Nominations for APAI Office Open

On behalf of Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI) Nominating Committee, I am hereby soliciting nominations for the office of President and the office of Treasurer of the Association. Pursuant to the APAI Constitution and By-laws these offices are up for election at the Annual Business Meeting to be conducted in conjunction with the 2014 Annual Training Conference in Denver, CO May 18 – 21 2014.

Pursuant to Section 3.4 of the APAI Constitution candidates for elected office must be individual or organizational members in good standing who are willing and able to fulfill the duties of said office, as defined in the Bylaws. Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the APAI Constitution elected officers shall serve two-year terms and may not serve for more than two elected consecutive terms in the same office.

President

• The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, speak on the behalf of the Association, and preside over all meeting of the Association.
• The President shall appoint Regional or Sectional Vice Presidents, and serve on the Executive and Finance Committees.
• The President shall oversee the activities of all officers, supervise the Chief Administrative Officer and function as the liaison between the Chief Administrative Officer and the Executive Committee and be responsible for the coordination of communications between the Association membership and other criminal justice professionals and organizations.

Treasurer

• The Treasurer shall oversee all financial affairs of the Association and provide information and support to the Finance Committee.
• The Treasurer and Chief Administrative Officer shall submit an annual budget containing personnel, operating and related fiscal information to the Executive Committee for approval a minimum of sixty days prior to consideration.
• The Treasurer shall present the Executive Committee approved Association budget to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting.

The Treasurer shall perform such other tasks as the President may assign. The holder of either office should be prepared to:

• Attend in-person Executive Committee meeting(s) generally held in conjunction with the annual chairs training and/or the annual training conference.
• Participate in monthly meetings of the Executive Committee conducted by teleconference.
• Attend other meetings and functions as necessary to carry out the business of the association.

Interested candidates or those seeking to nominate others for either of these offices should submit a nomination including the following information:
Name of nominee:
Officer for which nomination is being made:
Name of person making nomination:
Contact Information for nominee:
Contact information for person making nominations:
Statement of nominee’s qualifications (biography):

In order to insure timely processing, nominations must be received by 5:00 PM Eastern Time, March 14, 2014. Nominations should be sent to the Chief Administrative Officer e-mail at keith@apaintl.org

Members of the Nominating Committee:

• Trayce Thalheimer Ohio Parole Board
• Gerald Patterson, Army Clemency and Parole Board
• Tony Corda of the Nevada Parole Board
• George Carson, Kentucky Parole Board
• Lloyd Chilundika, National Parole Board of Zambia

MInnesota Reducing Recidivism

Minnesota is experiencing promising success in reducuing recidivism through a program based upon the state's TPC model. An article from the Minnesota Depertment of Corrections TPC News Updates is reprinted below:

Issue #16,
December 18, 2013
TPC as a Foundation 
By Lee Buckley, Community Transition Coordinator

 TPC is the foundation for all reentry programming. Take, for example, the Second Chance Act (SCA) High Risk Adult Recidivism Reduction Demonstration Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The grant uses the Minnesota TPC model to reduce recidivism for release violators transitioning from the MCF-Lino Lakes to communities in Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The project began in 2011, and is one of seven programs in the U.S. selected by the National Institute of Justice as part of a cross-site evaluation of BJA SCA Adult Reentry Demonstration projects. The project is funded and will operate through Sept. 30, 2015, and an assessment of the initial outcomes indicates a promising ability to change offender behavior and reduce new offense re-incarceration, and significant potential to reduce release revocations. A description and protocols document (posted to the TPC iShare site) details the framework of the project. Its structure includes all four components of the Minnesota TPC Linear Model with a key focus on engaging and collaborating with external stakeholders, case planning and management, and implementation of effective interventions. A “one-stop shop” community-based hub located in North Minneapolis, where offenders receive post-release case management, resources, referrals and more, serves as the core of the engagement and collaboration activity. The success of this demonstration project is a result of a dynamic team that includes staff from DOC Transitions Services, DOC Research, Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey County Community Corrections, the contracted community-based hub and four service providers, and the non-contracted providers who work collaboratively to serve this high-risk and high-need population. The success shows how effective the TPC model can be, and how it can make a difference for offendrs.

Sex Offender Training Available

The National Parole Resource Center (NPRC) a partnership of the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), the Association of Paroling Authorities International(APAI)and the Urban Institute, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), has just announced a new scholarship opportunity for training on sex offemders. The one day workshop will be conducted on May 17, 2014, immediatelty preceeding the APAI Annual Training Conference near Denver, Colorado. This is a great opportunity for parole board and releasing authority members and staff to receive excellent training. Partiicpants may schedule their air travel in such a way so as to stay for the entire APAI Annual Training Conference. They will however be responsible for conference fees and food and lodging during the days of the confenerce To read the announcement in its entirety, including application criteria and instructions, click HERE

Early jail release to be curtailed under government plans

People jailed for child rape or some terror offences will no longer be automatically released from jail halfway through their sentences, under government plans for England and Wales.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling says he also wants to curtail the early release of prisoners serving extended sentences for the most serious crimes.

About 600 prisoners a year are expected to be affected by the proposals.  Read more...

Prisoners detained for public protection win right to appear before Parole Board

Prisoners should have the right to appear in person before a Parole Board in cases where the fairness of their detention is in question, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The unanimous decision by Lord Neuberger, Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Clarke and Lord Reed, is likely to mean many prisoners who have served their sentence but are kept behind bars for reasons of “public protection” can appear in person to plead the case for their release.  Read more...

International Corrections and Prison Association Conference

Our colleagues at the International Corrections and Prison Association (ICPA) will be hosting their Annual Conference in the United States this year, October 27 thorugh November 1, 2013 in Colorado Springs. For more infomation visit thier website at: http://www.icpa.ca/calendar/icpa/

Montana Legislature sets sights on Parole Board's possible role in prison overcrowding

Examining whether board may be too stringent on granting or revoking parole for felons within Montana correctional system

HELENA — Montana’s parole board, which decides the fate of hundreds of state prison inmates each year, will be getting a hard look from the Legislature on its possible role in overcrowding Montana’s prison cells.

Beginning next month, a legislative panel kicks off a yearlong study of the board, examining whether the board may be too stringent on granting or revoking parole for felons within the Montana correctional system.

“We’re keeping so many people in prison for so long, nonviolent offenders, at tremendous cost to the taxpayer,” said Sen. Terry Murphy, R-Caldwell, the author of the bill leading to the study. “It just came to some of us that we really need to find out why that is.”

The study will be conducted by the Law and Justice Interim Committee, which has heard hours of testimony from families criticizing the board, accusing it of denying parole for their loved ones for no good reason.

Mike McKee, a retired financial adviser from Hamilton and chairman of the parole board since 2009, said last week that much of that testimony was “misinformation and half-truths being presented as facts.”  Read more...