet again on April 8-10, 2008 in Lexington, KY with the objectives of finalizing the Self-Assessment Manual and developing a road map for non-compliant states.
The Executive Committee is responsible for guiding and overseeing the administration of all Commission activities and for acting on behalf of the Commission, as permitted by the Compact, during the interim between Commission meetings. The Executive Committee meets the second Tuesday of every month where officers, committee and region chairs, the Executive Director, the victims’ ex-officio, and general counsel report on Compact business.
Based on the initiatives of the Strategic Planning Session in June 2007, the Executive Committee established a commissioner mentoring program, created a policy for states to receive training and technical assistance, initiated the planning process for in-service training to be held at the upcoming Annual Business Meeting, redesigned the On-Demand Training modules and designated discussion forums on the Commission’s website to involve more Commissioners and Deputy Compact Administrators.
The Executive Committee, along with other committees and the National Office, is working on publishing a Self-Assessment Program and a Best Practices document. The Committee also approved a proposal for a $500 gift to the Peyton Tuthill Award recipient to be donated to a victim’s services organization of the recipient’s choice.The Committee is working closely with the National Office on developing an agenda for the upcoming Annual Business Meeting and choosing the location for the 2009 Annual Business Meeting. The Committee will meet again on April 8, 2008.
Spirit Sightings
What is meant by “spirit”? It can be difficult to define the phrase “Preserving the Spirit of the Compact” but in the simplest of terms it is the act of going above and beyond the general call of duty to reach the conclusion or solution that best serves public safety.
Compact spirit is out there and being practiced daily all across the country in greater numbers. Since preserving the “Spirit of the Compact” is so important to Compact operations, the National Office is launching a new initiative to recognize those individuals who go beyond the general call of duty to reach the conclusion or solution that best serves public safety. If you know of someone who is “Preserving the Spirit of the Compact” we want to hear about it. All you have to do is login to the Commission website, go to About/Spirit Sightings, and enter the appropriate information. Your information will be sent to the National Office and then posted to the website and highlighted in our newsletter for all to read!
Providing training is a Commission priority. Delivering training on-line is both economical and convenient, as it requires no travel. For those reasons the Commission continues to leverage the strengths of WebEx and On Demand Training.
Since On-Demand Training is highly effective for providing field officers, compact office staff and Judges across the country with Interstate Compact rule information, officials in many states are accessing them. They are a great introduction to the Compact and its rules as well as being a straightforward approach to “refresh” on certain processes of the Interstate Compact. The self-paced structure makes viewing the modules more convenient while the reporting service gives states the ability to monitor staff participation.
In January, the Training Committee and National Office revised the On-Demand modules which now include the updates on the new rules, judicial information, quiz questions, changes in aesthetics and adapted viewing time between modules. With an average length of 14 minutes, participants have reported the modules are easy to follow, user-friendly and simple to access which is evident by the substantial climb in their usage. By covering the rules of the Compact and judicial issues through On-Demand Training, states can educate officials on the Compact through an innovative and effortless approach.
Recently, the Commissioner and Director of the Division of Community Corrections in North Carolina, Robert Guy delivered a memo to the Judicial District Managers of North Carolina mandating all PPOs (over 1,800 officers) complete all six modules offered by the Commission no later than April 1, 2008. In the six weeks since that memo was delivered, over 1,000 officers in North Carolina have completed this task.
The On-Demand Training modules are accessed from the Training section of the website. Please contact the National Office for questions regarding the content or access information.
7
Mindy Spring Administrative and Training Coordinator
Blue: Number of Active Viewers (Individuals)Red: Total Viewing Time (Hours) 1800
The Commission is developing a best practices publication on policies, procedures and practices that, through experience, have reliably led to a desired or optimum result with regard to Compact operations.
While each state is unique, each also has a similar mission and responsibilities with regard to compact operations. For example, all states are involved in training field personnel, sustaining a state council, resolving disputes, etc. In an effort to provide additional technical assistance to the states the Commission is assembling a publication of best practices for national distribution.
The Commission would like to hear from you. If you have a best practice or a model program please call or write the National Office to find out more information on how you can submit your “best practice” for the publication.
