Contact Verification Script

SJIC Contact Verification Script

VM: Hello, my name is xxxxx xxxxxx and I am calling from DATA COLLECTION AGENT in regards to the Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). We are preparing for the 2020 survey and I want to inform you that the survey will include a new question on inmate counts by age category, and a special addendum on COVID-19, designed to understand how the pandemic affected jails in the first half of 2020. I also want to make sure we have the most accurate contact information for your facility. When you receive this message, please call me back at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thanks!

REACH LIVE PERSON: Hello, my name is xxxxx xxxxxx and I am calling from DATA COLLECTION AGENT in regards to the Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). We are preparing for the 2020 survey and I want to inform you that the survey will include a new question on inmate counts by age category, and a special addendum on COVID-19, designed to understand how the pandemic affected jails in the first half of 2020. The addendum will ask about your jail’s monthly population from January 2020 through May 2020, the impact of COVID-19 on admissions and releases, the numbers of inmates and staff tested for COVID-19, and inmate deaths and staff deaths from COVID-19. I also want to make sure we have the most accurate contact information possible. I just have a few questions regarding your facility:

1. Will (NAME OF FACILITY) be in operation on June 30^th of this year (2018)? By operational, we mean is your facility able to confine persons overnight on June 30^th of this year. [If facility states they temporarily are closed, not open or unable to hold/confine persons on June 30th, 2018, GO TO Q2. If facility indicates they are only a holding facility or you’re unclear of their status, SKIP TO NEXT PAGE. ELSE, SKIP to Q4.]

2. [IF POC STATES THAT FACILITY IS CLOSED OR NON OPERATIONAL, ASK]: May I ask why your facility is not in operation?

3. [POC STATES THAT FACILITY IS CLOSED, ASK]: Is the facility permanently closed with no plans to reopen or is it temporarily closed?

4. Are you still the person to contact with questions about (NAME OF FACILITY)?

[IF NO, ASK 5]

[IF YES, ASK 6]

5. Can you please provide me with the name, and telephone number, of the person who you believe is our best contact? [If NEW POC IS IDENTIFIED, ASK TO SPEAK WITH THEM.IF UNAVAILABLE, CALL BACK LATER TO GET THEIR MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION.]

6. CONFIRM OR OBTAIN CONTACT INFO SUCH AS EMAIL ADDRESS, BEST REACHED PHONE NUMBERS, AND FAX NUMBER. [COMPARE AGAINST SPREADSHEET]

7. In regards to your preferred method of contact with the survey, do you prefer fax, mail, or email?

Thank you for your time! [You will receive the 2018 survey via fax and email in the next couple weeks/mid-July.]

IF:

1. FACILITY INDICATES they are only a holding FACILITy

2. we are unclear of their operational staTus and eligibility,

TheN:

• ASK THE following questions To HELP US determine ELIGIBILITY. Please ask each question and document THE RESPONSES.

[Holding overnight and/or holding for 24 hours or more = eligible.]

[Facility does not hold overnight as a matter of policy = INELIGIBLE/Out of Scope.]

[however BJS will be reviewing all of these facilities on a case by case basis and they may be included anyway.]

1. How many hours do you hold someone for?  (For example, just a few; until the end of the day, overnight?) IF THE ANSWER IS NOT CLEAR, ASK a1.

1. Is the person being confined under your supervision overnight or for more than 24 hours?

1. (ASK ONLY If needed to clarify status of “holding” under their supervison) Are persons considered officially booked into and housed in your facility by formal legal document or by the authority of the courts or some other official agency?

3. What is your protocol for transferring the arrested person?

(NOTE asking about a facility’s transfer protocol may help provide more clarity into how long they hold a person and if they are held ever overnight)

4. Do you have a jail operations staff for this facility? (The answer to staffing may help provide insight into eligibility. Most temporary holding facilities that are not eligible for the SJIC will have ONLY a police dispatcher or some other person from another department watching over the held person. If they actually have a jail operations staff member, they are more likely to hold overnight and be eligible.)