Tuesday May 22nd 2007

Corrections Faces Future with Confidence

“The new structure announced to staff today will see Corrections facing the future with confidence,” says Corrections Chief Executive Barry Matthews. Mr Matthews was commenting on his announcement to staff today confirming the new structure for the Department.

“The new structure will ensure that Corrections is appropriately positioned and structured to meet the demands which will be faced by the Department over the medium and long term.

“The process has been based on a clear view of the optimal structure required to sustain and support future organisational activities and growth.

“The changes are significant said Mr Matthews and reflect the commitment of the senior management to ensuring the Department is well positioned for the future. Our focus has been on improving the integration of functions to ensure more effective delivery of services.

“The changes will see the disestablishment of a number of head office groups which undertake support functions as at 1 July and the creation of several new support groups at head office level. Support functions are now better aligned to the Department’s core business of managing offending, with the potential for duplication and cross over removed. These new groups have been structured to offer the best support possible to the operational arms of the Department, Prison Services and Community Probation and Psychological Services, moving forward.

“This new structure, a copy of which is attached, sees a number of significant changes at the senior management level.

“The new positions of General Manager Organisational Development and General Manager Business Information and Planning are being advertised externally and will bring fresh perspectives to the Senior Management Team said Mr Matthews.

“It has been a case of building on the experience and expertise of the existing team and taking it to the next level.

“The clarity provided by the new structure will also result in very clear accountabilities for senior managers in terms of the services provided.

“It was never about job losses. I am pleased to say it should be possible to accommodate all bar a very few of the existing staff in the new structure providing they are prepared to look at new responsibilities if required, supported by training. At worst no more than ten staff may need to consider employment elsewhere.

The announcement follows a period of extensive internal consultation which saw several changes to the structure to reflect the feedback received from staff. “It meant having to take a little longer than I would have wished,” said Mr Matthew, “but the thoughtful, considered nature of the feedback meant it needed to be taken into account.”

KEY FEATURES OF THE NEW STRUCTURE

Enhanced Focus on Rehabilitation and Reintegration
An increased emphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration with the establishment of a separate group under a General Manager Rehabilitation and Reintegration to coordinate the Department’s rehabilitation and reintegration activities, including prison employment activity.

Integration of Service Delivery Functions at a Regional Level
The delivery of services for offenders will be reduced from four distinct streams to two. The first will see the services delivered by Psychological Services, programme delivery and the work of probation staff combined into a new entity - Community Probation and Psychological Services (CPPS). CPPS will be coordinated at a regional level to enable greater coordination with the Department’s other service delivery arm, Prison Services.

A Shared Services Model for Support Functions
The new structure sees the move to shared resources in relation to all support functions. This will allow business delivery managers to focus on core business while accessing specialist capability as required. This will enable:

- a level of high quality support that optimises decision making
- improved integration and efficiency across the department with a reduction in duplication, better leverage of specialist capability
- an improved capability and capacity to address issues at a strategic Department-wide level.

Enhanced Focus on Organisational Development
The establishment of an Organisational Development group within Head Office reflects the important role staff will be expected to play in taking Corrections forward. It will see of the Department’s HR functions brought together into a single structure which will better enable strategic HR coordination and management across the Department and enable Organisational Development to take a leadership role in the capability building and culture change work currently underway in the Department.

A New Internal Investigation Team
A new team tasked with looking into any allegations of corruption will become fully operational. The fact it will sit within the Office of the Chief Executive reflects the importance the Department places in ensuring the public can have confidence in the integrity of Departmental staff.

Other Changes
Other changes include an increased support for Specialist Treatment Units, an increased focus on evidence based solutions to working for offenders and the establishment of an Office of the Chief Executive which will see improved support for the Chief Executive and an increased emphasis on governance and assurance activities.

ENDS

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