State Judicial Branch Receives National Accreditation

HARTFORD — The American Correctional Association (ACA) has accredited the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch’s adult probation services, making it only the 12th probation program in the country to obtain national accreditation from the ACA.

The association formally awarded the accreditation to the branch’s Court Support Services Division (CSSD) during a ceremony on May 14 in Indianapolis. CSSD oversees adult probation services, which obtained a compliance rate of 99.5 percent during the accreditation process.

“Accreditation is an opportunity for the Judicial Branch’s probation staff to receive well-deserved recognition for their accomplishments,” said Chief Court Administrator William J. Lavery. “CSSD’s commitment to enhancing public safety by reducing offender recidivism through positive behavior change.”

CSSD began the accreditation process in 2002. The accreditation will last three years, at which point CSSD will apply for reaccreditation.

Accreditation through the ACA is a national program that promotes improvements in management through an assessment of an agency’s policies and practices. The ACA uses standards written by the American Probation and Parole Association.

The goal in applying for ACA accreditation is to reach compliance with nationally recognized standards for probation services. These standards reflect the most current theories of community justice and probation management, and primary areas of focus include community involvement, offender programming, staff training, safety and administration.

A team of independent national experts conducted the audit of CSSD’s probation services and assessed the division’s compliance with 200 operational standards and 100 performance outcome measures. The audit process entailed observations, staff and offender interviews, and policy review.