North Carolina Department of Correction - MIS

North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Management Information Systems

OPUS user comments

Ballard Hibbs, Hyde Correctional Center:

In reference to case management: OPUS provides easy access to the client's dossier, including their present/past case management notes, reviews, disciplinary actions, merit and gaintime,and assignment history. Access to his educational file has facilitated counseling as well as establishing short/long term goals. OPUS allows me instant information that is in-depth,easy to read and timely. Additionally it allows me to make changes in the offender file with little or no difficulty.

Sam Newman, NC Department of Correction Controller

Problem resolution - Information entered at the facility in OPUS is immediately available for viewing by the Controller's Office. This allows the Controller's office the opportunity to provide additional support to the facility on resolving problems. Previously, Inmate Trust Fund information entered at the facility was only available from the facility on their personal computer.

Eliminate inmate transfer checks - The flow of information between facilities has been enhanced by OPUS. This was accomplished by consolidating ninety-two sets of books into one set of books in Inmate Banking System. The need to transfer inmate funds by check from facility to facility has been eliminated by a simple journal entry.

Reduce the number of weekly draws - The flow of information between systems has been enhanced by OPUS. An electronic transfer of funds between two systems on OPUS has eliminated the Work Release weekly draw. Prior to OPUS, facilities had to manually process two draws. One of the draws was from the inmate's work release account and the other draw was from the trust account.

Medical cost containment - Records concerning an inmate's medical cost will soon be available on OPUS. Presently, medical bills paid by the department on behalf of the inmate are stored on database in the Controller's Office. This information is not readily available to Health Services to monitor an inmate's medical cost. Once the medical cost information is entered on OPUS, Health Services can easily monitor the inmates' cost on a case by case basis.

Superintendent Toney Stamey, Foothills Correctional Institution:

Foothills Correctional Institution, a close custody youth facility, with a 96 bed Residential Mental Health Unit, houses up to 712 inmates. With this size facility, access to inmate records and information was not always convenient nor feasible. However, with the implementation of OPUS, all staff with the proper security clearance and a terminal can view the inmate's records and pertinent information about the inmate. Information on inmates housed at other facilities waiting for transfer can be viewed prior to receiving the inmate. Disciplinaries can be viewed as early as the "assignment of the investigation" phase. Approvals are now on-line, therefore seeing quicker results on actions. Paperwork, which could be delayed or lost in the mail is now handled on-line, which also speeds up the approval process.

Staff who are away from the units can continue to monitor their workloads and handle emergency approvals, etc. with the use of a terminal. Information previously known to a few, can now be viewed by staff with the proper security clearance (i.e. case management notes, inmate appointments, pending charges/WRITS, etc.).

Superintendent Dean Walker, Marion Correctional Institution:

The use of OPUS has proved beneficial to Marion Correctional Institution's operations by allowing management staff to review the duty requirements of some staff and freeing up of staff time to complete other duties. For instance, we had a file clerk who spent her time filing paperwork in inmate jackets. With OPUS, the data is entered directly into the computer and there's less to file in the inmate's jackets. When this person accepted a promotion we were able to reassign her remaining duties to other clerks and converted that position to a much needed training position. Thus OPUS allowed the facility to gain a needed position without hurting the present operation.

John Beatty, Division of Prisons Program Services

The OPUS system of the Inmate Jobs & Programs section (IJP) provides a excellent management tool that provides on-hand information:

views of each facility's job/program structure which shows the total allocations verses total inmates assigned;

provides hard copy and screen reports on Inmate Overtime information, Job & Program Activity attendance or by individual inmate, Job & Program rosters either by activity or supervisor.

provides current daily population information for overall division or by commands and or regions with breakdowns by race, gender, custody and activity totals;

provides as needed information that shows number of facilities that offer certain activities like ABE or number of inmates assigned to the same particular job assignment for comparison.

the turn around time for update facilities program structures has gone from as much as two weeks to few days. These changes are in "real time".

Pender Correctional Institution

Superintendent J. V. Turlington "I am aware that staff efficiency has improved now that they have more information, can access it quickly and know it is correct. What I am hearing are fewer complaints about gain time, merit time, promotions and demotions, accuracy of records, frequency of case management contact, and situations that reflect tracking problems. In my book, fewer problems equal OPUS."

Agnes Aller, Nurse Supervisor, "It’s fabulous. We can track cases like never before. It’s great."

Ray Krynicki, PAII-Caseworker, "It has made my job easier, and there are no files to lug around."

Janet Brock, Office Assistant-Records Office Supervisor, "It’s good. I just wish people would utilize it to provide more information about inmates."

Susan White, Program Director, "It’s wonderful. All the information you need is there. It saves time on research and is a great tool for contact audits."

Barry Ritter, Correctional Officer, "It has made my job easier. All the information I need to do my job is now at my fingertips. I wish we had it sooner."

Teresa Stone in Combined Records

We are now able to retrieve up-to-date information on a daily basis, which aids us in answering telephone inquires and correspondence faster. The release process is handled more effectively now. The process of ones record is now done daily, and release dates are calculated much more quickly. OPUS has decreased the amount of filing material, and the pulling of jackets for the Parole Board, Classification, Work Release and Etc. The correcting of data is instant now. OPUS has decreased the out going mail to the Facilities.

Superintendent Ed McMichael, Neuse Correctional Institution

OPUS has increased the response time to questions from inmates, family, and victims of crime. It allows for a more complete and accurate response to news media, law enforcement, attorneys, and other interested parties. It has made for more effective management of each inmates case. With more reliable and up-to-date information, I believe we are making more timely and better decisions. With experience we have made modifications to improve the performance of OPUS.

Management Information Systems