FY 2022 Pennsylvania SJS Program

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the designated SAC for the Commonwealth, will use FY22 SJS funds to support one Core Capacity project to increase access to statistical data by utilizing GIS-mapping, dashboards, and data analytics; and one Special Emphasis project analyzing state criminal history records to statistically validate and review the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) by linking the recidivism of county supervised offenders on probation/parole to assessed criminogenic risk. The 12-month core capacity project builds upon the successes and enhanced capabilities from previous SJS awards by continuing to use software to facilitate the SAC’s ability to conduct complex research and isolate on important data metrics that inform decision-making and guide public policy. The SAC has architected an automated “start-to-finish” data workflow process, which collects, organizes, analyzes, and visualizes data metrics from large, complex, and often disparate/siloed datasets. The data workflow will be used in conjunction with GIS-mapping to enhance PCCD’s visual representation of data, and facilitate the identification of data patterns, particularly at the sub-state level (counties, municipalities, school entities, etc.).

The 18-month Special Emphasis project will allow the SAC to communicate a better understanding of assessed offender criminogenic risk to practitioners and decision makers within Pennsylvania’s county probation and parole system. The project will be significant in informing the county probation and parole system of the predictive accuracy of ORAS assessments on recidivism outcomes to better enhance community public safety. Additionally, a review of ORAS utilization will develop “best practices” surrounding its implementation to encourage cross-county uniformity in assessment usage, effectiveness, and fidelity. As a result, this Special Emphasis project intends to achieve consistent risk-determination across Pennsylvania counties to better inform statewide strategies and resource allocations, and an individual county’s risk reduction programming to maximize gains in recidivism reduction.