After passage of a package of 10 JRI bills in 2017, CJI began working with Louisiana to prepare to implement the bills.
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In July, CJI staff travelled to Louisiana for introductory meetings with key implementation stakeholders including: Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) Secretary LeBlanc and his staff, Probation and Parole leadership, DPS&C data experts, DPS&C reentry coordinator, and members of the Parole Board. In these meetings, CJI introduced Phase II, discuss the plan for submitting the Letter of Interest, reviewed ways in which technical assistance could be provided, and addressed questions/concerns about JRI implementation.
While in state, staff in Louisiana expressed concern about portions of the JRI laws connected with parole holds. After returning from the site visit, CJI researched practices in other states and held a meeting with members of the parole hold working group to review findings, and talk through possible implementation options.
In July, CJI staff also held many check-in and introductory calls with Louisiana stakeholders, including court and Judicial College staff. After a questions from the Judicial College, CJI prepared a memo outlining past states’ approaches to educating judges on JRI.
This month, CJI continued to hold meetings with Pew staff and review documents from Pew on the details of the Phase I process and the JRI legislation.
This August, CJI staff travelled to Louisiana for introductory meetings with key implementation stakeholders. In these meetings, CJI discussed plans for submitting the Letter of Interest, preliminary plans for reinvestment, programming needs, and judiciary implementation priorities. During this trip, CJI also visited two Probation and Parole district offices, talking with line staff, supervisors, and the District Administrator at each office about their daily practices as well as their excitement and concerns over implementing JRI.
Both during and after the visit, CJI worked with Louisiana to identify priorities for use of Category 1 (urgent) seed funding money, and to create proposals and budgets for the identified projects. DPS&C staff are particularly concerned about portions of the bill which take effect in November of this year, for which line staff will need to do a great deal of work to prepare. As such, one priority discussed in meetings was for staff overtime before November, as well as trainings on JRI for P&P and courts staff.
CJI also worked with staff in state to draft Louisiana’s LOI and create plans for submitting the letter. During preparations for the LOI, CJI spoke with staff about creating a JRI implementation oversight committee, as one was not created by Louisiana’s JRI legislation. The current plan is for the Governor to create an oversight committee by executive order, with appointed members from all three branches of government, key stakeholders, and from influential community groups.
In August, CJI worked with members of P&P policy working groups to rewrite internal policies to conform to the JRI package of laws that go into effect November 1st. CJI reviewed draft materials prepared by the working groups, offering edits, advice and research assistance.
As several key provisions of the 10 JRI bills go into effect on November 1, much of CJI’s focus in at the start of TA was on helping DOC prepare for a large increase in the number of individuals eligible for release in November. CJI talked with both DOC officials and members of local community organizations about communicating the specifics of this release to the public. CJI also created a progress report for DOC, helping them think through what they had done already and what they would continue to do to prepare for the release, and helped DOC come up with talking points. Several community organizations who had been involved in Phase I wanted to remain helpful in Phase II by countering anti-JRI narratives, so CJI worked to help connect these groups to DOC to ensure consistent messaging.
On November 1st, about 2,000 individuals were released from custody early, in addition to the typical 1,500 or so individuals who were already scheduled for a November release. The releases on November 1 generally went smoothly, thanks to the hard work of DOC staff who spent many hours preparing individuals for early release, and putting supports in place. Several local service agencies were also present on November 1 to help point newly returning citizens to support. Of all those released early, only 2% failed to report to P&P, which is much lower than the typical rate. There have also only been a small number of new arrests thus far. P&P are currently reviewing the additional supports put in place on November 1 to see if any could become part of their regular practice.
During the meeting with P&P, CJI heard about officer’s frustrations with the technical violation jail time caps instituted in the new JRI law (15 days for the first, 30 days for the second, and 45 days for the third and subsequent violation). Officers expressed to CJI that this timeline was too fast, and they weren’t able to get all the necessary paperwork in within 15 days. CJI talked through this issue, and helped the group problem solve ways in which their process could be quickened to allow for a faster turnaround. CJI also agreed to help the group create a FAQ document for the department addressing some of the questions officers have had when implementing the new law.
CJI will monitor Louisiana’s spending of the BJA passthrough funds. In June 2018, Louisiana received final approval for the JRI Coordinator funding, and CJI created a contract with DOC to allow this to proceed. In July, DOC began billing CJI for the JRI Coordinator position. CJI is now working with the state to help them figure out what they would like to apply to use the remaining subaward funding for.
In August 2018, CJI prepared a short document for LA explaining what money they have been approved to spend through BJA, and what funds they have left to apply for. CJI will use this to encourage DOC to decide what they want to spend the remaining funds on.
This month, DOC Commissioner Williams reached out to CJI to discuss concerns he was hearing from legislators about probation condition being overly harsh/unreasonable, and at times counter-productive. CJI has been talking with the Commissioner and others at DOC about facilitating a workgroup at DOC to examine how the agency is recommending, supervising and enforcing conditions and develop updated policies.
In July 2018, CJI spoke with the Commissioner and others at DOC about facilitating a workgroup at DOC to examine how the agency is recommending, supervising and enforcing conditions and develop updated policies. CJI held several calls with Commissioner Williams, Deputy Commissioner Karen Cann, and Probation Director Belden to discuss supervision conditions and a plan for moving forward. In preparation for the calls, CJI put together a research summary as well as examples of how other states set and enforce supervision conditions. CJI also conducted phone interviews with P&P supervisors.
In August 2018, CJI facilitated a workgroup onsite at DOC to examine how the DOC is recommending, supervising and enforcing conditions and to develop updated policies. The Division of Probation and Parole (DPP) along with the Executive Director of Parole proposed standardized supervision conditions and a plan for moving these recommendations forward. CJI assisted DOC in facilitating a stakeholder’s meeting with the Parole Board, judges, state attorneys, and public defenders to start discussing implementation of the standardized conditions.
DPP Director Winkelman expressed her interest in completing work on the standardization of general conditions of supervision to CJI. CJI and Director Winkelman discussed potential strategies to move forward, including ensuring involvement from the four presiding judges in Alaska. Director Winkelman suggested waiting until after legislative session ends to discuss next steps for this project.
CJI has continued to urge Louisiana to submit an application for the remaining passthrough funds. They went back and forth between a few ideas, but have finally decided to apply to use the remaining passthrough funding to help with JRI staffing. CJI helped them begin to create an application and budget, which we hope the state will finalize soon.
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