20210127-21450-84

Priority Area 1: Reconvene the Justice Reinvestment II Working Group to monitor implementation and develop additional policy recommendations for improving post-prison treatment, services, and supervision.

Background: Act 148 (S.338) call for the Justice Reinvestment II Working Group to reconvene with the addition of a representative from the parole board. In addition to overseeing the implementation of Act 148, the working group is also tasked with identifying gaps in behavioral health services for individuals in the criminal justice system; determining how to share risk assessment and programming information to inform plea agreements, sentencing, and revocation decisions; studying presumptive probation; evaluating earned good time for individuals on probation; exploring the use of probation midpoint reviews in reducing supervision terms; and evaluating parole eligibility for older adults prior to meeting their minimum sentence.

Act 148 requires the working group to make policy recommendations to the House and Senate Judiciary and House Corrections by January 15, 2021, and again by January 15, 2022.

Update: In October, the CSG Justice Center staff continued to meet with Vermont stakeholders to inform the next presentation to the working group. On October 27, the Justice Reinvestment II Working Group meeting focused on a discussion of earned credits for people on probation and began laying the groundwork for future behavioral health discussions, both statutorily mandated tasks. CSG Justice Center staff presented analyses of Vermont’s probation system and behavioral health assessments and services for people in the criminal justice system. During the meeting, members discussed how to improve Vermont’s probation structure, allowing people to earn discharge from probation; a few members found the state examples to be exceptionally useful. Working group members contemplated goals to create a better probation structure to increase what is currently in statute, for example strengthening midpoint reviews, and addressing how a credit would accrue on both minimum and maximum underlying sentences of incarceration. The upcoming November 24 working group meeting will revisit the discussion of earned credit on probation, as time ran out for this discussion at the October meeting.
Priority Area 2: Implement presumptive parole, earned good time, and furlough status consolidation.

Background: Act 148 included three primary policy reforms to improve outcomes for people on post-prison supervision and prioritize bed space for people who have been convicted of the most serious offenses. First, the act established a new presumptive parole process for individuals with qualifying convictions who have served their minimum sentence and meet programming and behavior requirements. Qualifying convictions during initial implementation include most nonviolent offenses prior to an eligibility expansion in 2023. Second, the act expanded the amount of earned time a person could accrue from 5 to 7 days to further incentivize behavior change. And third, it consolidated the more than 30 different furlough legal statuses, all with unique administrative requirements, to 3 to improve clarity in release expectations for people in custody, victims, and Department of Corrections (DOC) staff. The act also creates a review process with expanded due process for furlough returns or revocations over 90 days.

Update: In October, CSG Justice Center staff continued to meet regularly with DOC and the Parole Board to support the implementation of presumptive parole. CSG Justice Center staff continued to facilitate joint meetings between the two agencies to discuss their individual internal planning efforts and share implementation challenges, as well as provide feedback on the agencies’ proposed processes, which include their plans for data collection and staff training. CSG Justice Center staff attended weekly meetings with DOC regarding the consolidation of furlough statuses and changes to other related supervision policies.

In addition, CSG Justice Center staff also provided iterative feedback to support the DOC and Parole Board as they determine filings for Category 1 and 2 subawards.
Priority Area 3: Evaluate the current use of sanctions and incentives and recommend improvements to increase adherence to evidence-based practices.

Background: During Phase I, Vermont’s Justice Reinvestment II Working Group found inconsistencies in how community supervision officers respond to non-compliance, as well as data collection challenges that limited the DOC’s ability to fully monitor the implementation of sanctions and incentives. Act 148 requires the DOC to conduct further analysis and report back to the legislature on ways to strengthen the use of sanctions and incentives to ensure they reflect best practices in reducing recidivism and encouraging behavior change. This includes exploring regular data collection and analysis processes to inform policy and practice changes, as well as monitor implementation.

Update: In October, CSG Justice Center staff continued providing technical assistance to DOC in revising the department’s current sanctions policy and creating new incentives policies. CSG Justice Center staff participated in weekly meetings with DOC where DOC provided updates on their current policy development ideas. CSG Justice Center staff also began conversations with DOC regarding the development of a new module within their Offender Management System (OMS) to track implementation of their new sanctions and incentives policy.

Priority Area 4: Analyze current policy and practice to identify ways to improve assessment processes, care coordination, information sharing, and case management for people in the criminal justice system who have complex behavioral health issues.

Background: During Phase I, the Justice Reinvestment II Working Group identified gaps in data and information sharing that created challenges in identifying and serving people in the criminal justice system who have complex behavioral health needs, including opioid addiction. Act 148 requires the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to report on current processes for identifying people with behavioral health needs who are incarcerated or under supervision to the working group by December 1, 2020. The working group is then tasked with using this information to develop policy and practice changes to improve assessment processes, care coordination, information sharing, and case management across criminal justice and behavioral health system providers. The working group is required to report their findings and recommendations to the legislature by January 1, 2021.

Update: In October, CSG Justice Center staff convened the leadership and staff from the Department of Corrections (DOC), the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs (ADAP), Agency of Human Services (AHS), and Parole Board to begin the process of obtaining the behavioral health information requested in Section 22 of Act 148. CSG Justice Center staff facilitated an initial discussion about the requirements in Section 22 and proposed a process for assisting AHS in gathering and reporting information to the working group by December 1, 2020. Meeting participants sought to acknowledge the siloed departments and create goals related to eliminating barriers to services and their departments.
Priority Area 5: Increase criminal justice data collection and analysis capacity and establish outcome measures and regular data monitoring to track the implementation progress of Act 148.
Background: Vermont has continued to encounter data collection lapses and analysis gaps that often limit the state’s ability to comprehend and address the state’s public safety and behavioral health challenges. Justice Reinvestment II provides an opportunity for Vermont to use technical assistance to improve the use and accessibility of data while supporting implementation and creating plans for capacity building.
Update: CSG Justice Center staff reviewed an initial draft of state monitoring measures with DOC. This review included a discussion of which outcome measures will be available earlier and what might need to be phased in later as implementation progresses. In addition, CSG Justice Center staff met with the executive director of the parole board to discuss further development of parole-related measures.

Priority Area 6: Assist in creating standards to examine the data collection, monitoring, and evaluation process,
especially as it concerns disparate outcomes for different demographic groups.
Background: Section 19 of Act 148 focuses on examining the racial disparities within the criminal justice system. The act directs the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel (RDAP), the executive director of racial equity, the chief superior judge, the attorney general, the defender general, the DOC, and the executive director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs to work with the Crime Research Group (Vermont-based nonprofit research agency) and the state’s Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) to identify available data and perform an initial analysis of demographic factors and sentencing outcomes.

Upon examination of the data, RDAP is then tasked with reporting to the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee and Vermont Sentencing Commission by December 1, 2020. The Sentencing Commission is then charged with reviewing the report findings and making recommendations regarding changes to sentencing structures and nonbinding sentencing guidance. The commission must report by February 26, 2021, to House/Senate Judiciary and House Corrections and Institutions.

Update: CSG Justice Center staff continue to work with RDAP’s chair, and RDAP’s members to discuss data identification and analysis required by Act 148. During the September RDAP meeting, a subcommittee was formed to better identify data and resource gaps across the criminal justice system, and the work from the subcommittee continued through October. CSG Justice Center staff helped organize weekly meetings with subcommittee members and provide examples from other states and other support as required. The subcommittee worked to identify the high impact/high discretion decision points throughout the criminal justice system and suggest measures that need to be collected at each point. After the subcommittee came to a consensus on the information that they would like to have available, it was then shared with RDAP members at the October 13 meeting. During that meeting, RDAP members shared feedback and ideas on how to improve data collection. Currently, RDAP’s chair is working with a few members to begin the process of drafting the required report to the legislature, due December 1.