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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 preparation for the January 11 Justice Reinvestment II Working Group meeting, from January 4 to 8, CSG Justice Center staff met with 18 of the 19 working group members individually to discuss policy options on creating a probation earned credit policy and strengthening behavioral health information sharing and care coordination. Members also reviewed several strategic investment goals and sustainability options that would assist them in fully realizing their Justice Reinvestment objectives. The meetings allowed stakeholders to address any outstanding thoughts and/or concerns prior to the public meeting.

On January 11, the working group met to review and adopt policy options as well as discuss future reinvestments and sustaining the work. The working group came to a general consensus on the policy options. The outcome of this discussion was included in the report submitted by the working group to the House and Senate Committees on Judiciary and the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions on January 15.

In addition to discussing policy options, working group members received implementation updates at the January 11 meeting. This included presentations from representatives of the Department of Corrections and the Parole Board, who discussed the work they’ve accomplished preparing for Act 148’s January 1, 2021 effective date. Chair of the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Advisory Panel (RDAP), presented the findings of the panel’s December 1 report, required by Section 19 of Act 148, which elicited support from working group members.

Working group members decided to reconvene following the end of the legislative session in June 2021 and continue to meet bi-monthly until their final report to the legislature is due in January 2022.

For reference, working group members adopted four recommendations related to mental health and substance use disorder for inclusion in the January 15 report:
• Option 1: (Administrative) Recommend that AHS convene representatives from each relevant department in the agency to develop and implement changes to policy and procedure that address barriers to information sharing and care coordination for supporting people in the criminal justice system with behavioral health needs.

• Option 2: (Administrative) Recommend that DOC use a validated mental health screening tool for people sentenced to probation for misdemeanor offenses.
• Option 3: (Legislative) Recommend that the legislature require DOC to develop a brief report that will be provided to judges before sentencing to inform condition setting for all people being sentenced to probation for felony offenses. This report should include risk and need assessment results, behavioral health screening results, and criminal history.
• Option 4: (Strategic) Recommend that DOC explore hiring licensed clinicians to be placed in local supervision offices to administer mental health and substance use screenings and assessments, as well as liaise with community-based treatment providers.

Working group members also adopted a policy option to modify the state’s current probation midpoint review process to help people who are successful on probation earn time off their sentences and free up resources so that supervision officers can focus on their higher-risk clients. The working group decided to recommend that the legislature make midpoint review more presumptive and encourage its use, using a model of earned discharge policies from other states, including Montana.
New Insights: On January 15, working group members submitted their report to the House and Senate Committees on Judiciary and the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions. Following the submission, CSG Justice Center staff were asked to present the findings and the recommendations to members of the Vermont House and Senate. Additionally, members of the Senate judiciary have introduced legislation on strengthening the midpoint review process, as adopted by the Justice Reinvestment II Working Group. In the next month, additional legislation is expected to be introduced to address the behavioral health policy options adopted by the working group.

Following the January 15 report to the legislature, the governor’s office proposed a budget that realized the goals of working group members. The budget directs $400,000 to behavioral health interventions, $200,000 to domestic violence intervention programming, and $300,000 to transitional housing efforts for a total of $900,000. These dollar amounts are significant given the budget constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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: Throughout January, CSG Justice Center staff attended weekly meetings with the DOC and Parole Board to support the implementation of presumptive parole. CSG Justice Center staff continued to organize and facilitate joint meetings between the two Vermont agencies to discuss their individual internal planning efforts and shared implementation challenges. Presumptive parole and the furlough consolidation went into effect January 1.

CSG Justice Center staff also supported the DOC and Parole Board as they worked to determine areas for category 2 subaward funding to support implementation efforts.

New Insights: In January, the earned good time policy outlined in Act 148 went into effect. In response to concerns from victims of crime, a bill was also introduced in the Vermont legislature to make limited carveouts to the earned good time law for more serious offenses. The bill, S.18, is currently being considered in committee. CSG Justice Center staff continue to provide information as requested to lawmakers and stakeholders as they consider adjustments to the enacted policy.

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 continued to discuss with Vermont stakeholders how to improve the tracking of sanctions and incentives with DOC, including data system improvements using subaward funding.

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 January, CSG Justice Center staff met with the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services and key department leadership to discuss the working group recommendations related to behavioral health. CSG Justice Center staff also continued to meet regularly with AHS staff to support ongoing work to develop and implement policy and practice changes focused on increasing information sharing and care coordination across 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 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 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: At the January 11 working group meeting, the Chair of RDAP presented the findings outlined in the report submitted to the legislature on December 1, 2020, as required by Section 19 of Act 148. Chair of RDAP encouraged members to consider RDAP’s request to create a three-person body charged with the definition, collection, and analysis of data pertaining to racial disparities. Following the presentation, working group members asked CSG Justice Center staff to resume the analysis of disparate criminal justice outcomes for different demographic groups that was started during the Justice Reinvestment Phase I process.

Additionally, as required in Act 148, the Sentencing Commission reviewed the December 1 Report on Racial Disparities in their January meeting. Commission members are currently awaiting additional information in order to effectively present their analysis and make recommendations to sentencing structures.

New Insights: CSG Justice Center staff have learned that legislation will be introduced in February to address RDAP’s recommendations to create a body to analyze racial disparities in the criminal justice system.