Young Adults (18 - 24)

Grantee has been working on making changes to the budget to submit to BJA for approval. During the meeting, discussed some additional changes BJA requested and TA provider discussed possible ways to further detail the necessary changes in the budget, as well as discussion for further use of requested equipment. Additionally, TA provider discussed grant progress.

CSG Justice Center staff met with PJ Almorena, Lani, and Denise about the upcoming senate meeting to introduce the reentry court into legislation.

In August, Vera met by phone with Mary McComb from MDOC to review transition timelines for her position (Restricted Housing Manager), and discuss new policy revisions being made in order to comply with DOJ Guiding Principles. Vera also sent a preliminary data analysis to Mary McComb and MDOC research staff.

In August, Vera clarified site visit logistics with NDOC and learned final important details about the three facilities visited during upcoming site visit. Vera conducted a site visit to High Desert State Prison where the team learned about policies and practices related to segregation, facility operations and population breakdown, and special populations and programs at the facility. Vera also conducted a focus group with staff and a focus group with incarcerated people, and went on a tour of HDSP.

In August, Vera reviewed VADOC’s submission of qualitative and quantitative descriptive data including a data dictionary, disciplinary offense report information, and various other restrictive housing specific documents. The data request focused on four categories of statistical information: average daily population; admissions to segregation; releases from segregation; and disciplinary segregation.

In August, Vera conducted two TA calls with Utah. The first informational phone call with UDC's site lead (Jerry Pope, Director of Prison Operations) focused on rescheduling the upcoming external stakeholder meeting with representatives from Utah's local ACLU and Disability Law Center. The purpose of this planning activity was twofold: 1) to understand how the unique relationship between UDC, ACLU and DLC developed overtime, and 2) to cultivate and promote greater collaboration between all the SAS Initiative sites and their respective external stakeholders.

In August, Vera submitted an interim report to the Louisiana DOC (LADOC) that memorialized the first and second site visits in the first half of the year. The report shared what Vera has learned about the LADOC system as well as summarized our site visits. Additionally, Vera conducted the third site visit with LADOC in August. For this trip, Vera met with staff and leadership and toured the medium security facility of Rayburn Correctional Center.

In August, Vera conducted a call with NCDPS to check in about implementation progress being made, how implementation of the revised disciplinary process is going, when NCDPS will be able to send Vera the next round of outcomes data, and more.

During the MSU Researcher Practitioner Fellows Academy held in Lansing, MI, CSG Justice Center staff met with the team present: Dr. Baker, Matte Mathews, and Sherry Ballenger. Discussions centered around their new ATPromise Center opening August 1st. The team described the enthusiasm of the neighboring community for the Center to open. They are waiting on the P & I Guide approval. Other work includes bolstering community engagement on the Task Force. Dr. Baker shared press releases and other media about the Center’s opening. 

CSG Justice Center staff met with grantee at the Smart Suite Academy to discussion progress on their P&I Guide