Nancy Moran

• The organizational chart to follow (in two page format) retains the content of the organizational breakdown transmitted to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee for their March 24 hearing on the Code Revision Article during the 1999 session (copy to follow).

• The plan is three-dimensional and interactive, truly a synergistic sum of the parts rather than a randomized, hit-or-miss cacophony of input and output. A by-product of the plan is that Headquarters of the Department is truly a master of the destiny of the Department. No more will it be a reality that each warden is the "czar" of his or her domain where regulations are spottily held and spottily enforced.

• The plan is patterned after the traditional private sector mode of division of responsibility where the Secretary functions as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Deputy Secretary as the Chief Operations officer (COO) and the four assistants in line with coherent and definite positions of authority commensurate with their experience in the field as well as harmonious with the job position they hold. ("Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services 1999 Budget Book Appropriation" and "Rationale for Reorganizing the Department Utilizing Private Sector Concepts and Methods" also to follow)

• The plan is proposed and is not definitive. It is not perfect, but is closer to perfection than the present mode of operation. It is futuristic but based on present reality. Personnel at the top may have to be reworked or reassigned, but for the remainder of the Department, except for startup, the plan is largely invisible in application at the lower ranks. For example, a warden, faced with a large mound of paperwork, would find it automatically channelled to the correct division of the Department and would have not one, but two avenues of remedy, the Senior Assistant Deputy with the proper expertise, and the Warden Liaison area of the Deputy Secretary.

• Advantages of the plan:

  1>It concentrates expertise at Headquarters level rather than at institutional level - no more will institutional managers be expected to be "jacks of all trades".

  2>The plan distributes function so that form follows without overburdening any single issue with a plethora of decisions applicable on a daily basis.

  3>The plan presents streamlined avenues for problem solving that are intuitive at the institutional level.

  4>The plan applies coordination among functioning parts. The Division of Budget and Facilities Management would provide broad oversight to Inmate Financial Affairs, such as investment and policy, while the Division of Offender Management and Support would carry out policy and take care of individual matters.

  5>The plan is internally responsive, responsive to the legislature and responsive to the executive branch. Reports and reporting duties are aligned with other information mechanisms - data and data gathering are centralized to be more comprehensive and accessible.

• The plan includes a new unit - an expanded role of the Parole Commission. No more will inmates think of release goals within three months of a parole hearing - they will be informed at the beginning what is expected of them. No more will the Parole Commission, upon a several year review, announce a multi-year setoff - instead, participation in programs or self-help groups will be appraised or assigned. The new unit also encompasses expansion of programs and educational opportunities as the Department develops. It also encompasses exit preparatory programs as they might develop. The Expanded "Parole Commission" will follow seamlessly with the "Division of Parole and Probation".

• The plan in addition allows for existing privatization such as for psychology and medical care. The plan is also modular in format, allowing for future options to privatize as cases may warrant.

• All in all, the plan for reorganization for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services should be considered as part of the reorganization plan contemplated by the 1999 legislature, which allotted $800,000 toward this effort.