20240626-113232-46

"Priority Area 1: Data Analysis Analyze data from the Department of Corrections (DOC), KSP, AOC and other state agencies (where appropriate and available) to quantify the number of people involved in Kentucky’s criminal justice system for DV- and IPV-related offenses, with the goal of identifying the full scale and impact of these offenses on the state’s criminal justice system and the potential for reducing prison and jail populations and improving interventions. CSG Justice Center staff will also quantify the prevalence of domestic violence by identifying the number of people on community supervision with current or historical IPV-related offenses or protective orders.  Background: Kentucky has historically struggled to consistently collect and comprehensively analyze relevant data to effectively evaluate and address the state’s DV challenges. This is especially troubling given that lifetime prevalence rates of DV in Kentucky are far higher than the national average. About 45 percent of all women and 36 percent of all men in Kentucky experience DV during their lifetime compared to the national averages of 37 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Additionally, the Department of Corrections (DOC) is unable to adequately quantify how many people are incarcerated or on community supervision with a domestic violence-related history, which creates a missed opportunity for the state to comprehensively address the DV related population with programs and intervention. Because the DOC is contracted to handle misdemeanor probation in Jefferson County, the largest county in the state, additional information will be available for the analysis.  Update: CSG Justice Center staff continued cleaning and analyzing the data provided by KSP in April. The KSP analysis has reached the quality assurance stage where validation of code and research decisions can be conducted. CSG Justice Center staff also started developing charts and tables for a presentation on domestic-violence related crime trends, which will rely on data from the KSP JC-3 forms and also on analysis of National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data. Quality assurance of DOC incarceration and supervision data files continued in April; some outstanding data questions have been shared with the research contact at DOC. Ongoing discussions with the state Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center (CJ-SAC) have been taking place to refine the data definitions and time frame for the presentations. Priority Area 2: Assess Community Supervision  Conduct a qualitative assessment of community supervision systems in Kentucky, with a focus on DV caseloads. CSG Justice Center staff will assess the effectiveness of current policies and practices in reducing revocations and promoting successful and safe community reintegration. CSG Justice Center staff will conduct interviews and focus groups with DOC leadership, probation district supervisors, probation and parole officers, and clients on supervision with a DV-related charge (if available) to understand and assess the implementation practices for evidence-based supervision.  Background: Kentucky had the 14th-highest rate of people on probation or parole supervision in the country in 2019, with nearly 64,000 people under state or local supervision. Before the start of the pandemic, over 45 percent of the prison population was incarcerated due to supervision violations, which was the seventh highest percentage in the country at that time. Resources for people who are incarcerated or supervised in different parts of the system vary and may not support ensuring people receive the treatment and programming they need to reduce recidivism. Additionally, while the commonwealth is currently unable to identify the exact number of people on community supervision with underlying DV or IPV offenses, stakeholders in Kentucky report that people cycle through probationâ€"especially misdemeanor probationâ€"for DV offenses, which could be another driver of their prison and jail population growth. The DOC is contracted with Jefferson County, which includes Louisville, to manage those on probation with misdemeanor offenses, which could provide an estimate of the total misdemeanor population with an underlying DV or IPV offense and how that population fares on supervision. Update: CSG Justice Center staff continued the probation and parole assessment by meeting with representatives of Capital Court Authority (CCA), one of Kentucky’s largest private probation companies. Staff heard extensively about CCA’s initiatives in electronic monitoring, especially in alerting victims of domestic violence when the individual perpetuating domestic violence is near. Staff also learned that while CCA was one of the largest providers of private probation in the commonwealth, their business was mostly done through a series of unwritten agreements with local court services. We expect this process may be an area the working group explores further as it considers improvements to KY’s DV systems. Priority Area 3: Assess Responses and Interventions to Those Who Commit Domestic Violence Conduct a qualitative assessment of the efficacy, accessibility, and availability of services, treatment, and programming aimed at those who commit domestic violence, with an emphasis on Batterer Intervention Programs (BIP), to better understand if the interventions for the incarcerated and supervised populations reduce supervision failure and repeated criminal behavior. CSG Justice Center staff will evaluate the use of evidence-based programming, funding for such programming, the use of risk and need assessments, and reentry processes. This assessment work will inform evidence-based solutions for the commonwealth’s DV population.   Background: Kentucky stakeholders report that it is common for people convicted of IPV-related offenses to be sentenced to misdemeanor probation multiple times where they receive little support or services beyond the requirement to participate in a Batterers Intervention Program (BIP). However, stakeholders suspect that BIP may not be effective and have expressed interest in assessing these programs and developing recommendations for improvements. DOC leaders have explained that when a person is incarcerated, the DOC does not receive background information on that person’s either victim or perpetrator history with DV or IPV (beyond criminal convictions), which inhibits their ability to adequately manage and serve that person. Further, while DOC provides cognitive behavioral therapy and anger management, BIP is not available, which may indicate key areas of missing programming for people with criminal histories that include DV and IPV. Resources for people who are incarcerated or supervised in different parts of the system vary and may not support ensuring people receive the treatment and programming they need to reduce recidivism.  Update: CSG Justice Center staff traveled to Kentucky to present an overview of the project and the JRI process to Louisville’s Domestic Violence Prevention Coordinating Council. Several members of the council expressed they believe the work to be important, their excitement for the project, and anticipation for our findings. Following the presentation, staff met with the director of the Louisville Metro Corrections Department along with several local judges. Several themes emerged during that conversation, including the following: Court Interaction with Batterer Intervention Programs. The judges felt there was a disconnect between what information they received regarding a BIP client’s progress and their completion of the program. Effectiveness of BIP. The judges expressed a desire to learn more about the recidivism rate for those who completed BIP, to assess BIP’s effectiveness, and whether courts should invest time and resources elsewhere.  Inconsistent Level of Information Provided to the Court and Jails. The director of the Louisville Metro Corrections Department indicated that they receive a complete history of the individual when they do their assessment; and the local circuit judge handling higher-level cases indicated that she also received a multipage report that gives a comprehensive view of the individual. In contrast, district court judges indicated that they received relatively little information and felt that high caseloads led to a lack of information provided to the courts. The director and local judges all expressed their willingness to continue working with staff and assist in future outreach. Additionally in April, CSG Justice Center staff met with the executive director of the Kentucky Jailer’s Association. She provided an overview of jails in Kentucky and expressed excitement for the project. She offered to connect CSG Justice Center staff with local jailers, specifically those interested in programming and expanding what programs are offered in local jails. Priority Area 4: General Stakeholder Engagement Connect with criminal justice stakeholders (law enforcement, judges, defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, corrections staff, lawmakers, victim and their advocates, and community-based organizations) across the commonwealth to fully understand the DV challenges and how it impacts the criminal justice system at different points and in different regions of the state. CSG Justice Center staff plan to engage with a diverse array of stakeholders at every step of the project to ensure proper context to CSG Justice Center’s data analysis, qualitative assessments, and policy recommendations. Background: Despite various local and regional efforts to address DV, it continues to be an issue that permeates the commonwealth. Louisville has a Criminal Justice Commission Domestic Violence Coordinating Council that meets to discuss domestic violence and has published reports on addressing domestic violence. Lexington created a Special Victims Unit to support survivors of domestic violence. The Attorney General’s Office created the Domestic Violence Resource Prosecutor position under the Prosecutor’s Advisory Council. CSG Justice Center staff can connect these efforts from across the commonwealth, help break down silos, and guide possible policy discussions.  Update: In April, CSG Justice Center staff continued our outreach to working group members. Members continue to express excitement about the project and offer assistance in identifying topics to explore and potential future outreach opportunities. As CSG Justice Center staff continue to work toward launching the project, we met with the secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet’s (JPSC) liaison, the acting director of the Kentucky Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center. Through our discussion, he reiterated the executive branch’s desire for a legislative co-chair to be named to the working group, to ensure equal leadership and collaboration across all three branches. The JPSC requested a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize the relationship between their agency and the CSG Justice Center, set clear expectations, and outline the scope of work for the project and the timeline. Despite the delayed launch, he assured staff that he and JPSC are both committed to the project and look forward to the work. Priority Area 5: Assessing the need for broader criminal justice reforms Build momentum for fostering support for another JRI project focused on the broader criminal justice challenges. CSG Justice Center staff believe that the initial DV- and IPV-focused analyses will lay the foundation for the commonwealth’s understanding of larger criminal justice challenges and trends and motivate state leaders to request additional and broader analyses through another round of JRI.  Background: Kentucky jail and prison populations are increasing. From 2000 to 2018, the state’s prison population increased 13 percent, with a prison incarceration rate of 428.9 per 100,000 adult residents in 2018.iv During the same period, the jail population increased by 70 percent, and the jail incarceration rate reached 792.7 per 100,000 adult residents in 2018.v Following the pandemic, the commonwealth saw a 24 percent decrease in the number of individuals incarcerated by DOC in prisons, jails, and other state-funded facilities. Starting in 2022, the number of incarcerated people began to rise again.vi From 2021 to 2022, the DOC population incarcerated in jails increased 12 percent. In addition to housing people who are sentenced to incarceration for misdemeanor offenses, local jails in Kentucky house nearly half of people sentenced to incarceration for felony offenses. Without relying on local jails, Kentucky would be unable to house the total prison population in existing state facilities.   Update: CSG Justice Center staff continue to discuss and plan how to work with stakeholders to identify avenues for broader criminal justice reform in Kentucky."