Priority Area 1:?Work with state agencies to receive and analyze data to identify drivers of Arkansas?s high recidivism rates and understand how recidivism contributes to overall crime and incarceration rates.
Update:?CSG Justice Center staff followed up with state agencies to learn the status of the data sharing requests to the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC), and the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC). Staff continued to hear that the agreements were with the agencies? respective legal departments and that data was ready to be shared once they were approved.
CSG Justice Center staff learned that the delay in accessing data is due in part to states safeguarding personally identifiable information (PII). The ACIC reached out to the governor?s office with concerns that the data requests included PII. CSG Justice Center staff explained that PII is necessary to be able to accurately track people across arrest, court, and corrections data needed for a recidivism analysis. CSG Justice Center staff also shared additional information about its policies on how to protect sensitive information/data. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff continued conversations with the AOC to learn more about their requirement of payment before receiving the data requested from the courts. AOC staff clarified that a performance bond payment is required for every data request containing PII and that the payment would be refundable at the conclusion of the project if the data was safeguarded throughout the process.
Priority Area 2: Work with practitioners and justice-impacted individuals around the state to engage in qualitative assessments of the effectiveness of supervision practices, identify barriers to successful reentry, and determine potential gaps in needed services for individuals reentering society.
Update:?During the November site visit, CSG Justice Center staff met with Department of Corrections leadership to discuss programming in the facilities and for individuals transitioning into the community. Additionally, staff met with the director of Restore Hope Arkansas to discuss what work the organization does with individuals transitioning out of incarceration and the grant given to the organization by the Attorney General?s Office to fund diversionary sentencing programs in district courts. While the information was helpful, staff do not anticipate our work directly affecting the district court level.
Priority Area 3: Cultivate strong relationships with policymakers and stakeholders in the state to ensure that Arkansas?s JRI project has the greatest possible impact on the criminal justice challenges facing the state.
Update:?In November, CSG Justice Center staff presented at the third meeting of the task force. The presentation was successful in initiating discussion among the task force membership. Some of the themes that emerged from the discussion include the following: The need to be cognizant of the funding needs of any potential policy recommendations coming out of the task force The availability of services in rural areas of the state The culture shift required within correctional facilities from the traditional punitive approach to a more holistic model to ensure that programming and services are available for incarcerated individuals, including case management and new risk and needs assessments.
While in Little Rock, CSG Justice Center staff met with several task force members who expressed concern over the need to address how incarcerated individuals reenter the community, particularly where key documents, such as driver?s licenses, are concerned. Several individuals expressed the importance of these documents in successful reentry, particularly in terms of securing housing and employment.
Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff met with representatives of CSG South to discuss their experience in Arkansas and any individuals they think might be helpful to speak with in the state. CSG South staff suggested that we meet with legislative staff, particularly the Senate clerk and the director of the Bureau of Legislative Research, to begin establishing relationships with additional legislators who might be potential champions for recommendations in the future.
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