Recently, staff from Penn State’s Survey Research Center supported the inaugural “Pennsylvania Corrections Innovation Day” as facilitators. Innovation Day 2024, co-hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC) and Penn State’s Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC), was a one-day summit that brought together correctional professionals and academic researchers to address current issues facing Pennsylvania’s correctional system.
Participants included PA DOC staff from various positions and regions across Pennsylvania. Similarly, researchers with expertise in corrections attended from various scholarly backgrounds such as economics, criminology/criminal justice, public policy, and sociology.
The event was held at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Training Academy in Elizabethtown, PA. It was led by Dr. Amber Petkus (CJRC and PA DOC postdoctoral scholar), Dr. Gary Zajac (founding managing director of the CJRC), Dr. Bret Bucklen (director of the PA DOC’s Bureau of Planning, Research, and Statistics), and Dr. Michael LaForest-Tucker (assistant professor of economics at the United States Air Force Academy).
The Innovation Day kicked off with a brief introduction, followed by four professionally facilitated 50-minute assigned small group discussions. Event discussions focused on four key areas: recidivism reduction, staff wellness, in-prison violence reduction, and solitary confinement reform, also known as restrictive housing. Participants shared insights, tackled challenges, and brainstormed testable solutions to key issues confronting Pennsylvania’s correctional system. The event concluded with a half hour “wrap up” session from event leadership and discussion summaries provided by the SRC facilitators, led by Dr. Amanda Ferrara (Senior Research Operations Manager) from the Survey Research Center.
"The Survey Research Center was essential to the success of Innovation Day 2024. Their expert facilitation ensured our small-group discussions remained focused and productive,” said Petkus. “Further, SRC’s training for our notetakers and their meticulous analysis of our discussion notes proved invaluable. We deeply appreciate SRC’s professionalism and crucial support in meeting our funder’s reporting requirements and producing effective deliverables for our project.”
Reports summarizing the event’s key takeaways, structure, and lessons learned will soon be available on CJRC’s website for the general public. If you would like to learn more about Innovation Day 2024, please email Dr. Amber Petkus (apetkus@psu.edu). This event was sponsored by Arnold Ventures.