All residential and nonresidential program data, both treatment and correctional, is recorded and tracked through ComCor’s CATS! database system. ComCor’s Automated Tracking System (CATS!™) is the agency’s internally developed, mission-critical database used to track all correctional, case management and treatment activities for over 2,000 residential and nonresidential offenders served annually in multiple judicial districts in the state of Colorado.
In 1995, ComCor began developing the CATS! database system after identifying several key business requirements for a technology solution. The solution had to:
- insure compliance with all standards and contractual requirements as set forth by the federal, state, county and city referral and oversight agencies.
- relieve correctional, case management and treatment staff of the mundane, redundant and time-consuming record-keeping functions inherent in all aspects of community corrections programs.
- have the ability to identify and record pertinent data in order for ComCor staff at all levels, from entry-level correctional staff to senior management, to make appropriate treatment and correctional decisions on individual offenders and groups of offenders.
- allow staff to share information related to offenders in a secure, logical and consistent manner that supports ComCor’s mission of providing opportunities for offenders to make positive changes in their lives.
ComCor made the corporate decision and commitment to develop CATS! after an exhaustive search for off-the-shelf correctional software applicable to a community corrections setting yielded no options. CATS! has redefined how ComCor staff provide correctional, case management and treatment services to thousands of offenders each year. Since the first implementation in 1995, CATS! has grown dynamically and is tracking every aspect of interaction with offenders participating in ComCor’s programs. This includes class and treatment program attendance, substance abuse testing (and results), off-site monitoring, case management meetings (including chronological entries), medication monitoring and much more. Currently CATS!™ has 264 reports, 388 queries, 172 tables, 197 forms and close to 2,000 pages of code. Offender demographics include such areas as referral, legal and sentencing, earned time, employment with paycheck information, restitution, management alerts and chronological entries.
ComCor’s CATS! database system was awarded the 2004 Unisys Catalyst Award for Innovation in Correctional Technology by the American Correctional Association and the Unisys Corporation. The CATS! system competed against correctional agencies throughout the United States, including several large Department of Corrections information technology systems, to win this award. The impact of CATS! on ComCor’s performance can best be documented by direct feedback from referral and oversight agencies.
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| CATS! Feedback: |
| “Exposure to databases at some community corrections facilities reflected the potential for enhancing communication sharing, monitoring of offenders and adequately answer research questions about special populations. ComCor, Inc. … are examples of programs that have exemplary automated databases.”
March 2001
State of Colorado, Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Research & Statistics – Executive Summary: 2000 Community Corrections Study Results |
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“ComCor has created and carefully maintains an extensive, well-designed and superbly managed computerized tracking system for all organizational and correctional records, from daily activity logs to staff personnel records, training records and the full range of offender information. This greatly enhances their ability to manage offender services information.”
August 2001
Commission on Accreditation for Corrections – Standards Compliance Audit Report |
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“ComCor has an impressive automated tracking system (CATS).”
March 2003
Division of Criminal Justice – Standards Compliance Audit Report |
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“The information technology team has put together an impressive training program for staff, have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan and have procedures to back up their case management system from a virus computer failure and security breeches. The 2002 systems report had a complete overview of the management information system that was written in language that could be understood by nontechnical staff.”
April 2003
Commission on Accreditation for Corrections – Standards Compliance Audit Report |
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