Colorado Ends Prolonged, Indeterminate Solitary Confinement

When did it become okay to lock someone in a cell that is the size of a parking space, twenty-three hours per day, seven days a week for decades? When did it become okay to lock someone who is mentally ill in a cell the size of a parking space, twenty-three hours per day for years, and let the demons chase him or her around in the cell? And when did it ever become okay to take someone who had spent years in segregation and release them directly to the community? If our mission is public safety, and it is, why are we sending people back to society worse than when they came in? Ninety-five percent of those incarcerated in Colorado will return to their community. In September of 2017, the Colorado Department of Corrections abolished the use of administrative segregation, or as it is now nationally termed by corrections, extended restrictive housing. Currently, Colorado is the only state in the United States that has abolished this practice. In order to see where we are, it is important to see where we were, and the journey that brought us here.

1891. Invasive Group A Streptococcus Infections Among Residents of Multiple Nursing Homes—Denver, Colorado, 2017–2018

Background Older adults residing in nursing homes (NH) are at increased risk for invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections due to advanced age, presence of wounds, and comorbidities; approximately one-third of infected patients die. Beginning in 2015, increasing numbers of GAS infections in NH residents and several NH clusters were reported from the Denver metropolitan area. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and CDC investigated to characterize cases and assess if outbreaks resulted from interfacility transmission. Methods We reviewed data from Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs) in the 5-county Denver area from January 2017 to June 2018. We defined a case as isolation of GAS from a normally sterile site in an NH resident. GAS isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing (WGS) at CDC’s Streptococcus Laboratory to determine emm types for genotyping. Among isolates with the same emm type, pairwise single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) distances were calculated using Nucmer software. In October 2018, a CDPHE-CDC team assessed infection control at NHs with cases of the most common emm type. Results Over 18 months, among >100 NHs in the Denver area, ≥1 GAS case was identified in 29 NHs, with 6 having ≥3 cases. During this period, 68 cases in NH residents were identified. WGS identified 17 emm types among isolates from these cases; most common was emm11.10 (34%, n = 22), a rare subtype in ABCs. All emm11.10 isolates had nearly identical genomes (average pairwise SNP distance: 3.2), and were isolated from 10 NHs, with 2 NHs having ≥ 4 cases. Multiple infection control lapses were noted during site visits to 8 NHs. Conclusion Multiple outbreaks due to GAS were noted in 5-county Denver area NHs in 2017–2018. WGS of surveillance isolates identified a rarely seen emm subtype 11.10 from multiple facilities with temporal and genomic clustering suggesting interfacility GAS transmission. Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.

Assessment in Music Education

This chapter provides the reader with a practical perspective and working knowledge of the process by which the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA) developed performance assessments sample resource options in response to the need to measure student learning in the music classroom. This process, along with the ongoing bank of performance tasks developed via the Colorado Content Collaboratives partnership, is reviewed and placed in perspective within the current Colorado educational landscape as well as the intersection with the CDE Sample Curriculum Project and the Assessment Literacy Program. In this manner, one method for developing reliable and valid measures of student learning is presented for consideration. Finally, the use of these assessments in measuring music teaching practices and teacher effectiveness is examined.

Economic Impacts from Geologic Hazard Events on Colorado Department of Transportation Right-of-Way

The economic impacts from geological hazards that occur within or adjacent to Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT) right-of-way can be measured in support of exposure estimation for risk-based asset and performance management. The events include rockfalls, rock slides, landslides, debris flows, and sinkholes and can be categorized as routine maintenance, regular program activities, and urgent response. The statewide economic impacts from geologic hazards were grouped into two categories: ( a) direct costs for maintenance labor and equipment, engineering, and construction and ( b) indirect costs, including property damage, injury or fatalities, traveler delay, lost productivity, loss of revenue to businesses and communities, and environmental impacts. Annual direct department costs from geologic hazard events average about $17 million to $20 million, which includes maintenance staff response to approximately 8,500 work orders each year. Most work orders are high-frequency events that are addressed daily by maintenance staff. Conversely, some events occur less frequently and have a larger economic impact, particularly for users and communities. In 2014, the economic impact from geologic hazards on Colorado DOT roadways was estimated to be nearly $30 million. Historical data indicate that the 2014 estimate is conservative when high-volume roadways are affected or when more large events occur in a single year. For example, the economic impact for two rockfall events on I-70 in 2004 and 2010 was estimated to be more than $40 million each, adjusted to 2015 dollars. When average Colorado DOT direct expenses are included, the economic impact in those years may have exceeded $60 million.

Detecting and Correcting Localized Roughness Features

Data collected by inertial profilers on new asphalt pavements in Colorado in 2012 were used to analyze the effectiveness of the localized roughness specification in Colorado. For the analyzed projects, data were collected before any corrections were made as well as after diamond grinding had been performed to remove areas of localized roughness. The data indicated that localized roughness features having a half-car roughness index (HRI) lower than 175 in./mi were rarely addressed during correction. However, about half the localized roughness features that had an HRI of 175 to 200 in./mi were successfully addressed during correction. Localized roughness features having an HRI greater than 200 in./mi appeared to be successfully addressed during correction. The analysis indicated a significant difference in the localized roughness locations identified by AASHTO R 54 and the Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT) method of detecting localized roughness. The Colorado DOT procedure specifies a minimum length for a roughness feature that is to be corrected, but AASHTO R 54 does not. This paper shows that collecting accurate profile data and analyzing the data to determine localized roughness locations are not enough. The identified locations must be correctly marked on the pavement in the field so that the feature does not cause localized roughness. This paper presents a procedure not only for collecting accurate data but also for accurately marking the roughness features in the field. It is shown that it is possible to locate and correct localized roughness accurately to the current thresholds as set by AASHTO R 54.

Innovating Corrections Across the Pond

The Vera Institute of Justice, funded by the Prison Law Office, facilitated a project whose aim was to coordinate discussions between American and European policymakers about successful corrections policies and practices in the respective countries. The Colorado Department of Corrections was honored to be one of 3 state correctional teams to participate in this project. The teams spent 3 days in Germany and 3 days in the Netherlands in which much time was spent collaborating with Corrections officials to determine the practices of the respective countries and discussing best practice efforts. The significant differences in cultures affect not only the way the offenders are managed, but also the crimes that are committed in European countries. These variables were fascinating to the American Correctional counterparts as we explored the means by which European offenders are sentenced, managed during incarceration and reintegrated into their communities. The various American state agencies came back with innovative strategies to evolve the management of offenders in the United States – even to the point of challenging century old philosophies of imprisonment.