Click here to download a copy of NIC's Second Edition Staffing Analysis Workbook for Jails.

Jail staff costs comprise over two-thirds of annual jail operating costs. Managing this valuable, critical and costly resource poses challenges for jail managers and policymakers. In 1987, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) offered a new resource, the NIC Staffing Analysis Workbook for Jails, First Edition. Written for NIC by Rod Miller and Dennis R. Liebert, the Workbook described a new, systematic approach to staffing analysis and presented new methodologies to the field. Many jails embraced the NIC Workbook and its methodology. NIC updated it in 2001.

As jurisdictions apply the NIC process and methods, exciting refinements, improvements and innovations are developed. 

CRS has written many articles concerning staffing analysis for Sheriff magazine. They are now available online on the CRS archive or as a free download.

Click here to view the online archive.

The methodology described in NIC's Workbook involves 10 sequential steps:

• Step 1: Profile the Jail   [describing the context in which staffing occurs]
• Step 2: Calculate Net Annual Work Hours [understanding how many hours we really derive from each full time position, and getting the math right]
• Step 3: Develop a Facility Activity Schedule [examining hour-to-hour levels of activity in the jail, and identifying opportunities for new efficiencies]
• Step 4: Develop the Staff Coverage Plan [determining what type of staff are needed, where, and when]
• Step 5: Complete a Staff Summary [a first look at the level of staffing]
• Step 6: Develop a Schedule [finding efficient and effective ways to deploy staff to meet coverage needs]
• Step 7: Evaluate, Revise, and Improve the Plan [the equalizer—identifying deficiencies in the plan before it is implemented]
• Step 8: Calculate Operational Costs [asking for the right amount of resources]
• Step 9: Prepare a Report [documenting your findings]
• Step 10: Implement the Plan and Monitor the Results [continuously tuning up the plan as it is implemented]
  

Although the Second Edition expanded the seven-step process introduced in the First Edition, it also trimmed the content of the Workbook substantially and eliminated several forms and checklists:

• Form 1A: Profile the Jail
• Form 2A: Intermittent Activities/Operation Chart (simplified, now Form B, Facility Activity Schedule)
• Form  3A: Staff Assignment and Coverage (simplified and combined Form 3D, Staff Assignment Summary)
• Form 3B: Graph of Staff Assignment
• Form 4A: Weekly Scheduling Summary
• Form 4B: 2-Month Master Schedule
• Form 5A: Master Evaluation Checklist
• Form 5B: ACA Standards Checklist
• Form 5C: Time/Task Analysis
• Form 7A: Monitoring Checklist

Many practitioners still use some of these earlier forms and checklists, which are available from NIC through its Information Center and can be downloaded here.

As more practitioners apply the staffing analysis process, they are developing important refinements and improvements.

For example, one county wanted to find a balance between the complex Intermittent Activities chart in the First Edition, and the somewhat simplistic Facility Activity Schedule in the Second Edition. They created an Excel spreadsheet that displayed the various intermittent activities that occur in the jail by half-hour increments. They assigned a value, or "weight," to each activity that reflected the extent to which jail operations were impacted. A higher value indicated a greater impact. Using a scale of 1 to 5, they might assign meal service a "4," shift change a "5," and a more localized activity like an attorney visit a "1."

After the spreadsheet was completed, they totaled the values in each column (a column represented a half-hour block of time), similar to the First Edition chart. These totals were  converted into a chart that graphically demonstrated the ups and downs of hourly and daily jail operations. This allowed them to focus on the high points—when staff were likely to be over-taxed—and the low points, when staff might not be fully occupied. Such an analysis leads to changes in procedures and scheduling that improve the efficiency of the jail. And when activity levels are compared to staffing levels, inconsistencies are quickly identified.

A sample of the enhanced activities form is available online, along with samples of a weighted form, at:  www.correction.org   Other forms and tools related to the staffing analysis process are also available at that site.

In 1987, the NIC Workbook introduced a new staffing analysis term and concept, the "Net Annual Work Hour" (NAWH). The NAWH methodology has been successfully applied by many practitioners, who have found it to be an important new staffing and budgeting tool. The NAWH method eliminates the need calculate various "relief factors."

A "relief factor" attempts to answer the question: "How many full-time staff must I have in my budget to provide continuous coverage for a relieved post?" Relief factors are usually calculated for posts that are operated 24 hours daily, every day of the year. But calculating a relief factor becomes very difficult, and less accurate, when a variety of posts are considered. Some posts operate for only part of the 24-hour day, and some posts are not operated every day of the week. Developing relief factors for the combinations of posts found in a creative and efficient modern jail is difficult and daunting. One county recently concluded it only required 4.1 full-time positions to staff 2 12-hour shifts, 365 days per year. They made math errors when they tried to adapt their old shift relief factor (for 8-hour shifts) to their new 12-hour shifts. This is a common error made as managers try to apply relief factor methodology to alternative shift patterns.

The NAWH method introduced in the NIC Workbook accomplishes the same goals, more accurately, and with much more flexibility. By focusing on the "hour" as the unit to be measured, rather than a shift, the process has been improved.

Although most steps in the staffing analysis process are more "art" than "science," the NAWH calculations demand exacting attention to detail. 

By calculating the "Net Annual Work Hours" (NAWH) for each classification of staff, the budget requirements for any number of operational practices may be easily—and accurately—estimated. A NAWH answers the question "How many hours is a typical officer (or other staff classification) available to be scheduled for duty in the jail annually?" The process for calculating NAWH is similar to the one that has traditionally been used for relief factors, but the product is much more useful and versatile.

• NIC's Staffing Analysis Workbook for Jails (PDF)
• Form A — Net Annual Work Hours (Excel)
• Sample of Revised Form C (from Arizona Workshop) (Excel)
• Sample of Weighted Form B — Activity Levels and Form C (Excel)
• Staff Coverage Form C Revised During Statewide Workshop in Arizona (Excel)