The Division of Administration is responsible for managing approximately one billion dollars and employing more than 9,000 persons, including 6,500 in custody positions. Roughly 27,000 individuals are under NJDOC jurisdiction in state correctional institutions, county jail and halfway houses. The division provides administrative services to support the departmental mission in such major areas as Budget and Fiscal Management, Personnel, Policy and Planning, and Information Systems.

Office of Employee Relations

The mission of the Office of Employee Relations is to develop and maintain a positive relationship between the NJDOC and its employees. The office works to guide both management and employees through the employee relations process in a constructive and efficient manner. The Office of Employee Relations responds on a daily basis to concerns raised by management and the bargaining units that represent the department’s approximately 10,000 employees. The office works closely with administration, and custody and civilian staff to promptly address various workplace issues.

The Office of Employee Relations is composed of three primary units.

• Employee Relations/Liaison Unit represents the NJDOC in contract negotiations and in the administration of 11 collective bargaining agreements. It also advises the Commissioner, high-level managers and unit supervisors in the administration of Department of Personnel rules and regulations as contained in Title 4A of the New Jersey Administrative Code. The unit reviews current case law and proposed rule changes to ensure that the department's practices remain compliant with applicable law and regulations.

• Due Process/Hearing Unit hears all of the department's second-step grievances and complex departmental-level disciplinary appeals. Hearing officers render written decisions on disciplinary actions initiated by the department. In addition, the unit provides ongoing training on a variety of employee relations matters. 

• Employment Litigation Unit assists the Office of the Attorney General and/or private counsel in their representation of the NJDOC in state and federal litigation involving allegations of employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. The unit also represents the department before the Office of Administrative Law in disciplinary actions appeals to the Merit System Board. In addition, it represents the NJDOC at grievances and arbitrations, and regarding unfair labor practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission.

Office of Fiscal Management

The Office of Financial Management identifies current and future NJDOC fiscal resources and monitors the expenditure of available funds.

The office is comprised of the following bureaus/units:

• Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Planning compiles annual operating budgets that reflect the needs of the NJDOC, as required by legislative mandate. The bureau provides fiscal analysis of current year activity and compiles quarterly spending plans that report on the fiscal status of the department. In addition, it monitors the levels of spending via account/spending analysis; provides detailed analysis of custody staffing and overtime expenditures by using the Baseline Reporting Information System; and establishes institutional full-time employee (FTE) position caps based on available salary funding and monitors FTE filled counts against those FTE caps via preparation of bi-weekly position monitoring reports.

• Bureau of Auditing provides independent financial audits of the 42 trust funds maintained by the NJDOC’s 14 institutions. The examination of each trust fund is performed in accordance with Statements on Internal Auditing presented by the Institute of Internal Auditors. The audits of the trust funds (Inmate Trust Funds, Inmate Commissary Funds, and Inmate Welfare Funds) are designed to determine whether:

1. Non-budgeted fund financial statements comply with generally accepted accounting principles;
2. Adequate internal controls existed over the financial operations of the non-budgeted funds;
3. There is adherence to applicable state laws, administrative code, and state, departmental and institutional policies and procedures; and
4. Financial transactions are authorized, properly recorded and reasonable.

The Bureau of Auditing also performs audits of the department’s revolving funds, reviews all OMB A-133 Single Audits and maintains the department’s Land and Building Asset Management system. Audits performed by the state’s Office of Legislative Services and other external audit groups are reviewed to ensure findings are accurate and recommendations are appropriate.

• Bureau of Accounting and Revenue provides administrative and technical direction and assistance in accounting and internal controls to the various correctional facilities and programs administered by the NJDOC. It develops departmental accounting policies and internal management procedures and other guidelines and directives, which define the fiscal responsibilities for compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. The bureau also maintains all accounts assigned to Central Office for operations and system-wide activities, and ensures timely payment to vendors in accordance with New Jersey Department of the Treasury guidelines. In addition, the bureau manages the Central Office Revenue Unit. This unit is responsible for the processing of revenues collected from offenders for court-imposed fines, penalties and restitution.

• Bureau of Procurement and Contract Management provides administrative and technical direction and assistance in purchasing for NJDOC programs and facilities via issuance of internal management policies, procedures and other guidelines and directives. The bureau procures goods and services for Central Office operations, including the Bureau of Training and Custody Recruitment, and provides support services for the Central Office complex. Major contracts are monitored for compliance with contracted terms and conditions. The Telecommunications Unit of the bureau provides the systems, services and equipment to meet all departmental telecommunications needs.

• Bureau of Institutional Fiscal Operations provides supervision, administrative direction and assistance in accounting, purchasing and internal controls to the business offices for all the institutions as well as DEPTCOR, AgriIndustries and Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility Laundry revolving funds and Capital Construction funds. The bureau also provides assistance in the fiscal analysis of current-year activity to the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Planning for the quarterly spending plans that provide the fiscal status of the NJDOC.

Office of Human Resources

The Office of Human Resources oversees all aspects of personnel management while providing personnel support for employees within the NJDOC correctional facilities and Central Office.

The office's primary mission is to plan, develop and implement the department's human resources programs, including classification and organizational analysis; personnel and payroll administration; recruitment; employee benefits; position management; wage and salary administration; and computerization of personnel management information. The Office of Human Resources also is responsible for the development of all human resource policies and for the continuous review and evaluation of the various human resources programs, while ensuring compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and state and federal laws/regulations as well as negotiated labor agreements.

The Office of Human Resources fosters an environment that encourages employees to build work and interpersonal skills with the goal of continuously improving job performance to offer quality services to inmates and the public. If necessary, Human Resources staff oversees pre-layoff and reduction-in-force layoff planning. Additionally, staff develops an active plan for monitoring sick leave and sick leave injury (SLI) and conducts post audits of the department’s SLI and leave of absence programs at each facility. The office also implements training programs concerning personnel issues and timekeeping procedures, and ensures training compliance through periodic personnel, payroll and time and attendance audits.

Human Resources provides direction to program managers in establishing procedures for implementation of all applicable and contractual agreements to ensure congruence with the other departmental Human Resources functions of training/labor relations and the Equal Employment Division.

Office of Information Technology

The Department of Corrections, Information Technology Unit (DOC-OIT), was established in late 1996 to address looming Y2K issues. As the year 2000 approached, the Department realized that there would be major challenges in our information technology future. At that time, the Department relied on obsolete IBM System/36 computer hardware, which was installed in 1985. The System/36 had to be replaced with a state-of-the-art computer environment in order to manage the growing offender population and the expanding need to share information with other State and Federal government agencies. The DOC-OIT then installed the Department of Corrections Management Information System (DOCMIS), a Y2K project funded through a line of credit from the New Jersey Department of Treasury.

DOCMIS consists of two major components: the Correctional Management Information System (CMIS) and the Department of Corrections Network (DOCNet). CMIS includes an offender management system, an electronic medical record application, a custody officer scheduling system, the Oracle Human Resources and Training applications, FileNet document imaging, and numerous smaller applications. CMIS is also integrated with a hospital-quality medical package and a Document Imaging and Management System (FileNet). DOCNet provides the Department with the local/wide area network operations, which allows for a centralized information system for easier data access. PCs, printers, standardized imaging, cabling, routers, switches and servers, along with a centralized three tier Help Desk, complete DOCNet.

The DOC has been highly successful in employing the hardware and software infrastructure needed to support the Department's dynamic and expanding needs. Where applicable, the DOC has pursued shared services with other State IT organizations, thereby reducing duplication and leveraging economies of scale. This strategy has helped the IT unit to "do more with less" during this period of fiscal constraints. In spite of these constraints, as a unit, we are determined to go beyond a strategy of "doing more with less." In the years ahead, our IT unit's primary focus will be on "making a difference with what we have."

Significant advances in technology that will entail delivery of new products, services and capabilities can be expected over the next several years. We intend to exploit these advances because, even in difficult fiscal times, our stakeholders expect IT to deliver solutions that make a difference. This will create an opportunity for our IT organization to make a difference by using information and technologies in new ways.

DEPTCOR -- Bureau of State Use Industries

The Bureau of State Use Industries, DEPTCOR, is an entity within the NJDOC whose mission is to employ inmates in enterprises that reduce idleness, offer marketable skills, produce quality goods and services and yield taxpayer benefits.

The use of prison labor in a productive capacity began almost a century-and-a-half before its formal recognition in New Jersey in 1918. Under the Department of Institutions and Agencies, the State Use Division was established and, in 1953, became known as the Bureau of State Use Industries. In 1976, State Use Industries began reporting to the newly created Department of Corrections. In 1990, the trade name DEPTCOR was adopted to represent its complete line of products and services.

The bureau operates 29 industrial shops utilizing inmates from 10 state correctional facilities. As DEPTCOR is financed through sales revenue rather than appropriated funds, it is a self-supporting entity. A wide range of products and services are offered under the DEPTCOR label via a state contract to tax-supported agencies, institutions, units of state, and county and municipal governments. DEPTCOR has the ability to save the cost and time of procurement as well as offer reduced prices. Thus, additional taxpayer savings are realized when tax-supported agencies purchase from DEPTCOR.

DEPTCOR's administrative, production and support staffs are made up of approximately 170 civilians. On a daily basis, DEPTCOR employs more than 1,300 inmates in highly developed industries organized into the following business units:

• Bayside Enterprise – A wide variety of industries is included in this unit, and in aggregate, represents approximately 35 percent of DEPTCOR's total sales. The auto tag shop, the first formal industry dating back to 1918, still operates today. It stamps more than three million license plates annually and ranks the highest in sales at more than $4.5 million per year. The bakery produces breads, rolls and baked desserts and generates more than $3 million in sales. Building basic sheds has evolved into structures of all types, from garages to cabins to modular offices. Concrete barriers, park benches and landscaping items are poured and molded on an as-needed basis.

• Textile Enterprise – The unit consists of cloth and knit garments, all textiles and bedding operations. Seven shops operate 2 shifts, producing a product line of more than 20 different clothing items offered in various sizes, bringing the total pieces available to more than 200. In addition, included as part of the enterprise are janitorial products such as laundry bags, mops, brushes and brooms. Furthermore, DEPTCOR produces American flags for placement on the graves of veterans. The textile enterprise generates approximately 30 percent of DEPTCOR's total sales.

• Metal and Furniture Enterprise – DEPTCOR's complete line of metal cell furniture, storage shelving and custom metal products, as well as a line of office and systems furniture and a new line of dormitory furnishings, are represented in this unit. Customization of system panel workstations, new ergonomic seating and powder coating are among the specialties of DEPTCOR.
  • South Woods Enterprise – The unit consists of three separate industries. Printing and graphics produces letterhead, envelopes, carbonless forms, and customized printing and bindery. The sign shop fabricates traffic signs, custom interior and exterior signage and banners, and vehicle markings. Silk-screening also is a product of the sign shop, while the shoe shop designs and produces a shank-free work boot.