Leveraging Innovative Technology to Improve Supervision and Reduce Recidivism

SESSION INFO

Wednesday, August 31, 2022
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Session Type: Workshop

Join a panel discussion with the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (NDDOCR), moderated by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), as they discuss the use of innovative, data-driven technology to help manage caseloads. These projects are supported by BJA’s site-based Justice Reinvestment Initiative, which aims to address crime and public safety issues by improving justice system performance. IDOC and NDDOCR utilized curated agency-specific data platforms and dashboards to help manage their caseloads. Designed to support line staff, supervisors, and cross-system stakeholders, these automated dashboards display key metrics, identify patterns, and spot trends that in the past could only be done manually. When fully implemented, the new capacity for analysis provides critical information in real-time at all levels, allowing officers to identify and focus their efforts where necessary.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Whitney Ascuena-Bolt
Project Manager, ID Department of Correction


Whitney Ascuena-Bolt is a project manager in the Idaho Department of Correction’s Strategic Initiatives Team. Whitney joined IDOC in 2004 and until 2020, she worked in the Division of Probation and Parole as a presentence investigator and program manager, where she worked as a primary liaison with the Idaho judiciary. Whitney works diligently to identify areas of improvement, build strong relationships with key stakeholders, and implement evidence-based changes. In her current role, Whitney is facilitating initiatives in community supervision, gender responsivity, prison culture, and recruiting by lending her expertise in project management and change management practices.


Shane Quinn
Probation and Parole Officer, ID Department of Correction


Shane Quinn is currently employed as a Probation and Parole Officer in Lewiston, Idaho. From 2014 to 2018, he attended Lewis-Clark State College where he obtained a BS in Justice Studies and minored in Psychology. He worked for the Idaho State Police for ten months as a State Trooper but quickly realized he wanted to be doing something different. He spent some time working with youth at the Northwest Children’s Home and developed an appreciation for the social work side of law enforcement. That is what lead him to Probation and Parole. He has been with IDOC for approximately 19 months and is excited to be a part of the team working toward a safer Idaho. He and his wife have been married ten years and have three boys, ages 13, 12, and 9. They enjoy spending their free time in nature hunting, fishing, camping, and picking berries and mushrooms.


Heather Tubman-Carbone, PhD
Senior Policy Advisor, US Department of Justice : Bureau of Justice Statistics


Heather Tubman-Carbone, Ph.D., is a criminologist who specializes in translating research and policy into practice. As Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Dr. Tubman-Carbone oversees its justice reform efforts, including the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and Justice Counts, which take data-driven approaches to create more fair, effective, and efficient state justice systems. In addition, she manages Second Chance Act programs to build corrections and community supervision agencies’ capacity to reduce recidivism and support desistance. Prior to joining BJA, Dr. Tubman-Carbone managed a corrections portfolio at the Council of State Governments Justice Center where she oversaw technical assistance provided to state and local corrections agencies to design and implement concrete, research-based strategies to reduce recidivism. She also worked on projects to measure the impact of those initiatives and to disseminate the strategies to practitioners and policymakers in the field. Earlier in her career, Dr. Tubman-Carbone worked at Westat and the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College. Dr. Tubman-Carbone earned her BA from Northeastern University, her master’s from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice.