20210127-22438-01

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: Throughout November, the CSG Justice Center staff continued to meet with Vermont stakeholders to inform the next presentation to the working group. The November 24 Justice Reinvestment II Working Group meeting focused on Section 22 of Act 148, which directs the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to work with CSG Justice Center staff to report a more in-depth view of current behavioral health assessment, case planning, care coordination, and information sharing priorities. CSG Justice Center staff also directed the working group to revisit the October 27 discussion of earned credits for people on probation and address reinvestment and appropriation opportunities in Vermont to support Justice Reinvestment policy changes. The presentation led to robust discussions about information sharing to ensure that there is a coordinated collaborative response and that all the appropriate actors are engaged in the care of people in the criminal justice system. On the topic of probation earned credit, the Montana example was again suggested by State Senator, but several working group members remarked that the Montana example does not differ from midpoint reviews, so the effort to strengthen midpoint reviews would have the same potential impact. CSG Justice Center staff’s presentation of reinvestment information helped reinforce areas, such as housing, domestic violence programming, and data, that the working group needs to consider supporting for the sustainability of the current Justice Reinvestment efforts.

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 DOC staff. The act also creates a review process with expanded due process for furlough returns or revocations over 90 days.

Update: CSG Justice Center staff continued to meet regularly with DOC and the parole board to support the implementation of presumptive parole through the month of November. Staff facilitated joint meetings between the two Vermont agencies to discuss their individual internal planning efforts and share implementation challenges, as well as provide feedback on the agencies’ proposed processes, which includes their plans for data collection and staff training. CSG Justice Center staff attended weekly meetings with DOC and biweekly meetings with the parole board regarding the consolidation of furlough statuses and changes to other related supervision policies.

In addition, CSG Justice Center staff provided iterative feedback to support the DOC and parole board as they determine funding requests 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: CSG Justice Center staff engaged in conversations with DOC about using subaward funding to build out a new sanctions and incentives module within their Offender Management System to monitor implementation at the state, regional, and officer levels. CSG Justice Center staff provided DOC with examples of other modules and fields that have been helpful for tracking the implementation of sanctions and incentives in other states.
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 November, CSG Justice Center staff continued to meet with the leadership and staff from DOC, the Department of Mental Health, and the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, AHS, and parole board to discuss the available behavioral health information. At the November working group meeting, CSG Justice Center staff presented on findings related to the information in Section 22 of Act 148, including identifying screening, assessment, care coordination, and information sharing gaps for people with complex behavioral health issues.

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 continued to make iterative changes to a draft of state monitoring measures based on input from DOC and the parole board.
Priority Area 6: Assist in creating standards to examine the data collection, monitoring, and evaluation process, especially as it concerns racial disparities.
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: The CSG Justice Center staff worked 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 that continued through November. CSG Justice Center staff connected RDAP subcommittee members with representatives from Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management—Policy and Planning Division to discuss

Connecticut’s Public Act No. 19-59 to show how Vermont can improve its own research and data systems. The information shared from Connecticut will help inform the December 1 report to the legislature. The report will outline the high impact/high discretion decision points throughout the criminal justice system and the measures that need to be collected at each point as well as the tools needed in Vermont to better sustain the data collection efforts.