I_PrisPop_2019A 08/26/2019 09:35:04 AM Committee Summary

Representative Herod, Chair, called the meeting to order.  She announced the upcoming committee prison tour on September 30 and October 1 and discussed related logistics.

Troy Riggs, Executive Director, Denver Department of Public Safety, provided an update on the Denver City Council decision to not renew contracts with Geo and CoreCivic for the provision of community corrections/halfway houses.  He expressed optimism that the council will approve short-term or "wind-down" contracts with the private providers for transitional purposes.   

Greg Mauro, Director, Denver Community Corrections, discussed the number of people impacted by the city council decision and explained the formation and membership of a 13 member advisory group to help with the transition. 

Eric Williams, Deputy Director, Denver Department of Public Safety, made himself available for questions.

Dean Williams, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), discussed current prison vacancy rates and the complications and staffing issue involved with opening the Centennial South Prison (CSP II) to house those offenders impacted by the Denver decision.  

Vance Roper, Joint Budget Committee Staff, discussed budgetary issues and the implications of the proposed short-term contracts with the private providers.  He emphasized staffing issues, as well as made points about the impact on the entire criminal justice system. 

The committee members asked the panel questions about the state's ability to contract directly with community corrections facilities instead of going through a local jurisdiction.  Discussion ensued about the authority of community corrections boards, zoning, and local procurement rules. 

Committee members inquired about wait lists for community corrections and direct referrals to other jurisdictions outside of Denver.  Discussion turned to the impact on the female population, projected to be particularly hard hit by the city council decision.  Further discussion was had about resentencing, and the complications and time involved with the redocketing or reprocessing of cases.  Questions were asked about the Office of the Denver District Attorney and Office of the State Public Defender involvement in the discussion.        

Committee discussion returned to zoning and land use.  Additional questions were asked about diversion sentencing and the role of judges.  Committee members and panelists noted that there are many unknowns as a result of the city council decision and stressed the need to find placement alternatives, other than sending offenders back to DOC.    

The committee and panel discussed Intensive Supervision Program-Inmate (ISPI) and low-level offenders. 

David Johnson, Deputy Director, Division of Adult Parole, DOC, joined the panel and answered questions about Geo and Corecivic contracts for ankle monitors.  Committee members explored the possibility of expanding existing community-based programs, such as Work and Gain Employment and Education Skills Programs (WAGEES).   Further discussion ensued about victims, community safety, staffing, and recidivism rates.  Committee members stressed the importance for the Denver City Council to work with counterparts at the state level. 

Richard Morales, Deputy Executive Director, Latino Coalition for Community Leadership (LCCL), discussed how his organization was awarded an intermediary contract with the DOC to make sub-grants to faith and community-based organizations providing direct reentry services to parolees, such as employment and housing. 

Cory Everett, State Director, LCCL, provided an overview of the WAGEES  program,  She outlined the 19 community partners and the services provided (Attachment A).  She also discussed evidence based programming and distributed a report written by the Urban Institute regarding WAGEES (Attachment B). 

Hassan Latif, Executive Director, Second Chance Center, discussed his program, as well as addressed the challenges posed by the Denver City Council decision. 

Committee members asked questions about recidivism rates and how recidivism is defined.  Questions were also raised about program eligibility requirements and referrals. 

Emily Kleeman, Executive Director, The Reentry Initiative, discussed reentry services for women and distributed a handout (Attachment C). 

David Johnson returned to the table, along with Melinda Nedd-Colon, Project Liaison, DOC, to provide an overview of DOC reentry programs (Attachment D).

The panel was asked questions about audits, and recidivism rates for those offenders who are referred to a program versus those who "walk through the front door" seeking assistance.  Further discussion ensued about measuring recidivism rates.  Panel members discussed how their respective programs could benefit from a cultural shift that is more accepting of individuals involved in the criminal justice system,  increased innovation, more educational opportunities, fiscal support, licensed mental health workers, collaboration, and additional services and support surrounding mental health and substance abuse. 

The committee turned its discussion to the challenges of providing reentry services in rural areas. 

The committee inquired about capacity, funding, and funding sources.  The subject of community partnerships was raised, especially with mental health centers.  The panelists answered questions about expanding services to juveniles.  

Katie Ruske, Program Manager, Office of Community Corrections, Department of Public Safety, provided an overview of programs offered through community corrections (Attahcment E). 

Brian Hulse, Executive Director of Intervention Community Corrections Services (ICCS), discussed programming at the non-profit organization for which he works. 

Michael Ruttenberg, Clinical Director, Larimer County Community Corrections, presented information about the 300-bed facility in Ft. Collins and the related programming. 

Doug Carrigan, President, Advantage Treatment Centers, discussed the privately-owned community corrections facilities he runs in rural areas. 

Vance Roper, Joint Budget Committee Staff, commented on the need to develop a comparative model to track recidivism.  He also suggested others ways in which to define program success. 

Committee members asked questions about recidivism rates, assessments, eligibility, wait lists, and the referral process.  Panelists further responded to questions about performance based standards. 

The committee recessed.  

The meeting was called back to order. 

Kirsten Wilson, Artistic Director, Motus Theater, and Juaquin Mobley, The Community Barbershop, presented an autobiographical monologue.  Ms. Wilson explained the project, and Mr. Mobley spoke about the challenges he faced reentering society after prison.  The committee asked questions about his experience and inquired as to what is needed for successful reentry in addition to financial support.  

Matt Hansen, Deputy Director of Prisons, DOC, provided an overview of the classification process and factors used in determining an offender's custody level and facility placement (Attachment F). 

Kristen Hilkey, Chairperson, Colorado State Board of Parole, discussed and presented information about the various static and dynamic risk assessment instruments that are used by the Parole Board (Attachment G).  She also noted the different schools of thought regarding risk assessment reliability and validity.  She emphasized that assessments provide a good starting point. 

Dr. Kevin Ford, Statistical Analyst, Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Public Safety, answered questions from the committee about the Colorado Actuarial Risk Assessment Scale (CARAS).  

The committee inquired about interoperability and the sharing of assessments between agencies in the criminal justice system. 

Lenny Woodson, Assistant Director of Clinical and Correctional Services, DOC, provided an overview of treatment programs offered in each facility and distributed pamphlets about mental health treatment services, the sex offender treatment and monitoring program, and substance use disorder treatment (Attachment H, I, and J). 

Joanie Carson, Associate Director of Education, DOC, discussed the various educational and vocational programs offered by DOC.  She distributed the following handouts:  Overview of Educational and Vocational Programs Fiscal Year 2018 (Attachment K); pamphlet about the "Correctional Education Program Act" and program offerings (Attachment L); and, comparison of private prison and DOC programs and treatment services (Attachment M).  Ms. Carson stated that over 11,000 inmates access these programs throughout DOC facilities, but noted that the programs are not uniformly offered at each facility because of funding, physical space, and providers.  Ms. Carson noted that DOC makes efforts to not disrupt programming when transfers occur. 

Vance Roper, Joint Budget Committee Staff, discussed the relationship between assessment and offender placement and success rates.  He further stressed the need to better define and measure success for vocational and educational programs. 

Committe members inquired about recividism rates between private and public prisons.  Discussion followed about the difficulty of differentiating between the two because inmates are often transferred between them. 

The committee discussed increasing services and programming at private prisons.  The committee asked questions about the following: wages for both inmates and providers; daily costs at private and DOC-run facilities; post-secondary educational opportunities; telepsychiatry; Second Chance Pell Pilot Program; and continuing educational and vocational programs from prison into the community. 

Committee members made closing remarks about the need to think differently about what promotes public safetym and the concept of "normalization," which aims to bring prison life as close as possible to normal life outside of the prison. 

Bo Pogue, Legislative Council Staff, discussed bill draft requests and related timelines. 

Chair Herod reiterated timelines and committee objectives, as well as provided an update on the committee working groups.