Program Management

Program management addresses many of the operational components related to a pretrial services program, such as how programs approach organizational goals, strategic planning, policies and procedures, training, budgets and financial management, staffing, and hours of operation. 

NAPSA Standard 3.7(c) provides programs with a checklist of  policies and procedures that they should develop that should enable them to “function as an effective institution in its jurisdiction’s criminal justice system.”

Survey of Pretrial Programs Series:  Program Management

PJI has recently released the fourth national survey of pretrial services programs. Previous surveys were conducted in 1979, 1989, and 2001.

Listed below are the findings relating to the management of these programs.

Mission Statement

A mission statement lays out the desired direction of the organization and reflects its aims and purposes. More than 70 percent of programs report that they have a mission statement specific to pretrial services.

Training

Pretrial services programs require well-trained staff.  In 2008, 53 percent of pretrial programs reported having a formal training program for new staff.  Nearly three-out-of-four have continuing training for existing staff, and 54 percent have leadership development training for supervisory staff.

Since the last survey in 2001, new certifications and trainings have been developed and implemented.  The 2008 survey found that 18 percent of the pretrial programs have staff that completed NAPSA certification.  The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) also offers training sessions for pretrial programs’ executive staff.  Seventeen percent of pretrial programs have staff that completed the NIC executive training. 

Many programs offer specialized training to staff to meet the challenges presented by the needs of defendants.  The 2008 survey shows that 22 percent of the programs do not offer any specialized training.  About half reported that they offer motivational interviewing training to staff.  Forty-nine percent offer training for substance abuse screening and 37 percent offer training for mental health screening.  Forty-three percent pursue training opportunities to develop pretrial interviewing skills of staff. 

The 2008 survey explores the availability of funding for training by pretrial programs.  Eleven percent of the programs that responded do not have any funds set aside for training, 62 percent have less than $5,000, and 20 percent have between $5,000 and $15,000. 

Program Budgets Are Growing

The 2008 survey shows that 26 percent of the pretrial programs have budgets of $200,000 per year or less, compared to 39 percent in 2001.  Overall, program budgets appear to be increasing since 2001.  This finding may be related to the increase in jurisdiction population served by pretrial programs.   

Program Staff Size is Growing

In 2008, the average number of staff increased to 22, up from 18 in 2001.  In 2001, almost 70 percent of the pretrial programs surveyed had 10 staff or fewer.  By 2008, that figure had fallen to 57 percent 

Staff Salaries

Fifty-eight percent of pretrial programs in 2008 reported that the starting salaries for line staff were between $30,000 and $40,000 a year.  About a third of the programs had starting salaries below $30,000 and 11 percent offer starting salaries of more than $40,000. 

Over half of the program directors or administrators have starting salaries between $50,000 and $80,000 a year.  Eighteen percent start at less than $50,000 and 26 percent start at more than $80,000. 

Most Staff Have Completed College

Thirty-one percent of pretrial program staff have earned a bachelor’s degree as their highest level of education, 19 percent have a master’s degree, four percent a doctorate, and seven percent a law degree. Seventeen percent have a high school diploma and another four percent have earned their GED.

Staff Are Relatively Young

In 2008, for the first time the survey asked about staff ages.  Thirteen percent are between 18 and 25 years of age, 23 percent between 26 and 35, 26 percent between 36 and 45, 22 percent between 46 and 55, and 16 percent over 55. 

Few Programs are Available 24 Hours a Day

Nearly four in 10 pretrial programs operate only during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.  Fifteen percent operate extended hours during the work week, 11 percent are open during normal hours on weekends plus weekdays, and 36 percent are open extended hours on both weekends and weekdays.

This section contains the specific chapters of each set of standards related to this topic, documents submitted by programs as examples, related publications, and results from the Survey of Pretrial Programs series.