Report Title:

Intermediate Sanctions; Appropriations

Description:

Appropriates funds to members of the interagency council on intermediate sanctions to carry out its 5-year strategic plan to reduce adult offender recidivism and to institutionalize enhancements to Hawaii's criminal justice system. (SD2)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

613

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Act 25, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, added new provisions to state laws governing probation, corrections, and parole entitled "Intermediate Sanctions." Through this Act, state policy requires the judiciary, the department of public safety, and the Hawaii paroling authority to implement "a comprehensive schedule of alternatives to incarceration that do not undermine public safety."

Since that time, drug courts have been established in all jurisdictions and in the family courts. The department of public safety developed two community-based transitional programs for women exiting prison and expanded the use of electronic monitoring for offenders placed on pretrial release, extended furlough, and parole. The Hawaii paroling authority has sought and received funds for community-based mental health and drug treatment services, and additional services for female parolees.

In 2002, the legislature further articulated the need for intermediate sanctions through the passage of Acts 175 and 161. Act 175 appropriated $2,192,698 to the department of health to implement a plan for integrated case management and substance abuse treatment services for offenders on community supervision (pretrial, probation, furlough, and parole). The plan has been developed through an interagency effort that included the department of health, department of public safety, the Hawaii paroling authority, and the judiciary. Act 161 provided for community-based substance abuse treatment for first-time non-violent drug offenders and again requires interagency coordination.

In 2004, the legislature passed Acts 40 and 44, providing additional funding and direction to deal with Hawaii's methamphetamine epidemic.

The legislature finds that the judiciary has continued to respond to the enhancement of the intermediate sanctions continuum. As a result of the judiciary's study in this area, attendance at national meetings and seminars, and technical assistance provided by the National Institute of Corrections, Chief Justice Ronald T. Y. Moon approved the judiciary's broadened effort to enhance the use of intermediate sanctions. By order of the supreme court, the interagency council on intermediate sanctions (council) was formed in January 2002 and includes representatives of the judiciary, the departments of health, public safety, and attorney general, the Hawaii paroling authority, the office of the public defender, the Honolulu police department, and the Honolulu department of the prosecuting attorney. The goal of the council is a thirty per cent reduction of recidivism among adult offenders and the prevention of future victimization of Hawaii's citizens through an improved criminal justice system.

The council secured technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections to plan and implement a five-year strategic effort of effective sanctioning strategies that would realize the council's vision and goals. The goals of the council are to:

(1) Implement system-wide assessment protocols;

(2) Establish and implement a continuum of supervision and program services that match the risks and needs of the offender;

(3) Evaluate the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions in reducing recidivism;

(4) Create a management information system capable of communicating among agencies to facilitate sharing of offender information; and

(5) Collaborate with communities in developing and implementing the continuum of offender services.

The work of the council is based on the "evidence-based practice" approach to correctional programs. This approach was developed after evaluation of hundreds of programs provided to offenders nationwide and extensive research of effective correctional interventions. The research-based evidence resulted in a multi-disciplinary correctional approach premised on guiding principles that address offenders' risk, need, and responsivity. The risk principle seeks to identify who should receive treatment; the criminogenic-need principle focuses on what the treatment should be; and the responsivity principle underscores the importance of how treatment should be delivered.

The "evidence-based practice" research strongly supports a "one voice-one message" environment, and the multi-disciplinary collaboration of criminal justice system operations and activities is designed to achieve this. Optimal results for offender change occur when there is system-wide consistency and an infrastructure of leaders who are informed, supportive of, and model the principles and practices of the "evidence-based" research.

The legislature further finds that, to determine risk, need, and responsivity, offenders must be assessed with validated assessment tools that measure the risk level of the offender and identifies particular intervention targets. The council has selected the level of services inventory-revised, which is a structured interview using a validated scoring instrument that measures specific offender attributes, as its assessment protocol.

Based on the results of this assessment, the probability of an offender's future criminal behavior can be predicted on the basis of empirically derived factors and offenders can be classified along a continuum ranging from low-risk to high-risk. If this key strategy is not initiated, offenders will continue to be placed under counter-productive and inefficient correctional conditions. Under the council's plan, the offender assessments will be employed at the earliest possible point, when cost-effective diversion options can maximize use of an offender's community support system and when the offender's rehabilitation motivation is high.

The legislature further finds that it is necessary to establish and implement a continuum of services that matches and serves the risk-based needs identified in the assessments. Most offenders have many needs; however, certain needs are more directly linked to crime. National and local research has consistently shown that six factors are found to be criminogenic (i.e., leading to or causing crime and probation/parole failure): dysfunctional family relations; anti-social peers; alcohol and other drug problems; low self-control skills; anti-social attitudes/values; and callous personality features. These criminogenic factors constitute dynamic attributes of offenders that, when strengthened, reduce the probability of recidivism. The criminogenic attributes constitute the immediate targets of treatment and intensive intervention.

The legislature further finds that treatment services that are responsive to an offender's criminogenic causes and motivational stages also support the implementation of the council's plan. The "what works" responsivity principle used in the plan matches: (1) the treatment approach with the learning style and personality of the offender; (2) the characteristics of the offender with those of the treatment provider; and (3) the skills of the treatment provider with the type of program. The council's intent is to have a continuum of services that match the offender's risk and needs and are delivered by programs that emphasize qualities to improve offender problem solving and emotions regulation. The department of health serves as the council's liaison for treatment services and for collaborating with the participating council members on the quality assurance infrastructure.

The legislature further finds that the council's goal to collaborate with communities in developing and implementing the continuum of services supports the strategy of assisting the offenders. This is a process of reinforcing the pro-social behavior and attitude changes and of encouraging, referring, and networking to increase the offender's positive linkages to their local communities. The council's plan, under the leadership of the department of the attorney general, includes facilitating research on the project's effectiveness and collaborating with community resources.

The legislature also finds that evaluating the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions in reducing recidivism and creating a management information system capable of communicating among agencies supports the implementation strategy of attending to system accountability and information controls. Information gathering and evaluation are necessary for the correctional staff and the organizations to successfully reallocate and mobilize resources for matching offender needs. The department of the attorney general provides the leadership in research, while the correctional agencies provide the information gathering continuity.

The purpose of this Act is to provide funding to members of the interagency council on intermediate sanctions to carry out its five-year strategic plan to reduce adult offender recidivism and, in the process, to institutionalize enhancements to Hawaii's criminal justice system. The judiciary, department of public safety, and Hawaii paroling authority will require funding to continue the screening and assessment of offenders, to train staff on best practices, to provide the continuum of needed services, and to meet the quality assurance requirements in assessment and treatment services established by the council. The department of attorney general will require funding to conduct research on the effectiveness of the council's plan, to facilitate collaborative networks that support the offenders, and to assist with quality assurance requirements in assessment and treatment of offenders.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for personnel and operating expenses to support the work of the interagency council on intermediate sanctions.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the judiciary for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. The judiciary is authorized to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) program coordinator position and one administrative support staff (1.0 FTE) for the purpose of implementing the goals of the interagency council on intermediate sanctions for the fiscal years of 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, to be funded from the appropriations authorized in section 2.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the sum of $      , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for personnel and operating expenses to provide mental health assessments of offenders.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. The department of public safety is authorized to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) mental health assessor position for the purpose of providing mental health assessments of offenders for the fiscal years of 2006 and 2007, to be funded from the appropriations authorized in section 4.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for workload analysis, organizational development, and staff and vendor training in evidence-based practices.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the judiciary for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for project research costs.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of the attorney general for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 8. The department of the attorney general is authorized to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) research analyst position for the purposes of providing research analyses for fiscal years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 to be funded from the appropriations authorized in section 7.

SECTION 9. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, for assessing and planning for the management information systems needs to support intermediate sanctions research.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of the public safety for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect July 1, 2005.