The Issue
Corrections agencies face pressing challenges, including crowding, workforce shortages, and a significant need for mental health and substance use services, all under tight budgets and public scrutiny.
To address these issues effectively, many correctional agency leaders are fostering strong research and data analytics teams, positioning them as credible messengers of data that can be used to identify and solve problems. By leveraging accurate, transparent, and actionable data, departments can build trust, inform operations, and help secure the resources needed for safe, humane, and effective correctional systems.
How Advancing Data in Corrections Can Help
The mission of the Advancing Data in Corrections (ADC) initiative is to help departments of corrections (DOCs) build the capacity to effectively use their own data. This empowers agency leaders to make better operational decisions; improve system outcomes; and communicate compelling narratives to staff, policymakers, and the public. ADC is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance.
ADC does this through two initiatives:
- The ADC Academy builds the skills of DOC research and data analytic divisions, strengthening staff’s ability to provide meaningful tools and analyses to their leaders over the long term. It also professionalizes the field of corrections analysis by creating career pathways and peer networks to build the corrections analyst workforce.
- Resident Analysts (RA) supplements DOCs’ capacity to execute a meaningful project by embedding an analyst directly in a DOC for 6–12 months. It is also a doorway for early-career analysts to enter the corrections workforce.
This project was supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-22-GK-01570-JRIX awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Key Staff
Sara Friedman
Program Director, State Initiatives
Sara Friedman oversees a portfolio of projects that help state leaders improve outcomes and reduce recidivism by building and implementing technology for data-driven decision-making. Prior to this role, she led teams of CSG Justice Center staff who helped states adopt and measure research-driven criminal justice policy and practice changes through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
Previously, Sara was the director of resource development at an alternative-to-incarceration nonprofit, focusing on grant writing, program development, and building organizational capacity through data collection and program evaluation. Sara earned her BA from University of Pennsylvania and her MPA from New York University.
Christopher Callaghan
Data Science Program Director, Research
Chris Callaghan is a data scientist with experience in data management, visualization, modeling, and communication in R and Python. Before joining the CSG Justice Center, Chris worked as a faculty researcher for the U.S. Navy at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where he supported research efforts on homeland security and defense through the lens of data science. He has taught courses on data analysis and visualization methodologies for military, law enforcement, and international defense and security partners. Chris earned his BS in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MPA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.