Virtual Academy for Corrections Analysts Kickoff

Hosted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance

This kickoff webinar for department of corrections (DOCs) directors, research directors, and corrections analysts will provide an overview of the services and materials that will be offered by the Virtual Academy for Corrections Analysts (VACA) program. Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, VACA builds data literacy and analytic capabilities of DOCs nationwide to further data-informed planning and decision-making.

As part of the webinar, CSG Justice Center staff will release an analysis of the results of a fieldwide engagement questionnaire that tracked the current challenges and opportunities facing DOCs’ research and data analytic departments nationwide. Additionally, a research director from Texas will share how he’s built analytic and research capacity for the state’s DOC. He will also present staffing analyses he’s conducted for his leadership team as an example of the types of analyses the VACA program will help state research teams carry out. Lastly, webinar attendees will have the opportunity to meet their peers in breakout sessions designed to foster cross-state relationships and professional networking.

Speakers:

• Ruby Qazilbash, Deputy Director for Policy, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA),
  Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
  
• Andrew Barbee, Director, Research and Development, Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice
• Matthew Herman, Data Science Project Manager, CSG Justice Center
• Joshua Mallett, Deputy Research Division Director, CSG Justice Center
• Christopher Callaghan, Data Science Program Director, Research, CSG Justice Center