During the month of June, CJI staff focused on the transition from Phase I to Phase II. CJI staff Madeline Warren, Barbara Parker Pierce and Colby Dawley held numerous discussions with Maryland to explain and discuss the Phase II process and to begin discussions on implementation oversight practices and procedures and implementation leadership roles.
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In June, CJI staff focused on the transition from Phase I to Phase II. CJI staff Madeline Warren, Barbara Parker Pierce and Colby Dawley held numerous discussions with Maryland to explain and discuss the Phase II process and to begin discussions on implementation oversight practices and procedures and implementation leadership roles.
CJI held introductory meetings with numerous stakeholders to explain the requirements in the final SB1005 legislation, discuss the Phase II process and learn about each agency’s current planning efforts with regards to implementation. These stakeholders included: the Division of Probation and Parole staff: Director Joe Clocker, Marcy Plimack, David Dawkins, Kenneth Coleman, Eleanor McMullen, and Judith Sachwald; and the Governor’s Office on Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP), including: Executive Director Glenn Fueston, Policy & Planning Chief Cara Sullivan, Director of Legislation Donald Hogan, and Research Chief Jeffrey Zuback. DPP Policy Teams were also created and held the first meeting in June.
Based on these meetings, CJI began developing a draft implementation plan for the state. This plan included a road map of the legislation, SB1005, which outlines the policy requirements in the law. In addition, a job description for a JRI Coordinator was submitted to GOCCP. CJI also began planning for targeted technical assistance in several areas upon request, including:
Earned Compliance Credits: CJI worked to identify Maryland’s Earned Compliance Credits Requirements, and developed a comparison of other states to assist in the policy planning.
Training: CJI worked with DPP staff to identify training needs and provided training options to determine what technical assistance will be needed.
Policy Development: CJI worked with DPP and GOCCP leaders to discuss internal policies and procedures that will be impacted by the new statutory requirements. A roadmap document was developed and produced as a result.
During July, CJI held additional introductory meetings with numerous stakeholders to explain the requirements in the final SB1005 legislation, discuss the Phase II process and learn about each agency’s current planning efforts with regards to implementation. These stakeholders included: the Division of Correction (DOC): Commissioner Dayena Corcoran and Executive Assistant for Field Support Services Chris Donnelly; the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH): Director of Government Affairs Allison Taylor, Acting Director/Clinical Director for Office of Forensic Service within Behavior Health Erik Roskes, Assistant Director of Government Affairs Christy Megna, Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of the Secretary Sara Cheriko, and Chief of Staff of the Deputy Secretary Behavioral Health Shauna Donahue; and the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC): Baltimore Vice Chair of Circuit Courts Judge Kathy Cox, Kelly O’Connor, Mark Bittner, David Soule- Sentencing Commission; Andrew Tress. CJI continued to hold bi-weekly meetings with the Governor’s Office on Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP).
CJI also assisted in Maryland submitting its Letter of Interest for continued Phase II technical assistance and support from BJA. CJI created a document that addressed frequently asked questions about the seed funding.
CJI met with Judy to discuss the implementation efforts within Maryland. Each DOC and DPP policy has a workgroup and these groups are meeting regularly to make recommendations for implementation of their policy.
Alternatives to Incarceration: CJI provided a list of examples of sentencing alternatives from other states and examples from states that utilize these alternatives in their sentencing guidelines. This information was compiled for the Sentencing Commission for their Alternatives to Incarceration report that is due at the end of 2016.
During the month of September, CJI conducted on-site meetings with several stakeholders: Governor’s Office on Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP); the Division of Probation and Parole (DPP); the Division of Corrections (DOC); the Division of Field Services (DFS); and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH). The following was discussed during the meetings:
DPP JRI Coordinator (Judy Sachwald): CJI continues to build a relationship with Judy to stay apprised of activities of the innovation teams as well as to encourage cross-team and cross-agency collaboration, when appropriate.
Directors and Commissioner (DPP, DOC, and DFS present): CJI facilitated a discussion of the divisions’ roles in implementation and progress of the innovation teams (workgroups). The facility case management innovation team has been identified as a team that needs technical assistance regarding policy development and writing.
DPP: The focus of this meeting was the trainings offered by CJI that are of interest to DPP. CJI discussed prioritization of trainings and will continue to work with division staff and the innovation teams on this.
DHMH: DHMH discussed their concerns about communication issue, particularly around the studies required in SB 1005 due in December. In follow up, CJI ensured that this would be cleared up at the GOCCP kick off meeting. DHMH is interested in CJI’s assistance with the gap analysis.
GOCCP: CJI met with GOCCP to discuss the pass-through funding and the documentation needed for this request. CJI and GOCCP reviewed the draft of this request and identified the gaps in information needed by GOCCP. GOCCP continues to work on their performance measures plan.
GOCCP JRI Kick-off Meeting: GOCCP hosted a meeting with all agencies to talk about their role and to begin the discussion of communication and performance measures. GOCCP reviewed the the multiple reports due at the end of the year and talked about who would be involved and the progress to date. CJI presented to the group on its role with technical assistance.
CJI assisted GOCCP with the Phase II Checklist and discussed what further information is needed to completed it. CJI discussed communication between GOCCP and the other criminal justice agencies about JRI and will provide examples of means of communication used in other states.
CJI and DPP will be holding monthly check in calls to discuss the progress of the innovation teams. The first one took place in November.
During the month of December, CJI assisted the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) in drafting the Oversight Board’s statutorily required report due to the Governor and General Assembly on or before January 1, 2017 on implementation progress and the projected financial impact of implementation of the Act on local jurisdictions and correctional facilities. On December 8th, CJI met with the Chair of the Board, Judge Daniel Long about his vision for the Board, JRI implementation, the Board’s responsibilities outlined by SB1005, and the Chair’s expectations for the first Board meeting scheduled for January 4, 2017. CJI drafted the Oversight Board agenda as well as talking points for the Chair. CJI continued to hold bi-weekly calls with GOCCP to follow up on the status of the data collection plan, the subaward application for the JRI Coordinator, the decision making process for MD agencies to utilize subaward funding, and the reports that are due per the JRI legislation.
During the month of February, CJI conducted a site visit and met with several of the agencies in state. CJI met with Judge Daniel Long, Chair of the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Board (‘Board’), Glenn Fueston, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) and Don Hogan, Director of Legislation at GOCCP. Discussions included the timing for the next Board meeting, performance measures, and communication among the agencies. It was decided in the meeting that Judge Long will request points of contact from each agency regarding JRI implementation. Once these points of contact have been established, GOCCP decided they will request monthly reports discussing implementation efforts, challenges, and successes for each agency point of contact. To begin the process, and until which time a JRA director is hired, CJI will assist with compiling the information for dissemination. This effort is intended to improve the communication across the agencies involved in the implementation process.
CJI held its bi-weekly check-in with GOCCP in-person during the site visit. This allowed CJI to update GOCCP on the agency meetings. GOCCP requested bill summaries of current bills that could impact the justice reinvestment policies. CJI is in process of drafting a document with a high level summary of the bill and status of the bill. Per GOCCP’s request, CJI also provided talking points about how the justice reinvestment projections were calculated. To increase messaging to the agencies and the public about JRI, CJI provided GOCCP with a list of performance measures that should be prioritized in each stage of implementation of JRI. CJI also provided Judge Long with talking points about the JRA polices.
During the month of January, CJI attended the first Justice Reinvestment Oversight Board meeting. The Chair of the Board appointed the Vice Chair (Glenn Fueston of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP)) with the approval of the members of the Board. During the meeting, Chris Shank provided an overview of Senate Bill 1005. In addition, Glenn Fueston explained the roles and expectations of the Board. Dr. Barbara Bazron, Executive Director of Behavioral Health Administration of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), presented the number of evaluations and treatment beds used per the JRI legislation requirements.
During the site visit, CJI met with Marcy Plimack, Project Manager of the Division of Probation and Parole (DPP), to discuss progress on the development of the information systems and agency plans for capturing the new graduated sanctions and earned compliance credit policies. CJI gathered screenshots to assist in the creation of an earned compliance credit user guide for the new data system module. In addition, CJI met with Acting DPP Director Joe Clocker, Acting DPP Deputy Executive Director Dave Dawkins, DPP Assistant Director of the Office of Program Services Kenneth Coleman, DPP Assistant Director of Office of Special Programs Tia Brunson, DPP Project Manager Marcy Plimack and DPP Training Coordinator Andrea King-Wessels to discuss training efforts for JRI, including the training vision. During January, CJI also held its monthly call with DPP leadership, which served as a check in after the site visit. CJI provided research on risk assessments for the women population per DPP’s request. DPP also provided CJI with an update about the work of the DPP Innovation Teams.
CJI assisted the GOCCP in submitting their checklist and subaward application for the JRI Director position. GOCCP is currently awaiting the response from BJA. CJI continued to hold bi-weekly calls with GOCCP to follow up on the status of the data collection plan, performance measures, the subaward application, and communication of JRI efforts moving forward.
CJI held its bi-weekly check-in with GOCCP in-person during the site visit. This allowed CJI to update GOCCP on the agency meetings. GOCCP requested bill summaries of current bills that could impact the justice reinvestment policies. CJI is in process of drafting a document with a high level summary of the bill and status of the bill. Per GOCCP’s request, CJI also provided talking points about how the justice reinvestment projections were calculated. To increase messaging to the agencies and the public about JRI, CJI provided GOCCP with a list of performance measures that should be prioritized in each stage of implementation of JRI. CJI also provided Judge Long with talking points about the JRA polices.
During the site visit, CJI met with multiple Division of Probation and Parole (DPP) employees including Joe Clocker, acting Executive Director; David Dawkins, acting Deputy Executive Director; Kenneth Coleman, Assistant Director of Office of Program Services; and Marcy Plimack, Project Manager and Police and Correctional Training Commissions employees Albert Liebno, Acting Executive Director, and Andrea King-Wessels, Training Administrator, to advance their training plan. Their plan includes training for: the Level of Services Inventory – Revised (LSI-R), education on JRA and how it impacts the agents’ day-to-day work, and skill based trainings. CJI and the training group discussed CJI conducting an Effective Case Management training and a train-the-trainer in Fall of 2017. CJI provided DPP with a draft user guide for their Earned Compliance Credit (ECC) policy. DPP has requested CJI to assist in the creation of user guides for the remaining DPP policies once the other policies are available in the electronic database. CJI assisted in drafting the intake and screening changes in policy and procedure and made recommendations for changes to the entire policy. Marcy Plimack, Project Manager and Innovation Team leader along with the risk assessment innovation team leader agreed to changes to the entire policy and CJI is in the process of drafting this updated policy.
GOCCP: During the month of March, CJI tracked the status of House and Senate bills that could potentially impact prison population or JRI in any way. Any concerns were discussed with GOCCP. CJI also discussed a small subset of bills with the Governor’s Office
At GOCCP’s request, CJI provided information on pretrial practices to assist in future funding decisions on pretrial programs with savings (per SB1005).
CJI met with GOCCP to follow up on the following items: draft Oversight Board meeting agenda CJI developed with Judge Long; timeline for getting baseline performance measures; status of parole commission implementation items; and status of appointments to local government board and advisory board.
Oversight Board: CJI assisted GOCCP and Oversight Board Chair Judge Long by writing a memo to send to Secretaries and Chief Judges asking each to identify a point of contact for their respective agencies involved in JRI. CJI and GOCCP will work with the contacts to obtain monthly updates about their JRI implementation progress.
CJI met with Judge Long to discuss the next Oversight Board meeting and prepared a draft annotated agenda for the meeting. Judge Long also asked CJI to help with the following: obtaining probation caseloads by county after hearing concerns about Probation’s ability to effectively supervise individuals; interpretation of a bill that would have required the Oversight Board to direct funding towards certain correctional programming; talking points for an April presentation to the Division of Probation and Parole; help framing a May presentation at a behavioral health roundtable; and a summary of revocation caps in place in other CJI states.
Division of Probation and Parole (DPP): CJI also assisted DPP in reviewing its Intake Policy to include the risk assessment screener and an overview of earned compliance credits and the certificate of rehabilitation with the clients.
CJI met with GOCCP while onsite in April. Many topics were discussed during these meetings including the importance of performance measures and messaging of JRI. GOCCP and CJI discussed three buckets with which to frame measures and communications: diversion/deflection, rehabilitation, and release/reentry.
Oversight Board: CJI assisted GOCCP and Judge Long (Chair of the Oversight Board) in drafting a memo to begin interagency communication about JRI. In addition, CJI has assisted Judge Long by providing talking points for two presentations. His first presentation was to all supervisors within the Division of Parole and Probation and the second was for a behavioral health roundtable about JRI and behavioral health.
In addition, CJI attended the Oversight Board meeting in April. During the meeting, the Board discussed: the legislative activity that occurred since the last meeting; the Heroin and Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement Initiative; the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) also presented on the capacity of substance abuse evaluations and treatment; the projections for applications for modification or reduction of drug mandatory minimum sentences; and DPSCS discussed the innovation teams implementation progress. Following the meeting CJI met with GOCCP and the Governor’s Office to debrief.
GOCCP: CJI advised the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) on the possible roles of the Local Commission and Advisory Board to further JRI, as the roles are not clearly defined in the legislation. CJI also provided information and talking points to Judge Long for the Baltimore Behavioral Health Roundtable. Given that revocation caps are a key SB1005 policy, the Oversight Board Chair wanted to have a broader understanding of caps and their impact in other states to be able to address any concerns of the judiciary. CJI provided Judge Long with examples of states that implemented similar revocation caps to Maryland’s caps and their outcomes.
JRI Implementation Communication: GOCCP received the first round of monthly reports from the agencies in May and provided them to CJI for review and compilation. The quality of information provided was mixed, so the JRA director is scheduling meetings with key agencies and divisions to obtain more information.
During May, CJI met with GOCCP, the Division of Probation and Parole (DPP), and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) while onsite. CJI met with GOCCP to discuss performance measures and how the three categories of JRI (diversion/deflection, reentry, and rehabilitation) should be incorporated in the performance measure strategy. In addition, during the month of May, CJI met with GOCCP about a communication strategy and developed next steps including an assessment of the current stakeholder’s efforts, an assessment of what resources are being utilized to implement JRI, and messaging JRI in GOCCP.
Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP): During the June site visit, CJI met with GOCCP to discuss current JRI efforts and to meet the new Justice Reinvestment Director. CJI also met with the Oversight Board Chairman Judge Long to discuss how CJI can continue to support his role. In addition, CJI attended the first Advisory Board meeting, where GOCCP staff presented to the Advisory Board of their role and the JRI package as a whole. During the month of June, CJI provided GOCCP with a framework to assist them in discussions on the progress of JRI to date and how the agencies have (or plan to) further JRI efforts.
During the month of July, CJI continued to work with GOCCP on their BJA JRI subaward white paper, which described the types of grants GOCCP will be awarding to agencies and how agencies can request funds. The solicitation was released in July, and GOCCP is accepting applications through August 23. CJI has sent GOCCP a recommendation for the process of reviewing the grant applications for the subaward. Additionally, GOCCP has made progress in their data collection plan for performance measures. They are working with the agencies to see what information they can actually capture. Once this has been established, GOCCP will start to receive information to create baseline measures. To improve communication with the public and Maryland agencies, GOCCP, with CJI’s guidance, created their first monthly newsletter. Since this is a new venture, GOCCP is acquiring the process to publish this newsletter through the Governor’s Office. This first newsletter covers what JRI is, the national context of JRI, and the role of GOCCP in JRI. It also includes a ‘spotlight’ which discusses an outstanding program.
During the month of August, CJI worked with GOCCP to finalize and submit their BJA JRI subaward application. The white paper solicitation was released in July, and GOCCP accepted applications through August 23. If approved for the funds, the Oversight Board will review the applications and make funding recommendations to the GOCCP Executive Director (Glenn Fueston). Once Glenn has approved the funding recommendations, the submissions will be approved through CJI.
CJI continued to support the Chair of the Oversight Board and GOCCP in planning the quarterly Oversight Board meetings. The Oversight Board held its quarterly meeting on August 28th. The topics discussed in the Oversight Board meeting included updates on implementation from the core stakeholders and a discussion on performance measures. The following ‘core stakeholders’ presented at the meeting: Chief David Lashar and Deputy Chief Webster Ye, Department of Health; Executive Director Patricia Goins-Johnson, Division of Field Support Services; Commissioner John Greene, Maryland Parole Commission; Executive Director Joe Clocker, Division of Parole and Probation; Administrator Constance Parker, Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; Chief Judge John Morrissey, and Judge Kathleen Gallogly Cox, Administrative Office of the Courts, Chair Robert Green, Local Government Justice Reinvestment Commission; and Russell Butler, Victims’ Rights.
The Local Government Justice Reinvestment Commission also held their first meeting in August to learn about JRI and their role in the initiative, discuss performance measures, and discuss the assessment of local programs and services available by county.
While onsite in October, CJI met with the Chair of the Oversight Board Judge Long to discuss communication with all the Board members of the Oversight Board, the Advisory Board, and the Local Government Justice Reinvestment Commission. In addition, CJI met with Chief District Court Judge Morrissey to discuss JRI and potential challenges the AOC may face with implementation. CJI also met with Cara Sullivan, Deputy Legislative Officer, to discuss potential legislation that could impact the implementation of JRI.
During the month of October, GOCCP, released a press release in conjunction with the October 1st JRA effective date. The press release covers what JRI is, the national context of JRI, and the key components of SB1005.
The Oversight Board met on 11/15 and the agenda included the following topics: (1) agency implementation updates from the Maryland Department of Health, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Administrative Office of the Courts, Maryland Parole Commission, and Local Detention Centers; (2) a presentation from the State’s Attorney’s Office discussing the impact of JRI on specialty courts, the RICO statute, and driving infractions; (3) an update from the Victim Notification Workgroup; and (4) an update on the Victim Restitution Workgroup. A bill may be introduced as a result of the State’s Attorney’s concerns about the RICO statute. Board members pushed back on the State’s Attorney’s Office regarding revocation caps and the problem solving courts. The State’s Attorney’s representative indicated a need for more than 15 days for the first revocation for problem solving courts because the participants may need sober time; however, Senator Hough stated that, consistent with the HOPE Model, revocations should be 1-3 days in custody for technical violations. Senator Hough indicated that he would like to see the data to support their request before more conversations are had. After the Oversight Board meeting, through conversation, the Specialty Courts Coordinator said the problem solving courts do not need more than 15 days for first revocations and Senator Hough was correct that for the first violation, individuals only go into custody for a few days.
While onsite in December, CJI met with GOCCP and Judge Long to take inventory of the status of the TTA work, where Maryland currently stands with implementation, and next steps. GOCCP continues to struggle with obtaining the performance measure data from the agencies. GOCCP 1) met with Secretary Moyer and he supported providing the data; 2) successfully got the Governor to sign an Executive Order for DPSCS to provide data; and, submitted a research request to DPSCS that will be reviewed in January 2018. To date, no data has been received by GOCCP, but there has been an indication that once the research request is reviewed data will be sent to GOCCP.
While onsite in January, CJI met with Judge Long in preparation for the Oversight Board meeting and assisted in providing talking points for him to facilitate the meeting. The Oversight Board met on 1/29 and the agenda included the following: (1) Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) data system and restitution collection; (2) JRA basic baseline measures (based off data from DPSCS) including 8-505 & 8-507 placements and implementation measurement; and (3) agency implementation updates from the Maryland Department of Health, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Administrative Office of the Courts, Maryland Parole Commission, and Local Detention Centers.
GOCCP reported that the Ethics Commission has questioned the Oversight Board being able to determine who can receive funds. There is concern that there are agency representatives on the Board, and the Commission believes this may create a bias. CJI provided GOCCP with the language from the bill giving the Oversight Board the power and authority to make this determination, which is clearly stated and defined in the legislation.
Local Government Justice Reinvestment Commission Meeting:
1) GOCCP provided an update in implementation
2) GOCCP provided an updated on performance measures
3) MD State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy – presentation on the Alternatives to Detention Report
4) GOCCP presented on their Program Inventory findings – less than half of the counties have reentry programming in the jails
Oversight Board Meeting:
1) MD State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy – Presentation on the Alternatives to Detention Report.
2) Legislative Updates – Del. Dumais and Don Hogan provided an update. It is viewed that SB101 is a victory since Zirkin’s bill (SB122) did not pass forward. This was the medium and SB101 does not have the vast impact on the prison population that SB122 had.
3) JRA Performance Measures – The Judiciary is not comfortable with their data and is going to convene a workgroup to examine further. DPSCS provided minimal aggregate data. The overall messages: the prison numbers are down and JRI is not increasing the statewide local population.
4) Agency Updates – each agency provided an update:
• Department of Health – the 8-507 treatment placement is 9.6 days; there are no bed shortages; they are working with the providers on quality of the treatment.
• Division of Field Support Services – increasing programs in the facilities (went through UCCI-CBI-SA training); began recruiting staff for the assessment team; received grant to increase evidence based curricula in facilities
• Administrative Office of the Courts – still working on the mandatory minimum hearings which has been burdensome on the public defenders
• Parole Commission – they are collecting their data manually until their dashboard is up and running; there may need to be adjustments to the medical or geriatric parole legislation (but the audience stated that they need evidence on why this needs to be changed)
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