Historic Flooding on the Arkansas River Leads to Statewide Disaster Relief Effort from Parolees
TALLAHASSEE, FLA – Torrential rains in Oklahoma and Arkansas earlier this month have brought the Arkansas River in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma to its highest water levels ever recorded. All-time record crests rocked a 100-mile stretch of the river extending from Fort Smith to just upstream from Little Rock, Arkansas. During the first week of June, two 70-year-old levees along the Arkansas River were breached, flooding farmlands in western Arkansas. In Little Rock, the crest was the sixth highest on record, and the highest since 1990.
A significant shift in the weather this Friday has prompted flooding to recede in most parts of Central Arkansas along the Arkansas River, but citizen safety and property damage are still a major concern.
At the request of Arkansas Community Correction, Marquis Software sent a text message to parolees and probationers using eOMIS™ Community Supervision. The message asked offenders to contact their parole and probation officers to help to place sand bags along flooding rivers in exchange for community service credit.
“The texting component is game changing for parole and probation officers,” said Brian Strauch, Project Manager for the Arkansas Department of Correction at Marquis Software, “especially when timely contact is imperative for events such as this.”
eOMIS™ Community Supervision, which contains the messaging feature, aims to improve efficiency and foster a safer work environment for parole and probation officers in the field by enabling them to send appointment and fee balance reminders, positive behavior promotion messages, and ad-hoc questions to clients using our offender management software, eOMIS™. Consistent contact between officers and offenders is key to providing a structured, supported, and supervised transition. Appointments aim to help an offender with problems concerning employment, residence, finances, or other personal problems which arise during the transition to becoming productive members of society.
Marquis Software hopes to continue researching practical solutions that reduce an individual’s risk of reoffending, protect the community, and support Parole and Probation Officers.
About Marquis Software
Marquis Software is the leading provider of Offender Management Systems in the correctional technology industry. For over 35 years, they have pioneered the enterprise-wide automation of corrections software through their comprehensive electronic Offender Management Information System (eOMIS™) that offers innovative solutions for Inmate Management, Electronic Health Records, and Community Supervision. eOMIS™ has been implemented in four state Department of Corrections and in over 20 county jails. To learn more about Marquis Software, visit www.marquisware.com, or contact Ben Harrell, Director of Sales and Marketing, at (850) 877-8864 ext. 123 or [email protected].
