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With a cool breeze in the air and clear skies the Joint Commission kicked off their annual training and education conference at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. While it was evident that there is no industry immune to the reaches of our economic landscape, it was a chance for exhibitors to take part in the first opportunity to connect face-to-face with an industry that is undergoing an amazing transformation due to the efforts of the Joint Commission staff.

It was clear that compliance was an obvious area of concern in our ever-growing litigious society, and policy management remains a concern on every administrator and manager’s mind. The conversation with each of these attendees was valued and provided IDS with an opportunity to further listen to our customers and potential customers concerning their needs, while offering potential solutions.

We would like to recognize the opportunity we had to give away an iPod Touch to a very special attendee, Dr. Glennell Conaway! As customary, each demo participant entered for chance to win this special prize and we congratulate Dr. Conaway of Roseland Community Hospital as the recipient of this gift.

If we missed seeing you this year at the Joint Commission Annual Conference, we hope that we get a chance to demonstrate how simplified policy management can be with PowerDMS, during next year’s conference. But if you can’t wait that long, give us a call and allow us the opportunity to show how our solutions can work for you!

info@imagineids.com
(800)749-5104

Are you Proactive or Reactive in using PowerDMS?

During a recent conversation with some other accreditation managers within our coalition we were searching for ways to comply with some of the requirements of law enforcement accreditation standards. One of the issues was roll-call training and the topics for this subject.

I informed the group that our IDS product – PowerDMS, PowerTEST & PowerSURVEY were the tools we used to accomplish this task. Here is how I tackled that issue; a test is attached to each new policy or re-issued policy for our agency. Once everyone has taken the test and reviewed the policy, I go over the test very carefully paying particular attention to the test questions missed. All of the test questions that have a high rate of being missed (50% or greater) are re-reviewed to determine if a poor test question was written or if the end user just not read policy carefully enough to get the question correct. If it is determined the test question is in fact properly written then I must seek out a way to make sure the majority obtain this new or updated information.

At this point, I take all of the missed test questions and copy them over to another format and title the newly formatted document as roll call training. I make reference to the policy and make sure the new language is correctly copied from policy into this new document. From here, the document is sent to all supervisors requesting that they personally go over the document during roll call. I further request that they return the document indicating the date and time the information was conveyed to their subordinates.

Case in point: A recently amended policy (including the test) was sent out. The agency historically wrote a memo anytime a specific action occurred within the agency. Within the amended policy the historic memo writing was changed, and a new form had been put into effect. One of the test questions asked the reader if that specific action were to occur what type of reporting method was to be done. 85% responded by checking memo was the correct method. My speculation on the high percentage that missed it was, because this reporting was previously done by memo and the reader glossed over the fact, this process had changed.

Are you using the PowerTEST module?

If not you should be! Another case in point; during a recent IA investigation, the investigator assigned the case came to me asking if this particular employee has taken, passed the test and signed for a specific policy. While I was researching this request the investigator inquired that he thought he recalled a test question on the test regarding a specific subject. I informed the investigator that indeed a question had been included regarding that subject. However, it was unknown if this particular user had that question on their test. I added that normally additional questions are written but all questions are not selected for the test (i.e.: 20 questions are written and 15 are selected) this prevents employees from relying on other employees for answers. After the person in question test was located, it was discovered the person under investigation had answered the test question correctly but violated the policy for which the investigator was investigating.

As you can see from the above references, the product is capable of doing so much more than just document management.

Larry Roberson
Accreditation Manager
Austin Public Safety & Emergency Management

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA®) started in 1979 as a credential authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement's major executive associations including:

• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)
• National Sheriffs' Association (NSA)
• Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)

The purpose of CALEA’s Accreditation Programs is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by: maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence. (source: www.calea.org)

Each year, three times a year, CALEA holds conferences for its members and non members. Accreditation managers can sign up for these conferences and attend education workshops that keep them up to date on new and existing accreditation management practices.

Just last week, IDS attended the conference in Boca Raton, FL. Here we showcased our PowerDMS suite, and had a great time meeting many of our current (and future) customers. We even took a crew down and conducted some video interviews with clients who are currently using PowerDMS! Stay tuned for videos and pictures from the conference!

IDS receives certificate of Appreciation for The Florida Police Accreditation Coalition for our contributions to Law Enforcement and Public Safety Accreditation, and to the FLA-PAC Conferences!

IDS attends the Utah Chiefs Conference in St George, Utah!

The Commission’s Accreditation Manager of the Year Award honors highly motivated individuals who have exhibited exceptional skills to accomplish their agency’s goals of achieving accreditation and all related activities. For 2006, the Commission has selected Mrs. Christine Goracke with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office as its recipient of this award. Mrs. Goracke was selected based on her innovation and creativity in achieving significant program and organizational results for her agency, her contributions to improving the agency’s internal and external services, and for establishing relationships and promoting cooperation throughout the organization. It is evident to anyone who knows Christine that she is passionate about the accreditation process. Since 1992, when Christine was first appointed as the agency’s accreditation manager, she has gained a wide scope of accreditation knowledge and experience. She has guided her agency in achieving and maintaining accredited status through both the state and national law enforcement accreditation processes. And, in 2006, she successfully led her agency through its first FCAC reaccreditation assessment. Christine is recognized as an individual that accepts a challenge and can get the job done, which is evident by her many accreditation accomplishments over the past 15 years. Within her agency, she has earned a reputation for being extremely resourceful and efficient, but more importantly, effective. In addition to the extremely demanding job of managing three accreditation processes, Christine is credited with recently initiating an agency-wide intranet on-line policies and procedures distribution and employee testing system.(PowerDMS) Christine shares her enthusiasm for accreditation and promotes its benefits at every opportunity. In addition to the work she accomplishes within her agency, Christine also serves as an instructor for the agency’s Citizen Police Academy, where she informs county residents about the benefits and importance of accreditation to their community. All of these accomplishments and professional qualities make Christine a worthy recipient of this award.

The Commission’s Assessor of the Year Award honors individuals who demonstrate extraordinary support and leadership in furthering the Commission’s goals of assessing agencies fairly and effectively. For 2006, the Commission has selected Sergeant Juliane Day of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office as its recipient of this award. Sergeant Day was selected based on her leadership ability, excellent coaching and mentoring skills, and for promoting cooperation and communication with candidate agency members, Commission staff, and assessment team members. While guiding her agency with its accreditation efforts over the past nine years, Julie has directly assisted over 16 other jails to earn their accredited status—many of these have been the smaller facilities with limited resources and difficult challenges. Other accreditation managers regularly solicit Julie’s help because of her extensive knowledge of corrections and her many years of experience with the FCAC accreditation process. Since 2000, she has conducted eight technical site visits and 15 mock assessments. In addition, she has directly assisted the Commission by serving as an assessor on nine on-site assessments, on all but two of which she served as the Team Leader. Because correctional facilities are of varying size and scope, there are different methods for achieving compliance. Some assessors have difficulty assimilating the differences and applying the standards correctly. Sergeant Day routinely demonstrates her ability to apply the standards appropriately, regardless of the facility’s size. On all assignments for the Commission, Julie has been an excellent mentor for new assessors and even new team leaders. With her own unique style, Julie has earned a reputation as a tough, but fair assessor, who is willing to help solve problems. Her “can do” attitude has bolstered the confidence of many newly appointed accreditation managers who find the process daunting and, at times overwhelming. She gives sound advice and does not compromise the Commission’s intent regarding the standards. Julie is a leader within Florida’s corrections community and she is constantly striving to improve herself and others within her chosen profession. This is evidenced by the fact that she has earned a Masters Degree and is a certified American Jail Association manager. In addition to all the support and training she provides to others in her role as an assessor, Julie voluntarily coordinates all corrections and law enforcement training at Florida Accreditation Conferences to benefit all accreditation managers state-wide. She is truly selfless in sharing her knowledge, time, and energy. All of these accomplishments and professional qualities make Julie a worthy recipient of this award.

The Assessor of the Year Award honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary support and leadership in furthering the Commission’s goals of assessing agencies fairly and effectively. The Awards Committee selected Sergeant Johnny Greenwood of Putnam County Sheriff’s Office as the winner of the 2006 Assessor of the Year Award. Sergeant Greenwood was selected based on his leadership ability, his excellent coaching and mentoring skills, and for promoting cooperation and communication with candidate agency members, Commission staff, and onsite assessment team members. Sergeant Greenwood understands the mission of accreditation and that the assessment team is present in a non-adversarial role to assist the agency with their accreditation goals. His negotiation skills and knowledge of standards gives him the reputation of being tough but fair. Sergeant Greenwood’s reports are consistently of the highest quality. He understands that the assessment team is providing a professional evaluation of an agency and the report should be factual and professional. His dedication to the philosophy of improving professionalism through accreditation is a model for others to emulate.

Innovative Data Solutions is pleased to announce the addition of PowerDETAILS to our current line of law enforcement software. PowerDETAILS will allow your agency to manage secondary employment from start to finish in a user friendly, web based environment. Administrators will be able to see all jobs in a calendar or list format and easily manage them at a glance. Administrators can also define who can and can not work a job with our simple rules wizard. With PowerDETAILS advanced billing system, administrators can do all billing electronically or quickly print invoices for mailing. Personnel can see available jobs and apply for them online. Personnel are restricted from applying for jobs that violate rules defined by your agency policies. Keeping track of jobs is easy with PowerDETAILS individual job calendar and notifications that can be sent to email, pager, or cellular phone. Businesses requesting off duty personnel can generate their own jobs online with a secure login. Businesses can also monitor job status and be billed electronically. PowerDETAILS will save your agency time and money. PowerDETAILS was designed to be flexible and will integrate flawlessly with your existing process.

Lee County SO is a state and nationally accredited agency with over 700 employees. They are currently managing their directive process with PowerDMS and have elected to use PowerDETAILS to manager their secondary employment process. With their high volume secondary employment season they needed a system that would manage itself from start to finish. They chose PowerDETAILS because once the jobs are entered the system manages itself and then exports required information to their payroll system but still allows administrators to have complete control.

Barnstable Police Department, a 140 employee agency located near Cape Cod, MA has chosen PowerDETAILS to manage their extensive secondary employment process. With a population increase from 50,000 during off season to 150,000-180,000 during the summer months Barnstable PD accrues a lot of secondary employment. With the high volume of secondary employment during the summer months they needed a system that could handle their unique billing, payment, and job selection process. Paper management and/or poor software were not an option. With the summer months approaching Barnstable had to have something that was efficient, complete, and web-based deployed quickly. After a few short weeks PowerDETAILS was up and running right before the summer months hit.

Hernando Co. SO is a state accredited agency that has over 400 employees and works around 8000-10000 secondary employment details a year. They needed a system that would allow them to manage their secondary employment process but not change how they managed it. They wanted a system that allowed employees to sign up for jobs anywhere internet access was available, allowed administrators to quickly view all jobs in a calendar/list view, and applied agency specific rules to the system. After reviewing several systems they chose PowerDETAILS for its flexibility and ease of use.