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An Examination of Correctional Counselor Workloads in Iowa Dee Technical Assistance Report Not Enough Time in the Day: An Examination of Correctional Counselor Workloads in Iowa Dee Bell, Ph.D. Adam K. Matz, Ph.D. Nathan Lowe, Ph.D. Beth Skinner, Ph.D.* January 2018 A special thanks to the advisory committee as well as all the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) correctional counselors for their invaluable input, feedback, and participation! Workload Advisory Committee Mark Allen Todd Ensminger Robert Johnson Roxann Scheffert Stacie Anderson Dave Foehring Elizabeth Kluesner Darrell Shirbroun Mike Boatman Julie Govern Karin Kruse Jennifer Swihart Matt Carlson Jennifer Guild John Mays Scott VerSteeg Kelli Collins Kim Guthrie Thad Nellis Jeremy Larson Berl Wilcox Lori Cook Megan Guthrie Rhonda Phillips Tracy Dietsch Shawn Howard Laura Scheffert Acknowledgements This report was supported by the Iowa Department Corrections (IDOC) Statewide Recidivism Reduction (SRR) initiative. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the IDOC, * Please direct all inquiries or comments concerning this report to Dr. Beth Skinner at [email protected]. American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), or the Council of State Governments (CSG). ii TABLES OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 TIME STUDY .................................................................................................................... 2 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 2 Sample ............................................................................................................................. 2 Results ............................................................................................................................. 7 “Best 40” Prioritization Survey .................................................................................... 14 Additional Staffing Need Estimate ............................................................................... 16 ADEQUACY OF TIME SURVEY .................................................................................. 18 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 18 Sample ........................................................................................................................... 18 Results ........................................................................................................................... 20 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 30 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 32 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Correctional Counselor Demographical Information ........................................... 4 Table 2: Offender Demographical Information .................................................................. 5 Table 3: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities Associated with a Given Person Type ........................................................................................................................ 8 Table 4: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities Associated with a Given Activity Method ................................................................................................................................ 8 Table 5: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities Associated with a Given Location .............................................................................................................................. 9 Table 6: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities .................................................. 11 Table 7: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities Associated with Forms and Assessments ...................................................................................................................... 12 Table 8: Frequency of Barriers Associated with Activities .............................................. 12 Table 9: Frequency and Time (in minutes) of Activities Associated with an Offender ... 13 Table 10: Prioritization of “Best 40” Activities ................................................................ 15 Table 11: Demonstration of Correctional Counselor Time Need Estimates .................... 16 Table 12: Respondent Demographical Information from Adequacy of Time Survey ...... 19 Table 13: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Administrative Functions ........................................................................................................................... 22 Table 14: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Administrative Functions (continued) ....................................................................................................... 23 Table 15: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Treatment Functions ........................................................................................................................... 24 Table 16: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Reentry/Classification Functions ...................................................................................... 25 Table 17: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Reentry/Classification Functions (continued) ................................................................... 26 ii Table 18: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Specialized Functions ........................................................................................................................... 27 Table 19: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Adequacy of Time for Other Functions ........................................................................................................................................... 28 Table 20: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Occupational Stress ............................ 29 Table 21: Correctional Counselor Perceptions of Role Strain .......................................... 29 iii INTRODUCTION The Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC), with technical assistance from the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) has undertaken a workload study of their correctional counselors working in IDOC institutions. This study was designed to provide a greater understanding of the nuanced work performed by correctional counselors. The study aims to understand: 1) What are the most common tasks, case (e.g., interviews, group facilitation) and non-case related (e.g., administrative work, training, report writing), associated with correctional counselors? 2) How much time is associated with these tasks? 3) Are there tasks in which counselors must sacrifice quality for timeliness? 4) Are these tasks and their prevalence in alignment with the department’s evidence-based practice (EBP) goals? 5) What barriers interfere with the work of correctional counselors? 6) Are there enough counselors to cover the department’s institutional obligations? While workload studies have been utilized heavily in judicial settings for several years an extensive literature review found no studies of the workload of correctional counselors. This research is the first study completed in an institutional corrections setting with correctional counselors. This study adapted the time study methodology from prior studies completed on prosecutors, judges and community corrections officers. The research is exploratory in nature and seeks a better understanding of the most common tasks and activities associated with the correctional counselor work, the amount of time associated with these tasks and activities, time associated with non-case related activities and tasks, institutional variations in activities and if counselors perceive they process an inadequate amount of time to satisfactorily complete specific tasks, and consideration of whether the current workforce parameters appropriate to meet the agency’s mission. 1 TIME STUDY Methodology Workload studies have been conducted with a variety of criminal justice occupations including prosecutors, judges, and community supervision officers. There have, however, been no known attempts to examine the workloads of correctional counselors. The current study adapted the time study methodology from these occupations for use with correctional counselors. With the input of an advisory committee of subject matter experts gathered from correctional facilities across Iowa, a task analysis was conducted resulting in a list of core correctional counselor activities. This list was integrated into a time study form and online application (developed and maintained by IDOC’s IT department) that study participants used to track the time (in minutes) engaged in a given activity over a four-week time period (April 18 – May 13, 2016). In addition to tracking the activity type and time (including any travel and wait time), correctional counselors recorded person(s) involved, method of contact, location, related form(s) or assessment(s), adequacy of time, task completion, and barriers. The time study instrument was pretested twice, once in paper form and again as a web- based application, with three correctional counselors. Each counselor was asked to spend a day documenting their activities
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