UPCOMING CHANGES TO THE JAIL ANNUAL SUMMARY FORM

BJS would like to let you know about a one-time change to the 2013 DCRP Annual Summary Form (ASF).

In 2013, the ASF will be expanded to act as the Census of Jails. Unlike past jail censuses that included 30 or more items, the 2013 ASF will contain only 18 items. In addition to the standard questions, the ASF will include questions about supervised population inmate counts, movement of the confined population, populations under community supervision, counts of jail staff, and facility operating expenditures.

This one-time expansion will gather critical items at the jail facility level, which will better inform the DCRP and other BJS surveys such as the Annual Survey of Jails, the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, and the National Inmate Survey.

You can find the Office of Management and Budget recently approved revision to the DCRP in the federal registry at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201308-1121-002. The approved draft questionnaire may be previewed here. More information will be coming in January 2014.

BJS thanks all jail administrators and their staff for ongoing participation. You make this important program a success. If you have any questions about this upcoming one-time change or about the DCRP in general, please contact BJS statistician Margaret Noonan at (202) 353–2060.