txsmartsupervision

Objective 2: Technology Development Technical Assistance In September, Recidiviz hosted representatives from the Parole Division of TDCJ at their Annual Partners Summit on September 18-20 in Seattle, Washington. They utilized that time to discuss TDCJ priorities and opportunities for Recidiviz to support their departmental goals. The Recidiviz engineering team spent the month of September continuing to ingest TDCJ data and connect with the TDCJ IT team to ask questions.

7/31: In-person meeting with Rene Hinojosa (Director, TDCJ), Monica de Velasco (Deputy Division Director, TDCJ), Amanda Lowe (Deputy Division Director, TDCJ), Joe Ballez (Parole Division Region IV Director, TDC), Linde Hoffman (State Engagement Manager, Recidiviz) Santy Mendoza (Implementation Engineer, Recidiviz), and Brenda Li (Implementation Engineer Recidiviz) to discuss site visit findings and discuss IT-related updates to the tool. (7 participants, representing 2 agencies)

7/31: CSG Justice Center staff and Recidiviz staff met with parole officers at Austin II Parole Office.
o In person conversation with two parole officers and Linde Hoffman (State Engagement Manager, Recidiviz) to discuss reporting processes and process for tracking and inputting contacts. (3 participants, representing 2 agencies)
o In-person conversation with one parole officer to learn about their experience working under current TDCJ policies surrounding contact standards and the new pilot program in the Austin office. (1 participant, representing 1 agency)

7/31: In-person meeting with Rene Hinojosa (Director, TDCJ), Monica de Velasco (Deputy Division Director, TDCJ), Amanda Lowe (Deputy Division Director, TDCJ), and Joe Ballez (Parole Division Region IV Director, TDC) to discuss site visit findings and brainstorm the contact standards assessment/review plan. (4 participants, representing 1 agency)

7/30: CSG Justice Center and Recidiviz staff met with parole officers at Georgetown Parole Office and Parole Supervisor Kimberly Mach. In person conversation with one parole officer and Linde Hoffman (State Engagement Manager, Recidiviz) to discuss reporting processes and methods for tracking and inputting contacts. (2 participants, representing 2 agencies) In person conversation with one parole officer and Linde Hoffman (State Engagement Manager, Recidiviz) to discuss reporting processes and methods for tracking and inputting contacts.

7/30: In-person meeting with James Lowe (Web Administrator II, TDCJ), Gabriel Bravo (Software Engineer, TDCJ), Geoffrey Walter (Application Programmer, TDCJ), Kenneth Thompson (Programmer IV, TDCJ), Leonol Bravo Jr. (IT, TDCJ), Matthew Kuruvilla (IT Business Analyst IV, TDCJ), Santy Mendoza (Implementation Engineer, Recidiviz), and Brenda Li (Implementation Engineer Recidiviz) to resolve data issues and get update on data transfer processes from TDCJ's IT team. (8 participants, representing 2 agencies)

Objective 1: Individualized Technical Assistance to Grantees In August, TDCJ conducted interviews for the vacant Parole Agent 4 (PO4) position; however, no applicant was selected. TDCJ reposted the position for one week, and HR is currently vetting applicants for interviews. CSG Justice Center staff continued discussions regarding the completion of the first Anger Management on Parole Virtual program. TDCJ reports that the first group concluded on August 2 with 64 participants.

Objective 2: Technology Development Technical Assistance Throughout August, Recidivz and CSG Justice Center staff synthesized the findings from the July site visit, which included Recidiviz requesting additional data from TDCJ IT based on observations and updating internal product documents to reflect new insights into user needs and Texas-specific considerations. The CSG Justice Center team began developing a supervision assessment plan that reflected the July in-person conversations.

Objective 1: Individualized Technical Assistance to Grantees In July, CSG Justice Center staff did not meet with TDCJ regarding the Anger Management on Parole programming due to suspension for inclement weather. Classes have since resumed post-hurricane. TDCJ posted the position to replace the staff member who resigned in June.

Objective 2: Technology Development Technical Assistance On July 18, Recidiviz received the first batch of data from TDCJ and began to review and ingest that data. CSG Justice Center and Recidiviz staff conducted a site visit to Texas on 7/29-7/31 to meet with leadership, go through the data granularly with TDCJ IT, and meet with field staff to learn of their needs and scope the contact standards tool and relevant processes.