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Cost Containment in Corrections

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Across the country, correctional agencies are facing an era of fiscal austerity. They are being tasked with meeting the mission of public safety with reduced resources while maintaining effective operations and the efficient use of public funding. This has now become the “new normal.”

In a 2011 survey of correctional professionals, 98.5% of the respondents indicated that cost containment is a significant or critical concern within their organizations. Ninety-two percent of the respondents indicated that their agencies have engaged in targeted cost containment efforts within the past 5 years. These cost containment efforts were primarily the result of budget constraints due to both short- and long-term economic conditions.

The primary targets for cost reductions are in the areas where correctional agencies expend the majority of their resources – staffing, offender medical/mental health services, and supervising the offender population. As they considered budget restrictions, respondents focused on three approaches:
  • Targeted reductions (i.e., hiring freezes, reductions in overtime)
  • Changes in business practices (i.e., bulk food purchasing, reducing inmate hospital stays, more efficient pharmaceutical purchasing)
  • The use of new technology (i.e., increased web-based training, increased use of electronic monitoring, online bail system). In addition, many states have embarked on an agenda of reducing the incarcerated population with more, and dramatically less expensive, supervision in the community.

How the Cost Containment Framework Can Help Your Agency


The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) understands the critical situation many correctional agencies are facing with their budgets. Under a cooperative agreement with NIC, The Moss Group, Inc. has collaborated with NIC, its stakeholders, a global professional services firm, and practitioners in the field to develop an online resource center for correctional agencies. The cost containment framework assists correctional administrators in developing strategies for thoughtfully containing and sustaining cost in their agencies by analyzing and targeting budget expenditures.

A key strategy outlined is a risk-based budgeting approach. Risk-based approaches are endorsed by a consortium of "good business" organizations and industry that is centralized as the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO).

Using risk management in operational decisions (including budgeting/funding) is well established through COSO. One of the primary benefits of the center is that it provides a cadre of tools to assist organizations in developing a strategy before a budgetary crisis strikes. It allows an agency head to develop contingency plans that will assist in ongoing, day-to-day cost containment as well as respond to requests from a chief executive or legislative body to reduce costs.

How is risk-based cost containment different from cost/benefit analysis? They are not completely different; however, often when organizations include only financial costs in the "cost" part of their strategies, they generally overlook what the risks are. Similarly, unless they're including "negative benefits" in the benefits part of their strategies, they are overlooking risk. Assessing risk is not explicitly part of a cost/benefit analysis, and that is where the framework can provide critical guidance. Organizations may still want to do cost benefit analysis, but they are encouraged to assess risk as well, as established by COSO as sound operational management.

Who Benefits from Using the Cost Containment Framework?


All parts of corrections -- community corrections, jails, prisons, probation, and parole -- are affected by budgetary constraints and can benefit from the use of this resource center. In many jurisdictions the corrections budget is one of the largest allocations of the state or local government. As a result, it is often a target for fiscal and human resources reductions. The framework will help corrections professionals analyze the impact of cost containment efforts and strategically determine the most effective way to reduce expenditures while maintaining mission critical functions. An agency can use the cost containment framework to analyze cost containment in a specific area – for example, how to reduce inmate healthcare expenditures – or to broadly analyze cost containment as an agency-wide agenda.

The NIC Cost Containment Framework provides the field with tools and strategies they can use to:
  • Identify opportunities and solutions to fiscal challenges
  • Facilitate the exchange of information and ideas
  • Provide mutual aid between corrections professionals and fiscal managers
The Corrections Containment Framework is not just about cutting costs. It is about stakeholder buy-in; the evaluation of risk and short- and long-term impact; and the implementation, monitoring and measuring of lean practices. The Framework is built around a pragmatic cost modeling process—a methodical approach that will increase efficiency, reduce costs, and yield positive results for a solid understanding and foundation of the cost containment process.

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Recommended Reading

Date Title Type
2012
Document preview
Cost Containment: Selected Resources for Criminal Justice Professionals
National Institute of Corrections Information Center (Aurora, CO).
“Across the country, correctional agencies are facing an era of fiscal austerity. They are being tasked with meeting the mission of public safety with reduced resources while maintaining effective operations and the efficient use of public funding. This has now become the “new normal” … this annotated cost containment bibliography will assist the field of corrections in understanding and addressing their specific challenges with cost containment issues” (p. 2). Seventy-nine resources are organiz... Read More
PDF
22 pages
2009
Document preview
Corrections Budgets in Free Fall: Finding Opportunities in Turbulent Times [Satellite/Internet Broadcast held on April 15, 2009]
National Institute of Corrections Academy (Aurora, CO).
Budget reductions don’t discriminate. Correctional agencies are being hit hard in these tough economic times with no relief from mandates. Prisons, jails, and community corrections are all faced with increasing workloads, combined with diminishing resources. Amid the worsening financial crisis, there are opportunities to implement evidence-based strategies that can maximize resources while preserving public safety. This 3-hour program provides an overview of opportunities that can help corre... Read More
VIDEO
2 computer disks; DVD-ROM (158 min.) + 1 computer disk; CD-ROM
2012
Document preview
Balancing Fiscal Challenges, Performance-Based Budgeting and Public Safety: A Compilation of Panel Testimonies
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
This collection contains testimony regarding cost benefit and cost containment measures. Contents are: Day 1. “Briefing on the Fiscal Costs of Corrections in the United States” by Mary Livers; “High Cost, Low Return” by Adam Gelb; “Outcome-Based Budgeting: Process and Practice” by Chris Innes; “Current State Fiscal Conditions & the Impact on Corrections” by Brian Sigritz; “Outcome-based Budgeting” by Karen Wilson; “Systems Approach to Cost Containment” by Theresa Lantz; “Cost-Effective Strat... Read More
PDF
417 pages
2013
Document preview
Opportunities for Cost Savings in Corrections Without Sacrificing Service Quality: Inmate Health Care
By Schaenman, Phil; Davies, Elizabeth; Jordan, Reed; Chakraborty, Reena. Urban Institute (Washington, DC).
“This report lays out ways that departments of corrections can consider to reduce inmate medical costs without affecting high standards for inmate medical services. Strategies for cost savings are presented that might be used by a department of corrections directly or included in contracts for outsourcing inmate health care. One or more prisons or jails across the nation use each strategy identified” (p. 4). This report is divided into two sections. Section 1—Summary: the issue of why so much mo... Read More
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44 pages
2011
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Return on Investment: Improving Results and Saving Money
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) (Denver, CO).
Effective implementation of data and cost-benefit analysis in correctional settings is discussed during a 83 minute video. Presentations included in this session are “Improve Outcomes and Save Money” by Steve Aos, and “A Case (Study) for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Justice Policy & Planning” by Tina Chiu. Links are provided to the presenters’ slides.... Read More
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