Report Title:

Public Safety

Description:

Appropriates general funds for various programs of the judiciary, and the departments of the attorney general and public safety relating to alternatives to incarceration. (SD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1138

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 1

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 sections to the chapters in the Hawaii Revised Statutes governing probation, corrections, and parole entitled "Intermediate Sanctions." Through this Act, state policy mandates that the judiciary, the department of public safety, and the Hawaii paroling authority shall implement "a comprehensive schedule of alternatives to incarceration that do not undermine public safety." Most importantly, the 1995 Hawaii state legislature included funds to establish the drug court in circuit court as the single most significant step in creating intermediate sanctions.

Since that time, drug courts have been established in all jurisdictions and in the family court. 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 federal grant funds for community-based mental health and drug treatment services, and additional services for female parolees.

The 2002 legislature further articulated the need for intermediate sanctions through the passage of Act 175 and Act 161, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002. 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 had 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 provides for community-based substance abuse treatment for first-time non-violent drug offenders and again requires interagency coordination.

The legislature further finds that the judiciary has continued to plan for expansion of its intermediate sanctions options. As a result of its study in this area, including extensive literature review, attendance at national meetings and seminars, and technical assistance provided by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon approved the judiciary's broadened effort to enhance the use of intermediate sanctions. By order of the court, the interagency council on intermediate sanctions was formed in January 2002 and includes the judiciary, the departments of health, public safety, and the 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 vision of the council is a thirty per cent reduction of recidivism among its adult offenders and the prevention of future victimization of its citizens through an improved criminal justice system. The council secured technical assistance from the NIC to plan and implement a five-year strategic effort of effective sentencing strategies that would realize the council's vision. The goals of the council are:

(1) To implement system-wide assessment protocols;

(2) To establish and implement a continuum of supervision and program services that match the risk and needs of the offender;

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

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

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

The work of the council is based on research-based evidence of effective correctional interventions. Known as the "what works" approach to correctional programs, evaluation of hundreds of programs provided to offenders nation-wide has resulted in the form of 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 multi-disciplinary approach of the "what works" research strongly supports a "one voice-one message" environment and is the attractive advantage of the council's collaboration of criminal justice system operations and activities. Optimal results for offender change occurs from system-wide consistency and an infrastructure whose leadership is informed, supportive of, and eventually, modeling the principles and practices of the "what works" research. The building of all staffs' skills create an environment in which offender behavior change takes place and is positively reinforced.

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 the assessment, it is presumed that the probability of future criminal behavior can be predicted on the basis of empirically derived factors, and that offenders can be classified along a continuum ranging from low-risk to high-risk. Failure to initiate this key strategy would continue to place many offenders under counter-productive and inefficient correctional conditions. Under the council's plan, the offender assessments are employed at the earliest possible point where cost-effective, diversion options can maximize on an offender's community support system or when the offender's motivation is high.

The legislature further finds that the council's second goal is 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 have consistently shown that six factors are found to be criminogenic (i.e., leading to or causing crime and probation or parole failure): dysfunctional family relations; anti-social peers; alcohol and other drug problems; low self-control skills; anti-social attitudes or values; and callous personality features. These criminogenic factors constitute dynamic attributes of offenders that, when strengthened, reduces the probability of recidivism. The criminogenic attributes constitute the immediate targets of treatment and intensive intervention.

The third implementation strategy in the council's plan requires treatment services that are responsive to the offenders' criminogenic needs and motivational stages. The "what works" responsivity principle used in the plan:

(1) Matches the treatment approach with the learning style and personality of the offender;

(2) Matches the characteristics of the offender with those of the treatment provider; and

(3) Matches 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 offenders' risk and needs and are delivered by programs that emphasize qualities to improve offender problem-solving and emotional 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 council's goal to collaborate with communities in developing and implementing the continuum of services supports the fourth implementation 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 includes the leadership of the department of the attorney general for facilitating research on the project effectiveness and for facilitating the collaboration with community resources.

Evaluating the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions in reducing recidivism and creating a management information system capable of communicating among agencies supports the last 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 the collaborated enhancements to Hawaii's criminal justice system. The judiciary, department of public safety, and Hawaii paroling authority will require funding to implement and continue its screening and assessment of offenders, to train its staff on best practices, to form the continuum of services, and to meet the quality assurance requirements in assessment and treatment services. The department of the 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 services.

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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, 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     full-time equivalent (    FTE) program coordinator position for the purpose of implementing the goals of the interagency council on intermediate sanctions for fiscal year 2004-2005, 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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, 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     full-time equivalent (    FTE) mental health assessor position for the purpose of providing mental health assessments of offenders for fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, 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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for assessments of pre-sentence and post-sentence offenders.

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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for assessments of pretrial detainees, furloughed inmates, and parolees.

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

SECTION 8. 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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for conducting research on recidivism reduction.

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

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 2004-2005, 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 public safety for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 10. 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 2003-2004, for interfacing the department of public safety's corrections information system with the department of the attorney general's criminal justice information system.

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

SECTION 11. 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 2003-2004, and the sum of $       , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for cognitive behavioral skills training.

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

SECTION 12. This Act shall take effect July 1, 2003.