Our Services
Prison & Local Jail Classification Studies
The JFA Institute designs, re-designs, and validates prison classification instruments and assesses classification systems with reliability studies and reviews of policies and procedures. A classification system determines an individual’s custody classification and facility assignment and governs facility-level decisions such as where and with whom someone will be housed, the types of programs and services to which someone is assigned, and the most appropriate prison industry or work assignment for that individual. A validation study is the process of determining how well an existing classification instrument performs and ensures that the instrument is legally and practically sound and does not exacerbate existing disparities in criminal justice outcomes. A reliability study reliability determines whether a classification unit can reproduce the same results multiple times. Dr. James Austin (President of the JFA Institute 2003-2018 and current Director of Strategic Initiatives) is the leading authority in the nation on prison classification systems and wrote the definitive “Objective Prison Classification: A Guide for Correctional Agencies” with Dr. Patricia Hardyman for the National Institute of Corrections.
Statewide | Year | Scope |
State of South Dakota | 2022 | Technical assistance |
Delaware Department of Corrections | 2022 | Validation & Reliability |
Colorado Department of Corrections | 2021 | Validation of male classification system |
Iowa Department of Corrections* | 2021 | Validation & Reliability |
South Carolina Department of Corrections | 2020 | Validation |
Indiana Department of Corrections | 2020 | Validation & Reliability |
Mississippi Department of Corrections | 2020 | Validation & Reliability |
Colorado Department of Corrections | 2018 | Validation of female classification system |
New Jersey Department of Corrections | 2018 | Validation & Reliability |
Maryland Department of Corrections | 2018 | Validation & Reliability |
Rhode Island Department of Corrections | 2017 | Technical assistance |
Local Jail | Year | Scope |
Santa Cruz County, CA | 2022 | Validation |
Santa Clara County, CA | 2022 | Validation |
San Luis Obispo County, CA | 2021 | Validation and re-design |