-16 capacity of 172, a present usage of 127, all of which is detention population, however. That is, they are not being used for halfway houses as planned. Three homes, which would provide the other funded 45 beds, have not yet found, but are being sought. It is difficult to estimate emergency augmentation. Each home houses about 15 children, and homes are typically former private dwellings. Presumably each home could house in an emergency at least two additional persons. The matter of rated capacity is a difficult one. Overcrowding of facilities is of course most undesirable. At the same time, if the description of a facility as overcrowded is based on artificial standards of usage, or on ideal standards, then these standards themselves become an unnecessary, inhibiting factor on the use of facilities in times of great pressure on the facilities. It was thought essential by the Deputy Mayor to raise the issue of rated capacity and to obtain from the Department of Correction and the Social Services Administration clear statements as to what standards they were currently using. No independent examination of these ratings or standards was made, although contact was made by the Office of Criminal Justice Plans and Analysis with the standard-setting agencies, the American Correctional Association, and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Those agencies verified in a general way the standards used by the District of Columbia. The Department of Corrections arrived at rated usage (Column (3) on the chart) by using the minimum standards of the American -17 Correctional Association, where possible and applicable. These standards call for 75 square feet per man, in open dormitory spaces (excluding toilet facilities, etc.); 50 square feet per man, in single cells; and 75 square feet in cells occupied by two men. In using this measuring instrument, there was difficulty with the D.C. Jail, because all of the single cells there fall below the minimum requirement per cell, and as a result it was not possible to use the ACA Standards in arriving at the rated usage in the cell blocks. Therefore, in measuring the cell blocks, the number of individual cells was counted, the dormitory spaces were computed on the basis of 75 square feet per man, and the two were added together, with the result that there is a rated usage figure of 663 in the jail. A somewhat different, but similar, problem was encountered at the Youth Center because of the design of living space. The dormitories in it are divided into individual rooms. While the space is above ACA standards for individual cells, the rooms are not large enough to accommodate two inmates per room. Therefore, a discrepancy between the number of inmates and the square footage occurs here also. Square All Community Correctional Centers were combined into one item, showing both in-count and out-count by topical heading. footage for dormitory space did not seem applicable here, in that capacity is determined either by contract or by licensed capacity, as determined by D.C. Licenses and Inspections. -18 The Social Services Administration arrived at rated usage by using National Council on Crime and Delinquency standards. For the Receiving Home, there is a special problem. It was designed for 90, and on October 13, 1970, Judge Harold Greene in a case decided that day ruled that the home may not hold more than 90, except for short periods on a temporary basis when it may hold no more than 108. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency standard is for one staff person to supervise 15 residents. There were seven staff authorized in fiscal 1971. The This requires that there be no more than 105 in the home. original design for 90 was increased to 105 by converting a storage area into a living area, adding capacity for 15 in a seventh living unit containing 15 persons. The rated usage of Oak Hill, 150, is based on code requirements and program standards of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) and the former Children's Bureau of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. There are three open population cottages containing 40 beds each in single rooms, and one diagnostic-reception cottage containing 20 beds on one side and ten beds on the other in single rooms. For Cedar Knoll School, the rated usage is 450 at present, this figure having been reduced from 550 because of a budget cut of 28 persons for fiscal 1971. The institution was build to house 552 students based on code requirements and program standards set forth by NCCD and the Children's Bureau. -19 The rated usage of Maple Glen School is 240, based on code requirements and program space standards of NCCD and the Children's Bureau. It should be noted that budget cuts for fiscal 1971 reduced rated usage from 270 to 240. For the Youth Group homes, the rated usage is based on Children's Bureau standards and code requirements for the row houses located in the Cardozo area. These homes cannot hold more than the rated number of beds without violating codes. There was no effort to validate the rated capacity statements concerning the Rehabilitation Center for Alcoholics, or other facilities operated by the Alcoholic Rehabilitation Program. However, the standards for the facilities are based on American Hospital Association and Veterans Administration standards, according to RCA officials. While questions may remain with regard to the adequacy or reliability of these national standards, they are the only standards for rated capacity at present, other than the "feel" correctional and juvenile officials have for the size populations which can be properly handled in institutions. While these impressions may well be typically correct, it is essential to establish standards so that the limits of expansion of use of facilities may be set. Clearly the matter of standards of usage requires further examination in the future. C. The Demand Variable: Population Projections for Juvenile and Adult Institutions for Fiscal 1971 and 1972 The population projections presented here indicate clearly that there will be a rise in every category of person detained, 65-943 O 71-17 -20 committed, or sentenced over the next six to 18 months. In particular, they show rapid rises in the number of detained juveniles, in the number of sentenced adult felons, and in the numbers of those sentenced under the Youth Act. At this point, it needs to make very clear that these projections are easily subject to challenge by those who do not agree with some of the assumptions on which the projections are based. These projections are made on the best data and information which could be obtained. They have been the subject of five discussions at Public Safety Group meetings and of many hours of discussion among the staffs of the Department of General Services, Department of Corrections, Social Services Administration, and Office of Criminal Justice Plans and Analysis. The projections, together with the assumptions on which they rest, reflect an agreement among all those involved that are the best projections possible, but also that they are, after all, estimates. The population projections presented here were done largely by the Office of Crime Analysis, a unit within the Office of Criminal Justice Plans and Analysis. However, the basic data used were supplied by the Department of Corrections and the Social Services Administration. The projections on Children's Center populations are those of the Social Services Administration. Centers, and the parole population. |