Organizational Structure/Make-up

What is the number of correctional employees in your state?

2,243

What is the number of IT staff supporting employees/customers within your organization?Please include contractors if permanent.

41

How many field offices and institutions or other locations does IT support?

37

What part of the organization does IT report to?

Administrative Services

How are departmental decisions made?

BIT determines the technology decisions for the department based on the plans and needs of the UDC using state and UDC standards.

User groups are used to determine user needs and BIT is responsible for finding IT solutions to meet them.

A Department Steering Committee (SC) with members from each division determines overall priorities. BIT chairs and participates but does not vote.The Chair votes only in case of a tie.

Each division is encouraged to have a division SC to prioritize needs/issues prior to bringing them to the Department SC.

We use user and technical committees representing each area to make lower level decisions and priorities.These committees are really under the umbrella of the UDC Steering Committee.

Is IT centralized or distributed?

IT is centralized.

We do distribute LAN servers throughout the state, managed centrally.

Is Corrections within your state responsible for community corrections, probation or parole programs?

Adult Corrections is over incarceration, community corrections, probation and parole, anything dealing with adults.

Is Corrections within your state responsible for Juvenile Secure Facilities, Juvenile Parole, and Juvenile Probation?

Adult Corrections is NOT over anything classified as juveniles.They are under the Department of Human Services.

Please indicate which medical services are provided within your institution and which medical services are contracted out.(Dental, Hospital, Clinic, Pharmacy)

All primary medical, dental and mental health services are provided directly by department medical health care providers on staff.Contracts provide for limited supplementary support services when required.

Describe the top challenges you have in supporting your current organization.Please limit this to the top three.

Not having sufficient Department funding identified specifically for IT projects, without having to find and compete for funding from within operational budgets.

IT staff ratio to operational staff is far below the State average, and increases in growing support expectations are not tied to related increase requirements in IT staffing levels.

Informal communication channels often circumvent formal channels, preventing IT management from having direct opportunity to resolve sensitive issues.

Policies

Is telecommuting allowed?

Yes

Is telecommuting used?

Yes, though not as much as it used to be.

What policies does the department have regarding computing, computers, and other technology?

We have a large section of the Department’s Policy and Procedure Manual on staff use of computers and other technologies.

There is also a manual section on inmate use of computers/technology.

Are the policies written?

Yes

Are the policies posted?

Yes, online and in written form.

Are employees educated about the policies?

Yes, although it is staff responsibility to read, understand and follow the policies.

An annual policy and procedures test is given to everyone in the UDC.

Managers are asked to submit questions where we believe there are problems.

Responses are combined into a UDC test of about 50 questions are sent out to Bureau Directors and they have the ability to add additional questions for their own staff.

All employees must pass the test with 100% accuracy.

Two hours of training credit is given for the test.

We discuss problem policies in meetings.

Supervisors are encouraged to discuss different polices in meetings.

IT Infrastructure

Please describe the hardware, software, and network infrastructure that your IT organization is responsible for.(Database Software, Application Development Tools, Operating System Platforms, Number of Desktops, Network, Servers, Telephones, inmate network, PDAs, Security, etc).

The Department operates on a TCP/IP fast Ethernet based LAN.There are approximately 28 Novell servers, 9 UNIX (HPUX) servers, with a few Windows, Linux, and other types of servers.This serves 2,243 employees working 24 hour shifts 365 days a year.Most employees use a desktop computer.We have over 100 laptops and a growing number of PIDs.

What hardware is used?We standardize equipment to become more efficient.

HP Unix 9000 series servers

HP LAN servers

HP desktops

Compaq and Toshiba laptops

What software is used?

Informix database

PowerBuilder front end

Medical system is Web based, using Java servelets,Struts and JSPs.

Microsoft Office 2000 (a few XP and 2003 version)

Adobe reader 6.0

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Novell’s Netware Client

Novell’s Zen Works

And other software application as needed

Describe your application development environment today and your plans for the future.

O-TRACK:Client/Server with an Informix Data Engine on HP with Unix and a PowerBuilder application layer.Moving to a web-based platform.

MEDICAL:Web-based platform:Informix Data Engine on HP with Unix, Tomcat moving to Websphere Application Server on Windows 2000, and Java client.

Describe any technology tools used for security purposes.

The Department has a three-tier security plan.The gateway is covered by both a Cisco firewall and a content filtering software. There is backup on tier two by a second line of Cisco firewalls, followed by application level security at tier three.

Has your organization developed and documented an enterprise architecture? If not, are you considering this?

The Department has developed an enterprise architecture, but it is only partially documented.

Describe the top three challenges you have in supporting your current IT infrastructure.

The misuse of computers by officers, i.e., downloading, lack of training, and moving the inventory.

Understaffing of IT support.The Department is covered at this time by one technician to 177 computers or 244 employees to one IT technician.

Standardization of hardware and software used by the department.We are standardized by brand, but not versions.We use only HP desktops, but as our computers range from new to 4 or 5 years old, we have many models.The same is true for desktop operating systems and some application software.

What is NOS?Network Operating System.

We use Novel and HPUX as our primary NOS’, Linux and Microsoft NT when needed.

Does the department use inter-, intra- extranets?

We use all three.

What e-commerce technology is used, if any?

Corrections doesn’t use it.Our customers are inmates not the general public.

Utah Correctional Industries (UCI) is looking into e-commerce for their business.

How does the Department use client/server technology?

O-TRACK, the Department’s Offender Management System, dealing with every aspect of an offender’s life from writing the Pre-sentence Evaluation for the courts, incarceration, parole and probation, is a client server system.

PowerBuilder is used to program the client side.Informix is used as the database engine.

What security measures and types of disaster recovery processes does the department use?

All main servers are running Auto Raid subsystems with offsite backup and storage.

When possible we have offsite live server running hot.

We have two UPS systems on the main Data Center, with a backup generator.

Each main network component has its own backup power if not found in the Data Center.

O-TRACK Statistics

Size of database excluding photographs

12 gigabytes

Photographs

3 gigabytes

Number of screens

1,032 screens

Number of stored procedures

3,026

Number of triggers

129

Number of tables

1,079

Number of columns

7,804

Number of indexes

2,695

Number of offenders in database

139,069

Number of users

2,164

No. of agencies with read only access

65

Budget

What percentage of the overall organizational budget is allocated to IT?

4 - 5% Department wide

Does your IT organization charge back for any services?  If your answer is yes, can you list those services that you charge back?

Corrections’ IT Bureau does charge back in the form of a port charge to the end users, which covers all IT services we provide to them.

Does your overall IT organization have a budget above and beyond IT salaries?

Yes:

The Bureau has everything connected with the individual such as salaries, travel, supplies, training, education, etc. and must purchase desktops, etc., out of savings.  There is no allotted budget for overtime, but is must be covered.

The Department has an Internal Service Fund (ISF) for all “behind the wall” departmental technology.  This covers the Unix and Novell servers, operating systems, application software (as long as it resides on the servers), bridges, routers, etc.  There are also 4.5 FTE paid out of the ISF, so it covers all expenses relating to those individuals.

The Bureau is working on a new policy for the ISF that would allow all IT hardware (including desktops) and software to be covered in the ISF and it would allow the Department to become “self funding” for maintenance.

How successful is your IT organization in getting grants for projects (Very successful, Somewhat successful, Not successful)?

Somewhat successful.  O-TRACK received $2,046,752.72 and medical received $200,000 in grants.

Would you be willing to enter into multi-state contracts to leverage buying power, if appropriate?

Yes, we all ready do.  Utah is part of the Western States Purchasing Alliance and part of the National Corrections Offender Management group working together to develop software systems.

Describe the three top challenges you have in attaining the necessary IT budget.

They are:

statewide budget cuts

departments not allowed to ask for new money

rising to the top of the department priorities while offender growth requires new facilities and staffing.

Automation

Please list the correctional business functions that you currently have automated?

The Department’s O-TRACK system (Offender Tracking) automates all of Institutional Operations (Prisons), Medical Services, Adult Probation and Parole, Community Correctional Centers, and the Board of Pardons.  This includes Offender Management, Case Management, and all offender-related Administrative Functions.

Please list those correctional business functions that you are in the process of automating?

Our entire operation is fully automated.  Work continues on minor enhancements and web enabling the system.

Please list the strategic business applications that your organization would like to tackle in the next two to five-year time frame?

Web enabling the O-TRACK System in partnership with a formally organized consortium of other states, known as the National Consortium for Offender Management systems (NCOMS).

For large projects are you leaning towards purchasing a commercial off the shelf solutions (COTS) or developing in house?

Development continues in-house, with contracted assistance.  Other than a small accounting module for offender obligations, there is no plan to pursue commercial software packages.

What services does IT currently provide to its customers: Help Desk, Desktop Support, WAN support, Telephony Support, Technology Procurement Support, Project Management Office, Wiring, etc.?

Call Center (Help Desk)

Desktop Support

WAN Support

Technology Procurement for Department

IT Training (Class room setting)

Project Management

Hardware and Software evaluation

IT RISK management

System setup and repair (repair tracking)

IT Infrastructure support

Software development and maintenance

Quality Assurance testing

Database Administration (DBA)

IT Hardware and Software inventory tracking

IT Security

IT Forensics

Development and monitoring IT Plan for Department

IT Purchasing and Authorization

Would you be willing to share solutions developed by your organization with other state organizations?

Yes.  This was one of the founding principles for CTA.

Would you consider joining a consortium to share in the risk and cost of developing automated solutions?

Yes.  We created one several years ago that is still in existence.  One of the original members dropped out but others have joined.

Are you currently using open source tools?  If not, are you considering using open source tools?

We are not using open source tools, but are looking into it.

Describe the three top challenges you have with providing automation solutions to your customers.

Not enough IT programming resources to meet the need for development projects.

Tying requests for IT projects directly to priority, mission-critical, business case needs and documenting those justifications.

Migrating development and technical support staff into emerging web technologies in order to provide in-house support to new products.

Strategic Plans

Does your IT organization have a strategic plan?If yes, would you be willing to provide a copy of your plan to the CTA?

Yes and Yes.  However, it is a high-level plan.  Then we take each project and flesh it out.

Does your correctional organization have a strategic plan?  If yes, would you be willing to provide of this plan to the CTA?

The Department is in the process of creating one.  I would have to check with our (Acting) Executive Director once it was completed.

Describe the three top challenges in meeting the goals and objectives of your strategic plan.

Our top three challenges in meeting the plan are:

budget cuts

staff cuts/shortages

“priority projects” that get to the top without going through the Steering Committee, which obviously impact scheduled projects

Information Sharing

What entities does your organization share data with or receive data from?

Courts

Public Safety Jurisdictions

County Jails

Office of Education

State office of Debt Collection

Board of Pardons

Federal Databases

Tax Commission

Does your organization participate in an Integrated Justice Project within your state?

Yes

Is your organization using the XML Justice Data Dictionary and Schemas?

Yes

Describe the three top challenges that Corrections in your state encounter with sharing data with other justice entities.

Small agencies / jurisdictions do not have enough staff to support the level of data entry / retrieval that would be most beneficial.

External agencies frequently change their requirements and expectations, forcing in-house programming changes that conflict with departmental priorities.

Keeping all related organizations sufficiently current on emerging technologies.  Budget disparities cause lags and gaps.

Standards

How are technology issues and standards decided?

We follow all appropriate standards. Some are national such as the Global Justice Standards that includes XML; we follow state standards and UDC standards.

We look at what we want to accomplish and find what standards are already established nationally, statewide or on a Department level.

If there are no standards set, we study the issues, test and make our own such as our hardware standards.

Standards are approved by the BIT Standards Committee.

Is your organization currently using the Performance Base Measurement Standards developed by ASCA?

We will be adopting these standards.

Is your organization using the CTA/ASCA functional business standards or exchange standards developed by the CTA?

O-TRACK was developed prior to the standards, but we helped create the standards with O-TRACK.  We are implementing them with everything new we do.  The Consortium is using them with the web enabling of O-TRACK.

Describe the 3 top challenges to implementing Performance Base Measure Standards and CTA/ASCA functional business standard/exchange standards.

Main challenges are:

legacy systems

training

finding the right place to implement something new

CTA Focus

Besides the yearly conference, describe three areas that you would like to see CTA focus their time and energy on.

continuation of the standards project

expansion of the corrections portion of the XML database

furthering partnerships/relationships with ASCA, DOJ, and other professional associations

strengthening the relationship between state

developing project partnerships/consortiums

Besides the conference, list at least 3 ideas to help fund the CTA.

association dues funded by the Department

advertising in the conference brochure

help from business partners

fund raisers

Would you be willing to participate on a national committee if asked?

Yes

Do you plan to attend the CTA conference in 2005 in Orlando, Florida?

Yes