STRATEGIC PLANNING ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR US STATE PAROLE BOARDS

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL PAROLE RESOURCE CENTER: 

STRATEGIC PLANNING ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR UP TO SIX U.S. PAROLE BOARDS

The National Parole Resource Center (NPRC) is pleased to announce the availability of targeted strategic planning assistance to a limited number of parole boards in 2013[1].  Requests for such assistance are invited and must be received by NPRC by Tuesday, January 22, 2013 in order to be considered.

NPRC Background

The National Parole Resource Center (NPRC) was established with funding from BJA in 2009 to provide training, technical assistance, and specialized information resources designed to address the unique perspective and responsibilities of state paroling authorities. A partnership of the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI), and the Urban Institute, supported by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the NPRC seeks to provide state paroling authorities with information, assistance, and support emerging from sound research and practice in order to strengthen the work of state paroling authorities within the larger context of the criminal justice system.

Description of Assistance to Be Provided

In its work to date, the NPRC has been able to support a number of boards as they have engaged in a strategic planning process.  These boards have expressed appreciation for this experience.  They have seen it as an opportunity to set aside the ongoing pressures of individual case reviews and decisionmaking, and to work together as a policy making team to shape their overall strategy. 

Current funding now enables the NPRC to work with six parole boards in designing and facilitating a strategic planning process.  This strategic planning technical assistance will create the opportunity for members of a participating board to work together as a team. Supported by NPRC staff, members will engage in a discussion of Board members’ mutual interests and goals to define areas of common ground and vision so that participating boards are able to plan for the future with clarity and undertake a more deliberate approach to their work.  They will be helped to consider and articulate a clear vision for their collective future as a Board, and to focus on deliberate, strategic approaches to parole policy and decision making. 

This assistance will be delivered by staff from the NPRC with extensive experience in working with our nation’s parole boards on a variety of strategic planning and decisionmaking issues.   Up to six sites will be selected through a competitive application process.  Three applying Boards will be invited to participate in the first phase of assistance (to be delivered between March and July 2013) and three additional applying Boards will be invited to participate in the second phase of assistance (to be delivered between August and December 2013).  NPRC will provide strategic planning assistance: off-site preparation for  a strategic planning retreat, on-site facilitation of a multi-day strategic planning retreat tailored to meet the needs of each paroling authority, and off-site (and possibly additional on-site) follow-up to the six parole boards. 

How to Apply for Assistance

A formal letter from interested U.S., state (non-federal/military) parole boards (described below) should be submitted in order to allow the NPRC to select with confidence six boards that are committed to and recognize the benefit of strategic planning to their daily work and to the value of their work as a board. 

In order to apply, applicants should submit a brief letter of interest to Leilah Gilligan, Center for Effective Public Policy, via email at lgilligan@cepp.com with the subject line “NPRC Strategic Planning Application” This letter should:

·         Include a concise statement of why the Board wishes to receive this assistance at this particular time (e.g., because of a recent examination of practice, changes in legislation, or turnover among board members);

·         Provide a concise statement of any current or recently completed projects and initiatives the agency has been involved in (either as a result of legislation, new Board members or leadership, or of its own volition) to improve the agency’s performance. Of particular interest would be an update on the Board’s interest in and progress toward achieving alignment with the ten “practice targets” for parole boards as outlined by the NPRC, particularly those on which you have made the most significant progress, and the ones that have presented significant challenges  (the practice targets are listed at the end of this notice);

·         Be signed by the board chair and all board members in order to articulate the commitment of the entire Board to participate in the strategic planning session;

·         Identify one board member who will serve as the point of contact for the planning of on-site assistance and who will be the liaison to NPRC in providing off-site assistance and provide full contact information for  that member; and

·         Articulate a commitment to provide adequate meeting space in which to deliver on-site assistance.

To be considered for assistance between March and July, please submit letters by no later than Tuesday, January 22, 2013.  Applications received after that date will be considered for the second phase of assistance.  Questions about the application process should be directed to: Leilah Gilligan, Project Manager, National Parole Resource Center, at 301-589-9383 or lgilligan@cepp.com. 

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[1] Regrettably, this assistance is limited to non-federal, U.S. parole boards only.  Our grant funding prohibits applications from military, federal, or international boards. 

Ten Practice Targets for Paroling Authorities (NPRC)

1.      Use good, empirically-based actuarial tools to assess risk and criminogenic needs of offenders. 

2.      Develop and use clear, evidence-based, policy-driven decisionmaking tools, policies, and guidelines that reflect the full range of a paroling authority’s concerns (e.g., punishment, victim issues, community safety, etc.).

3.      Maintain meaningful partnerships with institutional corrections and community supervision (and others) to encourage a seamless transition process and the availability of sound, evidence-based programs.

4.      Use their influence and leverage to target institutional and community resources to mid and high risk offenders to address their criminogenic needs.

5.      Consider for release at the earliest stage possible—in light of statutes and other sentencing interests—offenders assessed as low risk.

6.      Use the parole interview/hearing/review process as an opportunity to—among other goals—enhance offender motivation to change.

7.      Fashion condition setting policy to minimize requirements on low-risk offenders, and target conditions to criminogenic needs of medium and high risk offenders.

8.      Develop policy-driven, evidence-informed responses to parole violations that incorporate considerations of risk, criminogenic need and severity, assure even-handed treatment of violators, and utilize resources wisely.

9.      Develop and strengthen case-level decision making skills/capacities in these areas.

10.  Develop and strengthen agency level policy making, strategic management and performance measurement skills/capacities.

 

Fewer Americans Behind Bars, BJS Reports

For the third straight year, fewer Americans were under "correctional supervision"--a catch-all description that includes prisons, jails, probation, and parole--in 2011.

That was the major finding of a U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report released today.  Read more...

Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons?

A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums

This 128-page report is the first comprehensive examination of how compassionate release in the federal system works. Congress authorized compassionate release because it realized that changed circumstances could make continued imprisonment senseless and inhumane, Human Rights Watch and FAMM said. But if the Bureau of Prisons refuses to bring prisoners’ cases to the courts, judges cannot rule on whether release is warranted. Since 1992, the Bureau of Prisons has averaged annually only two dozen motions to the courts for early release, out of a prison population that now exceeds 218,000. Read more...

Prison rehab tied to parole decisions

Parole board decisions can have a huge impact on whether or not prisoners are motivated to rehabilitate, according to a study co-authored by SFU economics professor Steeve Mongrain.

Mongrain and his colleagues argue that parole boards need to consider the length of prisoners’ original sentences as well as their behaviour in prison when granting early parole and determining eligibility for parole review.  Read more...

NIC hosts Parole Board Executives Training

BLENDED LEARNING

Live Interactive Online Training • Classroom-Based Training

 

Parole Board

Executives

A Training Program

 

Course Description

 

NIC continues to recognize the value of orientation for new parole board executives.  This course focuses on the key roles, responsibilities, and challenges facing parole board executives in the 21^st century.  This 40-hour program will equip parole board executives with the knowledge and skills they need to operate a paroling authority using evidence-based practice.  The course emphasizes the critical role of collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders to increase offender success and public safety.   The program uses a peer interaction process.  Mandatory course components include online sessions, face-to-face training and independent assignments.

 

 Criteria for Acceptance into This Training

• Newly hired parole board executives and current executives with less than 5 years of service and who are responsible for leading the paroling authority.  And  executives who have not been exposed to training for parole boards.
• Must be able to complete all pre- and post-training assignments.
• Must be able to attend all three days of the face-to-face trainin gand all WebEx session

Training Date/Time and Location

Two WebEx Session (on-line): TBD

Face-to-Face Session: January 8-10, 2013

Lodging Site

Aurora, CO

 

Application Deadline

November 26, 2013

 

How to Apply

Follow the online application instructions found on the NIC

website at http://nic.learn.com.  Training - #13C4504

 

Lodging, Food, and Travel

NIC will pay for participants’ roundtrip airfare, lodging, and

meals (breakfast and dinner). NIC also provides the training and materials at no cost to participants.

 

For More Information Robbye Braxton

Correctional Program Specialist

202-514-4562

Email: rbraxtonmintz@bop.gov

 

Namibia: Life Sentence Prisoners Want Clarity On Parole

A GROUP of prisoners serving life sentences have lodged a case with the High Court in Windhoek in a bid to get clarity about their prospects of being released on parole.

The 24 long-term inmates of Windhoek Central Prison want the court to indicate to them how many years they have to spend in prison before they will be qualifying to be released on parole.  Read more...

Warwick Gendall - from judge to gatekeeper

In one of his final trials as a Crown prosecutor, Justice Warwick Gendall was tasked with sending reviled sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson to jail. Now, 17 years later, he has been named chairman of the Parole Board - and just as he arrives in the job, the man he worked so hard to put behind bars has been freed. Clio Francis reports.

After 45 years in the law, Justice Gendall is no longer surprised by coincidences. In 1996, months before he became a High Court judge, he was the lead prosecutor in the Crown case against Stewart Murray Wilson, the man reviled as the Beast of Blenheim.  Read more...

Update from Uganda from APAI Secretary

The African Correctional Services Association conference ended yesterday. The presentations by various African nations has been very informative. I was especially impressed with the presentation of the Lesotho Correctional Services. Lesotho is a small mountain country completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. 

Lesotho has a population of 1.8 million people. Their prison population is just over 2,400 with 61 female inmates and 43 juvenile inmates. The Lesotho Correctional Services does home interviews with the community, village chief, neighbors and victims as a means of addressing their concerns when inmates are reintegrating into the community. They utilize Restorative Justice, Victim-Offender meetings; and focus on Ho'Oponopono in community peace building (for those who are not aware of it: Ho'Oponopono is a Ancient Hawaiian approach that includes personal accountability and forgiveness - recognizing we are all one). Lesotho also has conditional parole and amensty and they include victim input into these processes. There is mandatory education for prisoners and they are provided vocational skills. The religious and faith based communities play a key role in volunteer programs and in the provision of clothing and toiletries.


We have also had some presentations from some NGOs. We ended the day with a very long road trip to Jinji, to see where Lake Victoria (the world's largest tropical lake) flows into and begins the White Nile River. 

Today there are some supplemental workshops about Corrections in Peace Keeping missions (such as in S. Sudan) and also on Rehabilitation through Educational and Vocational Programmes with examples from Nigeria, Kenya, and Burundi. 

Most nations have a form of parole in their laws, but most have not begun to implement parole; Zambia and South Africa have implemented parole with the assistance and training provide by the National Parole Board of Canada. 

Kenya has is currently working to develop parole guidelines; they have parole legislation but have not implement parole yet. They have 650 probation officers and they use probation hostels as a way to address some of the challenges of addressing the myriad issues of a diverse rural population. In the last 15-20 years, Kenya has begun to include victim participation in their criminal justice processes. There is victim impact at sentencing and probation officers are required to include victim input in their pre-sentence reports. Kenya is currently has Victims Rights Act legislation being introduced.

Zambia uses Victim Offender Mediation as well. 

South Africa reports that they have 50,000 people on parole and probation. They are utilizing risk and needs and taking a holistic approach to rehabilitation of offenders. The parole board in S. Africa is an independent body attached to the Commission of Prisons.

Basic human needs in prisons is a huge issue across Africa, as is access to justice pre-trial. There are a number of NGOs, including the Civil Justice Society, that are working with several African countries to address the horrendous problem of pre-trial detainment that significantly impacts prison overcrowding. In Uganda, 54% of the prison population are people who are awaiting trial. A component of the pre-trial problem is the difficulty in communicating with the families of persons arrested. The infrastructure in Africa is not like in America where we have phones, cell phones and street addresses for most people.

I will update you further over the next few days.

I continue to be touched by the kindness of the African people. Jeri

APAI Secretary Photos from Uganda Trip

Photos of the Africa visit can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3753190677501.2132139.1508439119&type=1&l=30cff92708

Update from Uganda with APAI Secretary Jeri Costa

Very interesting tour of a Women's prison yesterday. We had a police escort with 9 vehicles of officials and delegates. If we did not have the police escort we would have been stuck in Kampala traffic for hours. Pictures and more info will be posted soon. 

Last night's banquet included phenomenal entertainment - traditional dancers and a Ugandan comedian; dancing and lots of music; fantastic food; and fireworks! Impressive 2nd Biennial conference for ACSA. Mozambique will be hosting the 3rd ACSA conference in 2014.

APAI Secretary Jeri Costa Reports from Uganda!

Greetings!
The African Correctional Services Association conference kicked off on Tuesday, October 2nd. Upon awakening we were greeted with a storm. The rain was a down pour and there was high wind. I braved the down pour using my conference brief case for cover to get to breakfast. The host committee was scrambling for covered vehicles to transport all the delegates up the hill to the conference center. They did an admirable job, however it did manage to set us back on the starting time.

 

It was quite impressive to see the officials and delegates in their official dress uniforms. I will post photos when possible. We were also entertained with lively singing from two groups of women prisoners and with a traditional dance performed by male inmates.

 

There are 22 heads of prison services here and 25 African Countries represented. There are interpreter services being provided by headphone for English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese speakers. The presentations have all been in English, with some of the commentary and questions being asked in other languages.

 

Today is the second day of the conference and it has contained some very informative and diverse information. Internet service remains sporadic. I am currently in the back of the conference room listening to a presentation while using the internet.

 

They break for a late morning tea just before noon and then break for lunch -- which is a very large buffet with a diversity of food choices – at 1p.m.

 

Last night was a cocktail session; however, I did not make it to the festivities. I was so tired that after the long day I went to refresh in my room and ended up falling asleep.

 

People here are so very nice. There have been some language challenges for me, especially with the housekeeping staff at the hotel; but, we have managed to communicate sufficiently. 

 

My presentation is scheduled for tomorrow morning and I am currently making some adjustments based on the presentations and discussions thus far. Thursday afternoon the Ugandan Prison Services (host committee) will be providing tour choices. I have chosen to tour a female prison.

 Much Love and Blessings to all!

APAI Secretary travels to Uganda

APAI Secretary Jeralita “Jeri” Costa will be  speaking  to the 2^nd Biennial African Correctional Services Association  Conference scheduled for October 2-5, 2012, in Kampala, Uganda .

She has been invited to speak there on the topic of: International Perspective on Parole: Lessons for Africa.

APAI is delighted to be able to support her travels there. Many African countries have expressed a keen interest in the work we do as many of them  have recently or are looking to in the near future, develop parole systems. Representative of the African countries are frequent visitors to APAI Conferences. We have enjoyed visiting and networking with them over the years.

Jeri has graciously agreed to keep us posted on her experiences at this conference via the APAI blog as time and circumstances permit. Therefore stay tuned to this  blog over the next week to read about her journey  and to find out more about our colleagues in Africa.  

Join the Executive Committee at APAI in wishing Jeri bon voyage and safe travels.

Report: Fewer Texans return to prison as state focuses on rehabilitation, treatment

Thanks partly to greatly expanded rehabilitation and treatment programs, Texas sent 11 percent fewer ex-convicts back to prison in recent years a significant drop in recidivism that is being replicated across the country, according to a new study.

The study, to be released today by the Council of State Governments' Justice Center project, shows that Texas' recidivism rate — the number of felons who return to prison within three years after they are discharged or paroled — posted the double-digit drop for prisoners released in 2007.  Read more...

Re-entry programs give former prisoners hope in the real world

Guy Moore knows the cost of a bad decision.

It started with a jewelry theft topping $5,000. A 10-month prison term followed. During that time, he lived in constant fear of violence in a 10-by-8 cell.

Then came July 28, 2011. That was the now 48-year-old’s release date from High Desert State Prison, or, as he says, “a day you don’t forget.”  Read more...

Australasian Parole Authorities Conference 2012

The Australasian Parole Authorities Conference 2012 is being held in Melbourne, Victoria from 31 October to 2 November 2012, hosted by the Adult Parole Board of Victoria and the Youth Parole and Youth Residential Boards of Victoria.

The theme for the conference is Parole into the Future,with a focus on the challenges that parole authorities are facing now and over the next few years. This year the list of presentations is very comprehensive and includes topics such as media management, business planning, professional development for decision-makers, and post-sentence supervision regimes.

At the conference, delegates will not only hear from experts on a wide range of issues, but there will also be the opportunity to visit a prison (Marngoneet), a youth justice centre (Parkville), a transitional facility (Judy Lazarus), and a new housing complex (Elizabeth Street Common Ground). The keynote address - "Setting the Scene - Where are we going to be in the next ten years?" - will be delivered by Professor Arie Freiberg, Dean of the Faculty of  Law, Monash University and Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.
To view the provisional program for the conference, as well as general and registration information, click HERE

Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root

In July, Texas' prison system posted its lowest head count in five years, even as the state's overall population continued to grow at a fast clip.

Instead of 156,500 prisoners behind bars in Texas' 111 state prisons a year ago, the lockups now hold just over 154,000 — a drop of about 2,500, according to state statistics. Texas, which historically has had one of the highest incarceration rates per capita of the 50 states, is now in fourth place, down from second two years ago.  Read more...

Pennsylvania eyes overhaul of parole process

Halfway houses a focus of program

HARRISBURG -- State officials are working to streamline parole interviews and focus halfway house rehabilitation on their parolees as they implement a law designed to save millions of dollars in corrections spending.

Efficiency measures and program overhauls in the state's penitentiary system are expected to save $253 million over five years, according to numbers from the Senate Republican Caucus.  Read more...

Many criticize life sentences for juveniles, Terms with no parole called 'cruel and unusual'

SAN FRANCISCO — Sara Kruzan was 17 when she was sentenced to die in prison for killing and robbing a pimp in a Riverside motel.

Now, at 32, Kruzan has a chance at being freed, along with thousands of other juveniles convicted of murder who were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read more...

Texas says rise in paroles gives state bragging rights

Officials say reforms are 'smart on crime' and save money.

Texas continues a steady march away from its Old West image of being tough on crime to one that state leaders now call "smart on crime" and even fiscally "right on crime."

Nothing makes that more apparent than the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole's newly released bragging rights: More prisoners were paroled this past fiscal year than any other year in the past decade, and fewer parolees are being sent back.  Read more...

Arizona parolees to pay drug test fees

Arizona stands to save $500,000 a year under a new law that requires parolees to pay a portion of their drug-testing fees each month, but prisoner advocates fear the additional costs will strain personal budgets.

The law goes into effect Thursday, but Arizona Department of Corrections legislative liaison Jennifer Bowser said the state has yet to determine how much the parolee will pay and when the new requirement will actually be implemented.

"This change is an efficiency, cost-saving thing," Bowser said.  Read more...

Governor Patrick may sign ‘three strikes’ bill

But urges lawmakers to agree to changes

Governor Deval Patrick signaled Tuesday that he may be open to signing a high-profile crime bill if lawmakers agree to make changes next year.

At the same time, Patrick said he had made no final decision about the bill, which is currently on his desk.

“It’s a good bill; it’s not a great bill,” Patrick told reporters just ­before he entered a meeting with House and Senate leaders. “There’s a lot of work that has not yet been done, and I’m hoping that I can get a commitment from the leadership, a commitment to come back and do some of it at the beginning of the next session.”

The bill approved by lawmakers last week would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for drug ­offenses, a Patrick priority, while making many repeat violent offenders ineligible for parole under a much-debated “three-strikes” provision.  Read more...

Gov. Tom Corbett signs Pennsylvania prison reform into law

Prison reform became law on Thursday, sort of.

Gov. Tom Corbett signed Senate Bill 100, which incorporated many of the reform proposals recommended by his Justice Reinvestment Working Group and which passed both the House and the Senate unanimously.

The new law seeks to divert nonviolent, addicted offenders from state prison by better treating their addiction issues at the local level. The law provides for evidence-based practices in county probation departments in line with a program that has proven very successful in Hawaii.  Read more...

PEW Releases Study on "Time Served" in Prison and Its Cost and Consequences

The PEW Center on the States recently released a study regarding the incresed amount of time prisoners are serving in prison and the cost and consequences of requiring longer time to serve.  Researchers found that the length of time served in prison has increased markedly over the last two decades. Howver extended prison sentences came at a price: prisoners released from incarceration in 2009 cost states $23,300 per offender--or a total of over $10 billion nationwide. More than half of that amount was for non-violent offenders. Read more here  ...

Sex offenders sue over Facebook restrictions

Registered sex offenders who have been banned from social networking websites are fighting back in the nation's courts, successfully challenging many of the restrictions as infringements on free speech and their right to participate in common online discussions.

The legal battles pit public outrage over sex crimes against cherished guarantees of individual freedom and the far-reaching communication changes brought by Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other sites

Read more here...

80 Percent Of Male State Inmates Released In 2005 Arrested Again By 2010

Of the 14,400 men released from Connecticut prisons in 2005, nearly 80 percent were rearrested by 2010, and just under half returned to prison with new sentences, according to a just-completed report that contains the most detailed data ever compiled on the state's recidivism rate.

The report, by Office of Policy and Management statistical guru Ivan Kuzyk, is scheduled to be released Wednesday. It also separately tracked sex offenders within the group and found that only a small number committed new sex crimes.  Read more...

Eligibility and Capacity Impact Use of Flexibilities to Reduce Inmates' Time in Prison

BOP’s use of authorities to reduce a federal prisoner’s period of incarceration varies. BOP primarily utilizes three authorities—the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program (RDAP), community corrections, and good conduct time.

(1) Eligible inmates can participate in RDAP before release from prison, but those eligible for a sentence reduction are generally unable to complete RDAP in time to earn the maximum reduction (generally 12 months). During fiscal years 2009 through 2011, of the 15,302 inmates who completed RDAP and were eligible for a sentence reduction, 2,846 (19 percent) received the maximum reduction and the average reduction was 8.0 months. BOP officials said that participants generally do not receive the maximum reduction because they have less than 12 months to serve when they complete RDAP.  Read more...