FAQs: Supervision Programs and Initiatives

Back to Frequently Asked Questions

CSOSA's Supervision Programs and Initiatives

14. Where can I find information on CSOSA's Programs?
15. Does CSOSA work with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)?
16. What is CSOSA's SMARTStat initiative?
17. Is CSOSA a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) for the District of Columbia?
18. In FY 2004 CSOSA received resources to implement Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring of high-risk offenders. What is the status of this initiative? Is GPS effective?
19. Describe CSOSA's planned participation in the proposed Secure Residential Treatment Program (SRTP)?
20. What are Accountability Tours?
21. In FY 2001 CSOSA was charged with setting up a Sex Offender Registry for the District of Columbia. Has this been accomplished?
22. Does CSOSA Implement Graduated Sanctions in Response to an Offender's Violation of Conditions of Release?
23. Does CSOSA collect DNA samples from its offender population?
24. Describe CSOSA's participation in Fugitive Safe Surrender.
25. Describe CSOSA's Re-Entry and Sanctions Center at Karrick Hall.
26. What is the status of operations at the Re-Entry and Sanctions Center?

Where can I find information on CSOSA's Programs?

Information on CSOSA programs may be found online at www.csosa.gov. CSOSA has established an online site containing multimedia programming related to public safety in the District of Columbia at http://media.csosa.gov in order to share information with the community and our law enforcement partners. [Back]

Does CSOSA work with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)?

 

Since 1998, CSOSA has maintained a well-established partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). From the inception of the partnership, data sharing and joint activities among CSOSA's Community Supervision Officers (CSOs) and police have been routine aspects of effective supervision. Within the CSOSA-MPD partnership that has emerged, each agency collaborates in the following joint activities routinely:

 

• Community Supervision Officers and MPD officers form Police Service Area (PSA) Teams in PSAs across the city to share information on high-risk offenders supervised by CSOSA and to engage in other joint activities.

 

• CSOs and uniformed police officers in marked MPD cars conduct Accountability Tours or joint visits with offenders in the community.

 

• PSA Teams further seek to prevent repeat crime by hosting Mass Orientations, in which police and Community Supervision Officers meet with offenders recently ordered or released to community supervision. The orientation sessions emphasize the collaboration between CSOSA and MPD and offer opportunities for job training or other vital services for offenders. [Back]

What is CSOSA's SMARTStat initiative?

CSOSA implemented the SMARTStat performance management and accountability initiative in FY 2007. SMARTStat enables managers at all levels to gain a data driven understanding of Agency performance at the individual employee, team, branch or organization levels. SMARTStat uses data contained in the agency's Enterprise Data Warehouse to generate multidimensional, relational views of caseload according to key performance indicators. SMARTStat provides management with visibility into the agency's core practices, activities and outcomes of offender supervision and treatment. CSOSA executive and program staff meet regularly to review SMARTStat results and plan operational strategies to improve supervision outcomes. [Back]

Is CSOSA a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) for the District of Columbia?

CSOSA is a permanent member of the CJCC, which is a forum for collaboration among law enforcement entities within the District. Other permanent members include the Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Marshals Service, Metropolitan Police Department, US Attorneys Office, US Parole Commission, DC Department of Corrections, Pretrial Services Agency, DC Public Defender Service, DC Superior Court, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. The Chairs of the Council of the District of Columbia Council and Council Judiciary Committee also serve as permanent CJCC members. [Back]

In FY 2004 CSOSA received resources to implement Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring of high-risk offenders. What is the status of this initiative? Is GPS effective?

Since inception of CSOSA's GPS Electronic Monitoring pilot in FY 2004 through September 2008, 3,988 different offenders have been placed on the system. As of September 30, 2008, 708 high-risk offenders were on GPS Electronic Monitoring.

To determine the effectiveness of GPS monitoring on offender compliance/behavior, CSOSA performed a review of offenders placed on GPS for at least 60 successive days in FY 2008. CSOSA determined that these offenders committed an average of 5.7 supervision violations in the 60-day period prior to placement on GPS compared to only 3.5 supervision violations in the 60-day period after GPS, a decrease of 39 percent. This program increases both offender compliance and the security of past and potential victims. [Back]

Describe CSOSA's planned participation in the proposed Secure Residential Treatment Program (SRTP)?

The Secure Residential Treatment Program (SRTP) Pilot is a joint collaboration of CSOSA, the DC Government, the United States Parole Commission, and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The SRTP Pilot began limited operations in September 2009 to provide a secure, residential substance abuse treatment intervention/sanction to high risk, chronic substance abusing, and criminally-involved DC Code offenders in lieu of revoking them to BOP custody. To effectively address the needs of this high-risk population and to increase their chances of successful community reintegration, the SRTP program identifies and provides appropriate treatment interventions prior to revocation. Addressing the core substance abuse and criminality issues faced by these offenders locally at the SRTP, rather than returning them to a BOP institution, will help to break their cycle of recidivism. The SRTP Pilot uses one unit (approximately 32 beds) at the Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF), a local contract facility of the DC Government that houses detained inmates. As of January 2010, 31 offenders are participating in the program as we expand the pilot to full capacity. [Back]

What are Accountability Tours?

Accountability tours are visits to the homes of high-risk offenders conducted jointly by a CSOSA Community Supervision Officer (CSO) and a DC Metropolitan Police Department Officer. Accountability tours can be scheduled or unscheduled (unannounced) visits. Accountability tours are a visible means to heighten the awareness of law enforcement presence to the offenders and to the citizens in the community. In 2008, CSOs conducted 7,698 accountability tours on 4,570 high-risk offenders. [Back]

In FY 2001 CSOSA was charged with setting up a Sex Offender Registry for the District of Columbia. Has this been accomplished?

Yes. CSOSA developed and established a secure database for sex offender registration information. CSOSA assumed responsibility for the registration function in October 2000. As of October 2008, there were 762 active registrants in the DC Sex Offender Registry. The data, photographs and supporting documents are transmitted to the DC Metropolitan Police Department for community notification, as required by law. The Sex Offender Registry database is maintained by CSOSA; however, the website for the public is hosted by the DC Metropolitan Police Department at mpdc.dc.gov. [Back]

Does CSOSA Implement Graduated Sanctions in Response to an Offender's Violation of Conditions of Release?

Graduated sanctions are a critical element of CSOSA's offender supervision model. From its inception, the agency has worked closely with both DC Superior Court and the U.S. Parole Commission to develop a range of options that Community Supervision Officers (CSOs) can implement immediately, without returning offenders to the releasing authority. Research emphasizes the need to impose sanctions quickly and uniformly for maximum effectiveness. A swift response to non-compliant behavior can restore compliance before the offender's behavior escalates to include new crimes. Offender sanctions are defined in an Accountability Contract established with the offender at the start of supervision. Sanctions take into account both the severity of the non-compliance and the offender's supervision level. Sanction options include increasing the frequency of drug testing or supervision contacts, assignment to community service or the CSOSA Day Reporting Center, placement in a residential sanctions program (including the Re-Entry and Sanctions Center and the Halfway Back program) or placement on Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring.

If sanctions do not restore compliance, or the non-compliant behavior escalates, the CSO will inform the releasing authority by filing an Alleged Violation Report (AVR). An AVR is automatically filed in response to a new arrest. In FY 2008, approximately 3,900 AVRs were filed in parole/supervised release cases; an additional 6,000 AVRs were filed in probation cases. About 45 percent of AVRs involve new arrests. The average AVR documents six violations and CSOSA sanctions preceding the incident that resulted in the AVR, and multiple AVRs are filed on some offenders. [Back]

Does CSOSA collect DNA samples from its offender population?

In FY 2001 CSOSA assumed responsibility for collecting DNA samples from probationers and parolees convicted of certain qualifying District of Columbia offenses, typically violent crimes and sex offenses, for transmission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Offenses that require DNA collection are specified in accordance with D.C. Code § 22-4151. The FBI maintains the DNA information in their Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) used for crime solving. CSOSA does not collect or transmit DNA data for qualifying offenders whose information is already maintained in CODIS.

The DNA Sample Collections table below reflects CSOSA collection activity from FY 2001 to FY 2008. Since FY 2001 CSOSA has collected a total of 7,740 DNA Samples. In FY 2008, 1,547 offender samples were collected and transmitted to the FBI.

FY2001=307; FY 2002=1,164; FY2003=842; FY2004=1,760; FY2005=688; FY2006=599; FY2007=833; FY2008=1,547; Total=7,740
[Back]

Describe CSOSA's participation in Fugitive Safe Surrender.

A national program of the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Fugitive Safe Surrender offers persons with outstanding warrants for non-violent offenses the opportunity to surrender voluntarily in the safe, neutral setting of a church. CSOSA and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) collaborated with the USMS to bring Fugitive Safe Surrender to Washington, DC in November 2007. The program was hosted by Bible Way Church and extended over three days during which 450 people surrendered, approximately 70 percent of whom had outstanding criminal warrants; the remaining 30 percent had traffic warrants.

Individuals who participated in Fugitive Safe Surrender either resolved their cases at the site or departed with a new court date. Only ten of the Washington, DC participants were taken into custody; the rest returned home. The Washington, DC program repeated the success that Fugitive Safe Surrender has achieved in other cities. [Back]

Describe CSOSA's Re-Entry and Sanctions Center at Karrick Hall.

The CSOSA Re-Entry and Sanctions Center (RSC) at Karrick Hall (1900 Massachusetts Ave, SE) provides high-risk offenders and defendants with intensive assessment and reintegration programming. The RSC program is specifically tailored for offenders/defendants with long histories of crime and substance abuse coupled with long periods of incarceration and little outside support. These individuals are particularly vulnerable to both criminal and drug relapse at the point of release.

Offenders/defendants assigned to the RSC participate in a 28-day holistic and multidisciplinary program, during which they cannot leave the facility or receive visitors. The RSC has capacity to serve 102 male offenders/defendants in six units, or 1,200 offenders/defendants annually. Two of the six units are dedicated to meeting the needs of dually diagnosed (mental health and substance abuse) offenders/defendants.

Treatment readiness and motivation are the focus of each of the interventions offered at the RSC. These interventions are structured to address one or more of the factors identified as particular challenges to an offender's/defendant's successful reentry including psychological disorders, substance abuse, cognitive impairments, protracted withdrawal, poor attachment/social bonding and criminogenic factors.

RSC offenders/defendants also receive counseling; a complete physical, psychological and behavioral assessment; and a referral to inpatient, residential or daily outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. Upon completion of the program, offenders/defendants are equipped with the tools needed to prevent relapse, succeed in a treatment modality, improve familial relationships and modify deviant behaviors.

The RSC also allows CSOSA to impose prompt and meaningful residential sanctions for offenders/defendants who violate the conditions of their release, improving the likelihood of successful supervision. [Back]

What is the status of operations at the Re-Entry and Sanctions Center?

Renovations at the Agency's Re-Entry and Sanctions Center (RSC) at Karrick Hall were completed in December 2005. Phased operation of the facility began in February 2006. All six units of the facility were placed in operation in August 2008, with funding received in the FY 2008 appropriation. From February 2006 through September 30, 2008, 1,936 high-risk offenders/ defendants entered the RSC, with 1,633 (or 84 percent) successfully completing the 28-day program. On September 30, 2008, 90 offenders/defendants were in residence at the RSC (88 percent capacity). [Back]

Offenders access treatment in several different ways:

• By testing positive for drug use, which usually results in referral for assessment and possible treatment placement;
• By talking with the Community Supervision Officer and requesting referral for treatment;
• By having a condition for substance abuse treatment imposed by the U.S. Parole Commission or D.C. Superior Court;
• By completing the pre-treatment program in CSOSA's Assessment and Orientation Center and being discharged to continue treatment.

The treatment process begins with assessment by CSOSA's Treatment Management Team (TMT). The 17 TMT Treatment Specialists manage the treatment process by:

• Conducting assessments and formulating treatment recommendations;
• Facilitating pre-treatment, substance abuse education, anger management and sanctions group programs; and
• Monitoring individual progress once the offender begins treatment with a CSOSA-funded provider.

The CSOSA substance abuse treatment continuum includes the following programs:

• 7-Day Medically Monitored Detoxification
• 28-Day Intensive Residential Treatment
• 90- to 120-Day Residential Treatment
• 120-Day Residential Treatment and Transitional Housing for Women with Children
• 120 to 180-Day Residential Treatment for Dually Diagnosed Offenders (mental health and substance abuse)
• 90-Day Supervised Transitional Housing
• Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient Treatment

After the individual completes treatment, he or she is generally assigned to an aftercare support group. CSOSA's Treatment Specialists facilitate these groups to ensure that the offender continues to establish a healthy, drug-free life.

National and CSOSA research supports the conclusion that treatment significantly reduces drug use. Not only can treatment reduce drug use and criminal behavior, it can also improve the prospects for employment. [Back]