During the early years, beginning in 1960, the Association of State Correctional Administrators was more a social gathering of directors of correctional agencies who shared much in common with regard to their work than it was a bona fide association. Administrators would get together in conjunction with the American Correctional Association's summer congress and midwinter meetings. First in a director's hotel room and then in hotel meeting rooms, directors discussed what was going on in their jurisdictions, what their problems were, and how they hope to solve them. As the group expanded to include more and more directors, members paid dues to take care of refreshments and meeting rooms.

The National Institute of Corrections provided the first organizational structure with minimal administrative support and training, first once a year for all members and later for newly appointed directors. During that period, rules were set concerning membership and officers and what the association would and would not do. ASCA developed its Constitution in 1972. Since that time, the Constitution has been amended nine times. ASCA is run strictly in adherence to this governing document.

In 1985, then President Donald Yeomans of Canada, proposed that ASCA needed an Executive Office to plan its meetings and trainings, produce news publications, and manage finances. An RFP for Executive Office services was let in 1985, and the Criminal Justice Institute, Inc. was awarded the contract to manage the operations and programming of the Association. Morris Thigpen, then Director of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, was the first President of the newly organized Association. CJI has continued to provide an Executive Office to serve the Association until the present. Click here to peruse the Executive Directors' Contract.

In 1987, The Association was incorporated as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

ASCA is managed under a contractual agreement with the Criminal Justice Institute, Inc. (CJI). The ASCA Executive Office is located in Hagerstown, MD. The Co-Executive Directors, George and Camille Camp, supervise all activities.  Major tasks include managing the accounts, supporting committees, updating the website, planning and coordinating meetings and trainings, producing publications, and directing cooperative agreements, grants, and contracts used to further ASCA's goals and objectives as delineated in its Constitution and Bylaws. The Executive Office also annually publishes and distributes ten Corrections Directions Newsletters.
 

Click here to see photos from the 2011 Summer ASCA Business Meeting held Sunday August 8, 2011 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, FL.

Click here to view photos from the ASCA 2011 Winter Business Meeting held on January 30, 2011 in San Antonio, TX.

The Association has forged close working relationships with a number of professional organizations with whom ASCA shares common goals and concerns. Among others, those professional organizations include the American Correctional Association (ACA), American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI), American Jail Association (AJA), Correctional Technology Association (CTA), the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA), the Council of State Governments (CSG), the IJIS Institute (IJIS), National Governors Association (NGA), National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), and the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics (SEARCH).

Correctional and criminal justice agencies with which ASCA has working relationships include the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

With support from NIC, ASCA and APAI developed Principles of Collaboration between paroling authorities and correctional agencies. These principles (attached) were issued jointly by the National Institute of Corrections, and the Executive Committees of the Association of State Correctional Administrators and the Association of Paroling Authorities International to maximize a best practices approach for effective criminal justice programs, collaborative efforts of departments of corrections and paroling authorities are necessary.  Click here for a copy of the guiding principles.