In September, CSG Justice Center staff continued to engage agency leaders around implementation of Montana’s justice reinvestment policies, focusing assistance on the first convening of the Criminal Justice Oversight Council, preparing for an October 1st effective date related to presentence investigations, and finalizing the state’s implementation priorities for the justice reinvestment subaward application.
The Criminal Justice Oversight Council convened their first meeting on September 6th in Helena, Montana. The 14-member council was chaired by Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) Director. Council members received an overview of justice reinvestment policies by CSG Justice Center staff, discussed challenges facing implementation, and identified a need for a coordinated stakeholder engagement strategy. The council will meet quarterly during the first year of implementation to ensure progress and address challenges in a timely manner.
In September, CSG Justice Center staff assisted MDOC on the development of the Montana Incentive and Intervention Grid (MIIG), finalizing the presentence investigation process in preparation for an October 1st effective date, and conducted additional on-site observations of MDOC programming to provide feedback on the quality and capacity of MDOC in meet the needs of parole board decision-making.
Montana leaders continue to refine subaward priorities and projects. They are preparing to submit their first request, which has required additional time due to staff having to focus time and attention to submitting unrelated, revised budget requests to the Governor’s Office. Leaders have identified a need for a JRI Coordinator, and will be including that position in their initial request. Additionally, MDOC will identify the Correctional Programming Checklist (CPC) by the University of Cincinnati as their preferred program evaluation tool for both internal and external programming evaluations, and will include a proposal for training in the tool in their subaward application.
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• Meeting of the Criminal Justice Oversight Council (CJOC) with members MDOC Director, 48th District Senator, 74th District Respresentative, 52nd District Representative, Montana Supreme Court Administrator, MDOC Chief Information Officer, Montana Parole Board Member, Administrator (Addictive and Mental Disorders Division, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services), CCCS Program Coordinator, Chief Executive Officer (Boyd Andrew Community Services), Dawson County Sheriff and Crow Indian Reservation Attorney/Tribal Member. Council members 30th District Senator and Public Policy &Legal Director (Montana Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence) were absent from the meeting. CJOC members received an overview of justice reinvestment legislation by CSG Justice Center staff, were provided a copy of MDOC’s annual CJOC report, learned of implementation progress, and discussed next steps of the oversight council. Thirty members of the public attended the CJOC meeting, which included agency leaders, reentry organizations, county attorneys, representatives of the governor’s office and the media.
• Meeting with 48th District Senator, 74th District Respresentative, 52nd District Representative, and MDOC Director to discuss the Criminal Justice Oversight Council meeting.
• Meeting with MDOC Director, MDOC Deputy Director and five MDOC staff to discuss the outcome of the CJOC meeting, MDOC budget, and a stakeholder engagement strategy.
• Meeting with Lewis and Clark County Sheriff to discuss the impact of justice reinvestment policies on county jails and how CSG Justice Center staff can engage sheriffs throughout the state during phase II of justice reinvestment.
• Meeting with Administrator (Probation and Parole Division, MDOC), MDOC Government Relations Director and three MDOC staff to discuss lessons learned with Idaho’s Response Matrix with Lead Probation and Parole Officer (Idaho Department of Corrections).
• Meeting with Program Director (Montana Healthcare Foundation) to discuss the justice reinvestment project and its connection to MT’s larger health policy initiatives.
• Observation of chemical dependency program at Montana Women’s Prison (MWP) with MDOC Quality Assurance Specialist . Montana Women’s Prison staff meeting with MDOC Quality Assurance Specialist and MDOC Quality Assurance Office Director, to discuss the justice reinvestment project and how parole board transitions are impacting their daily operations.
• Observation of anxiety/depression group at Montana Women’s Prison (MWP) with MDOC Quality Assurance Specialist .
• 9/1: Call with John Daugherty, Montana Parole Board Member and four MDOC staff to prepare for the Criminal Justice Oversight Council (CJOC) which will be held on September 6, 2017.
• 9/7: Call with CEPP Senior Manager to coordinate on the October parole board training.
• 9/15: Call with MDOC Deputy Director and Montana Parole Board Member and seven MDOC staff to discuss observations of programming at Montana Woman’s Prison, data monitoring, and a website for justice reinvestment information.
• 9/15: Call with MDOC Chief Information Officer and Bureau Chief (Data Quality and Statistics, MDOC) to discuss data monitoring and the reporting of data metrics by MDOC.
• 9/15: Call with Director (Quality Assurance, MDOC) and Quality Assurance Specialist (MDOC) to discuss findings from observations conducted at Montana Women’s Prison.
• 9/22: Call with Administrator (Probation and Parole Division, MDOC), Chief Executive Officer (Boyd Andrew Community Services), and six MDOC staff to discuss modifications to MDOC's Montana Incentives and Interventions Grid (MIIG) as a result of Senate Bills 63 and 64.
• 9/25: Call with Montana Parole Board Member to discuss parole guidelines, data collection, and the upcoming parole board training in October.
• 9/28: Call with MDOC Deputy Director, Montana Parole Board Member and six MDOC staff to discuss the status of the MDOC budget, progress on Montana’s subaward application, and the use of the Correctional Program Checklist (CPC) as their program evaluation tool. Additionally, we discussed CSG Justice Center staff’s attendance and participation in a Public Defenders Association meeting, a Substance Use Summit which is co-sponsored by MDOC, and a County Attorney Association meeting.
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