Strategic Planning and Corporate Programs Division

Strategic planning

As part of the reorganization of the Branch in
1997, a strategic plan was developed with the
expectation that it would be revised every three
years. The first plan was developed for adult
corrections and family justice services for the
yeats 1998-2001. This document, Derecting
Change, provided information about the
reorganization of the Branch, evolution of
correctional programs, and expanding role of
corrections.

With regard to adult corrections, the priority of
the strategic plan was reducing the recidivism of

Protecting Communities, Assisting Families

DiRECTING
CHANGE

The Strategic Plan

for

Adult Corrections

and

Family Justice Services
1998 - 2001

_BrimisH
COLUMBIA

Ministry of Attorney General
Conmenons Beanch

high-risk offenders. Accordingly, it focused on
victim notification and integrated offender
management. The integrated offender
management system included tisk/needs
assessment, core programs and offender
tracking."

With regard to family justice services, the
strategic plan placed priority on promoting
timely resolution of family and marital disputes
outside of the traditional court system.

Under the former regional model, there was
little time for developing a “strategic kind of
enterprise.” Instead, overcrowding and
workload management issues drove the Branch.
According to Rob Watts, reorganization made
the Branch more “responsive” and less
“reactive.” With a functional model and
strategic plan, the future of the Corrections
Branch was purposefully determined.

Research and evaluation

To succeed in achieving the strategic objectives
outlined in Derecting Change, the Branch made
research and evaluation a priority. A
management information system was developed
to extract data from operational systems and
produce statistical and management
information for resource planning. Branch
managers were also given access to
time-sensitive monitoring and research reports,
and program evaluations.

3 Corrections Branch, Directing Change: The Strategic Plan for Adult Corrections and Family Justice Services 1998-2001.
4 A computerized information network (CORNET) tracked the progress of offenders on their correctional plans

in institutions and the community.

5 From interview with Brian Mason, 2002.

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Corrections in British Columbia