20200128-181319-93

Priority Area 1: Implement evidence-based practices at the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC).
Background: HB 1355 requires that the MDOC utilize evidence-based practices in their adoption and application of risk assessments, as well as in the programming they develop and prioritize. Further, HB 1355 Section 217.015.4-5 adds gender-responsive requirements for MDOC.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff answered questions and addressed concerns related to implementation of MDOC Justice Reinvestment priorities via email and via phone. The majority of questions were inquiries into the approval process for subaward funding, as MDOC will be the state agency in charge of fiscal oversight of the funding if and when approved and dispersed. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff advised Probation and Parole (P&P) leadership on best practices nationwide on community supervision/local law enforcement partnerships to address repeat offenders.

Priority Area 2: Repurpose Community Supervision Centers (CSCs).
Background: Section 217.777.(5) of HB 1355 requires MDOC to administer a community corrections program to encourage local sentencing alternatives that utilize CSCs to effectively respond to violations and prevent revocations. To achieve this, MDOC must repurpose existing CSCs to include day-reporting and residential capacity and to serve as a sanction under which individuals will receive short-term, high-intensity dosages of cognitive behavioral interventions as well as other risk-reducing programming in lieu of revocation to prison. All six CSCs will offer gender-responsive programming in homogendered environments, and the Fulton CSC will be repurposed into the sole female-only residential and day-reporting CSC in the state to accommodate the specific needs of women.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff answered questions and addressed concerns related to CSC repurposing priorities via email and via phone. CSG Justice Center staff also collaborated with District Administrator (P&P District 26 [Fulton] CSC, MDOC) to prepare for a presentation they will deliver together in early December at the Association of Justice-Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation is designed to give an overview of Justice Reinvestment in Missouri, then focus specifically on Missouri’s approach toward reducing revocations to prison from community supervision for women by opening its first-ever women-only CSC in Fulton. The Fulton CSC has undergone a dramatic transformation since the beginning of the repurposing process, and this presentation is a well-deserved opportunity for the District Administrator to present the early successes and challenges she, her staff, and the CSC clients have experienced since the repurposed CSC opened in February 2019.

Priority Area 3: Modernize parole decision-making.
Background: HB 1355 requires the Missouri Parole Board (MPB) to incorporate evidence-based practices into its parole decision-making and release processes. Specifically, MPB must adopt revised parole guidelines and procedures based on validated risk and need assessments; establish standards for collection, analysis, and reporting of performance and outcome measures; train staff on national paroling best practices; preserve the rights of victims by notifying them of a board assessment of a person’s readiness for release; use risk and needs assessment results to set responsive special parole conditions and to design condition-setting policies overall; and adopt changes to the eligibility standards for earned compliance credits.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff continued to assist MPB staff and board members with the process to be assessed as ready to implement the National Institute of Corrections’ (NIC) structured decision-making model. At this time, MPB is still on track with that process and remains in NIC consideration as an implementation site. CSG Justice Center staff will facilitate connections between the MPB and NIC as required to ensure this connection. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff advised the MPB on national best practices for assessing and reviewing the cases of individuals sentenced as juveniles to serve life sentences without the possibility of parole. This advisory area is connected to federal litigation involving the MPB and its historic treatment of individuals in this class.

Priority Area 4: Build a community-based substance addiction treatment system for people in the criminal justice system.
Background: HB 1355 mandates that the MDOC shall establish and implement a community behavioral health program to provide comprehensive community-based services for people under the supervision of the department who have serious substance addictions and may have co-occurring mental illnesses.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff continued to advise the JRITP Oversight Committee on the implementation plan for expanding the JRITP into three expansion counties through advice and consultation via phone and email as requested. JRITP staff made no specific requests for assistance in November.

Priority Area 5: Reduce violent crime.
Background: HB 1355 creates the Missouri Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) within the Missouri Department of Public Safety (MDPS) to provide state financial and technical assistance to create or improve local pilot programs. While the intent of HB 1355 was to have a fully funded LEAP within MDPS, the accompanying investment package that was passed (SB 9) did not include any financial assistance for law enforcement for FY2018. HB 1355 also established requirements for MDPS regarding the development of forms and procedures for the gathering, transmitting, and storing of evidence during and after forensic examination of victims of sexual offenses.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff consulted on the finalization of the law enforcement engagement report resulting from surveys and focus groups held with law enforcement statewide in July and August 2019. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff advised on and then reviewed initial data visualizations that will accompany that report completed by Policy Counsel (Missouri Office of the Attorney General [MAGO]). Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff continued to be responsive to any questions generated by MDPS staff through the transition into the state monitoring phase of Justice Reinvestment.

Priority Area 6: Improve the experience of victims of crime.
Background: HB 1355 prioritizes improving access to and quality of services for victims of crime in Missouri with the goal of increasing the number of eligible victims of crime who register as victims, access compensation, and are notified electronically of changes in the status of people convicted of crimes.
Update: In November, CSG Justice Center staff continued to advise the Victim Focused Working Group as requested, but did not provide direct, intensive technical assistance. The Victim Focused Working Group continues to work in three thematic areas: (1) creation of a transparent statewide victim notification system, (2) mapping of available resources for victim support services statewide, and (3) Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) kit inventory and analysis. No specific requests for victim-focused implementation assistance were made to CSG Justice Center staff in November.

Other Updates:
In November, the majority of the technical assistance provided by CSG Justice Center staff was in the area of the subaward application review and approval. MDPS, MDOC, and the Office of the State Court Administrator (OSCA) have each allocated two staff to the “Subaward Team” that is working with CSG Justice Center staff to complete all revisions necessary during the approval process. This Subaward Team is led by Justice Reinvestment Coordinator (Missouri Office of the Governor). Missouri’s complete subaward application was submitted to BJA for review on August 13, 2019 and was subsequently approved on August 23, 2019 for a GAN submission. CSG Justice Center staff are in near daily contact with BJA financial staff regarding final approval to move forward with the contracting process for Missouri.

Also, in November, CSG Justice Center staff and technological partner Recidiviz continued to work with Missouri leadership on Lantern, the revocation-reduction project. In October, CSG Justice Center gained access to MDOC data for two purposes: (1) historical data analysis and (2) data system mapping in service of coding and deploying a weekly data ingest of MDOC data, and in November were able to begin initial analyses and data ingestion processes. This was a huge milestone for the Missouri Lantern project. Additionally, the Lantern Leadership Steering Committee is working with CSG Justice Center staff on an iterative user experience process to narrow down the minimum viable product (MVP) for the first stage of tool development. This process will result in the first measures and metrics MDOC leaderships will start to use to employ data in an action-oriented, real-time manner.