Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections' Bureau of Research and Evaluation
Summary of Agency
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction was established in 1972 under House Bill 494. Its responsibilities are defined in Ohio Revised Code 5120. Final responsibility for operation of the Department rests with the Governor who appoints the Director. The agency is responsible for the operations of 30 prisons, oversight for 17 Community Based Correctional Facilities (CBCF) and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.
All adults convicted of felonies for which the statutory minimum is at least six months come into the state's prison system, which is under the supervision of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Many convicted felons are not, however, sent to prison. Instead, they are supervised in the community through probation or other community corrections alternatives like CBCF’s . Convicted felons who have served a specific amount of time in prison can be, if eligible, placed back into the community through a system called Parole. Parole is a period of supervision prior to full release from the state's correctional system.
In Fiscal Year 2014, 20,120 offenders were committed to the state prison system (17,302 males; 2,818 females). Categorized under their most serious offense, approximately 26% of these offenders were incarcerated for drug related offenses (e.g., drug abuse, trafficking); 14% were committed for miscellaneous property offenses (e.g., arson, theft, receiving stolen property, breaking and entering); approximately 25% were committed for crimes against persons (e.g., robbery, assault, domestic violence, homicide-related offenses); 11% were committed for burglary; 7% were incarcerated for sex offenses (e.g., gross sexual imposition, rape). The remaining individuals were incarcerated for motor vehicle, fraud, or firearm offenses, as well as offenses against justice/public administration and other miscellaneous felonies.
Additional information about the ODRC can be found here:
http://www.drc.state.oh.us/
Internship Responsibilities (3 available internships)
A CJRC Internship experience in the Bureau of Research and Evaluation at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has identified that an intern will have four key experiences:
- develop better computer skills to be used in research, either with spreadsheets or with statistical software such as SPSS.
- examine the files of offenders for a study, so that they learn something about the life paths of how offenders got into crime, how they function as individuals, and how each’s crime occurred. Most frequently recently this involves review of electronic files.
- make a visit to a prison.
- be significantly involved in at least one project in a manner that brings “ownership,” that is, at the end the intern or volunteer can say with pride, “I helped to complete that study or produce that finding or report, and it is something to be proud of.”
There are a number of projects ongoing with the research division at any given time. They range from the very simple to much more complex, and they cover a broad range of topics. The internship supervisors try to find some match between the candidate’s interests and background and what is needed to be done. It is in that context that they can assist a candidate determined if he or she wants to be an intern.
Early on, an intern is assigned to work with a researcher on tasks that assist the researcher in completing a project. It is hoped that this will be an assignment that gets the intern into files examining information about offenders. This may continue through the entire period, but midway, we hope to get the intern started on a more individual assignment for which he or she will collect the data, summarize and analyze the information, and produce some tables or a text summary that is of practical value.
Qualifications
When reviewing potential candidates, the ODRC look at:
- writing skills.
- computer skills (WORD, EXCEL, statistical software).
- knowledge of the criminal justice system, including academic training on the topic.
- statistical skills.
- any other kind of academic training (for example, one recent intern was able to help us out with a GIS/ mapping project).
- any particular passionate interest he or she may have with regard to the criminal justice system or a related topic.
A criminal history records check and a brief background investigation will need to be completed before we can confirm a position. Also, because the ODRC Research Division works with confidential information, a commitment to keeping that information confidential is required. This is an unpaid placement.
Location/Hours
Internship hours will be as arranged with most work being done during normal business hours.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Bureau of Research and Evaluation is located at:
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
770 W. Broad Street, 4th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43222
Contact: Steve Vandine - Chief, Bureau of Research and Evaluation
(614) 752-1265
Steve.Vandine@odrc.state.oh.us
Application
For further information on this opportunity or to apply, please send a cover letter and resume to: Christopher Yanai, Program Manager CJRC (614) 688-8685, email: Yanai.7@osu.edu
Note: This is an unpaid internship. Academic credit for Research or Internship is available. Applications will begin to be screened on 8/1/2015.