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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 March, CSG Justice Center staff were invited by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to provide background on a Justice Reinvestment II Working Group recommendation to require DOC to provide risk, need, and behavioral health assessment and screening results to judges pre-sentencing in all felony probation cases. The purpose of this recommendation was to ensure that judges can access the information necessary to setting appropriate supervision conditions, including programming requirements. Senator Sears introduced a bill in March to pilot the concept in two jurisdictions with future plans to expand statewide. CSG Justice Center staff were asked to provide the committee with background information on the initial working group analysis and discussion related to this recommendation.
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. And third, it streamlined Vermont’s 17 different furlough legal statuses, all with unique administrative requirements and created a primary furlough status called “Community Supervision Furlough” 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 March, CSG Justice Center staff supported the DOC and Parole Board as they worked to conclude the research and writing of the category 2 subaward funding application to support implementation efforts.

In addition, CSG Justice Center staff testified in front of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee to provide information on how proposed offense carveouts to the earned good time policy passed in 2020 might change the initial Justice Reinvestment II impact projections. CSG Justice Center staff recalculated the impact on potential bed and cost savings should S.18, the carveout bill, pass and shared this information with the committee. New calculations show that the carveouts will result in minimal impact as they only apply to a very small number of people in the current incarcerated population.

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 March, CSG Justice Center staff worked with the DOC to finalize the submission of a subaward application that includes funding for a new data system module to track the use of incentives and training for community supervision officers.
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 March, CSG Justice Center staff continued to develop a plan for supporting a series of internal AHS working group meetings focused on improving information sharing and care coordination across departments. AHS provided CSG Justice Center staff with a draft implementation plan for input. This implementation plan was then shared with Policy Research Associates (PRA) to begin a discussion about engaging them as a subcontractor to provide additional support and expertise.

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: In March, CSG Justice Center staff met with the DOC to review an updated draft of state monitoring measures.
The executive director of the Parole Board will begin providing parole data so that CSG Justice Center staff can begin the data monitoring process.

CSG Justice Center staff also began discussions with the Vermont judiciary about potentially using subaward funding to support improvements in court data collection and analysis capacity. Representatives from the judiciary expressed interest in the funding and proposed contracting with a consultant that could help them map out their data needs from both an outcomes and operational perspective. This would allow them to lay a foundation for making changes to their data system, as well as potentially building out a data warehouse to increase the accessibility of court data.

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: During the March session, RDAP members continued the discussion on where to house the Bureau of Racial Justice Statistics and the Bureau of Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Panel, a recommendation made to the legislature as a result of RDAP’s reporting requirements in Act 148. Eight options emerged during this meeting and it was suggested that where to house the panel be addressed with legislators. RDAP’s chair shared that he would reach out to legislators for their input.

In addition, CSG Justice Center staff started the process of examining racial disparities in the state as requested during the last working group meeting. To date, the data has been reviewed, imported, and cleaned. The next steps include connecting with Vermont stakeholders to better inform the research and potential ask for more data.