Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
02/01/2024 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Department of Corrections | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 1, 2024
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative CJ McCormick, Chair
Representative Kevin McCabe, Vice Chair
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Justin Ruffridge
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
Representative Donna Mears
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Thomas Baker
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JEN WINKELMAN, Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Corrections
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint on the Department of
Corrections.
APRIL WILKERSON, Deputy Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Corrections
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the presentation
on the Department of Corrections.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:30 AM
CHAIR MCCORMICK called the House Community and Regional Affairs
Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. Representatives
McKay, Himschoot, Mears, McCabe, and McCormick were present at
the call to order. Representative Ruffridge arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): Department of Corrections
PRESENTATION(S): Department of Corrections
8:03:46 AM
CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation by the Department of Corrections.
8:04:48 AM
JEN WINKELMAN, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Corrections, presented a PowerPoint on the
Department of Corrections (DOC) [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. She shared the department's mission and core
services, as well as figures on staffing and offenders. As of
January 1, 2024, DOC was responsible for 10,782 individuals.
She gave an overview of the department's organizational
structure, noting that there is over 130 years of Alaska DOC
experience within the executive team, and detailed the Division
of Institutions. She indicated that all of DOC's facilities are
below capacity, which was an intentional effort to contribute to
both staff and inmate wellness and safer facilities as a whole.
In response to a committee question, she acknowledged that the
facilities in Juneau and Ketchikan are running close to
capacity, which is combatted by transferring inmates out
regularly. She deferred to Deputy Commissioner Wilkerson for an
update on the Lemon Creek construction project.
8:13:56 AM
APRIL WILKERSON, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Corrections (DOC), reported that the
project was on schedule and a contract had been awarded to the
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF).
Demolition is expected to begin by March with full construction
in place by the end of March [2024]. In response to a question
from the committee, she anticipated that construction would be
completed by the end of the calendar year [2024] and full
occupancy within the following three months.
8:19:23 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN resumed the presentation and shared the
prison population by gender. She noted that the unsentenced
population continues to exceed the sentenced population with the
female unsentenced population nearly doubling that of those
sentenced. She highlighted the unique challenges of a large
unsentenced population, which she described as "transient,"
including programming and behavioral issues. The bulk of the
sentenced population nearly 30 percent - were incarcerated for
a registerable sex offense. She detailed the Division of Health
and Rehabilitation Services, noting that DOC is the largest
behavioral health provider in the state.
8:26:02 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN, in response to a series of committee
questions, said providing more aftercare options for release
would produce better outcomes; vocational and educational
opportunities were expanding to include welding, barbering,
commercial driver's license (CDL), and carpentry; the dialysis
clinic within Goose Creek was a cost-saving measure, but it was
negated by a substantial increase in medical costs; less than 10
inmates work at the fish processing plant for a considerably
larger wage than that of the jobs within the facilities.
8:35:19 AM
MS. WILKERSON, in response to committee questions, replied that
inmate stipends are low, ranging from $0.25 to $1.90 per hour;
wages are currently under review to increase the stipend.
8:36:57 AM
MS. WINKELMAN, in response to further committee questions,
explained that the transient unsentenced population may
contribute to the work participation rate; the size of the
unsentenced population may be compounded by the courts' backlog,
complicated cases, and behavioral health needs; Alaska is one of
six states with an integrated prison system; the polygraph test
is a treatment tool to target programming for sex offenders.
8:41:34 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN continued the presentation by discussing
the Division of Pretrial, Probation, and Parole. The division
oversees the victim service unit, pretrial services, statewide
probation and parole, and 15 regional and community jails. She
noted that following intent language passed by the legislature
in 2023, the division, in partner with various municipal
leaders, updated contracts and standards that had been in place
since 1994. The Board of Parole is administratively housed
within DOC with the two primary functions of hearings and
violations.
8:49:18 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN, in response to a committee question,
described the process for inmates releasing under supervision.
8:52:19 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN continued the presentation by detailing
the Division of Administrative Services, which oversees
administrative services, information technology, research and
records, and facilities capital improvement unit and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance.
She outlined the Office of the Commissioner, which houses the
commissioner's office, recruitment and retention, and the
training academy. She touted the wellness unit within the
commissioner's office to encourage healthy staff. She addressed
recruitment and retention challenges, noting the incentive
programs created for moving staff around. Temporary housing was
increased to 120 days due to an agreement with the Department of
Administration (DOA) to alleviate housing concerns in areas
facing recruitment difficulties.
9:00:30 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN, in response to committee questions,
explained that background checks would prevent former prisoners
from holding many positions within areas of DOC facilities;
however, program support positions were established for this
purpose.
9:01:54 AM
MS. WILKERSON, in response to a series of committee questions,
said correctional officers' salary in Bethel is competitive; DOA
is performing a statewide salary study; a 2009 salary study
showed that after five to six years of employment, State of
Alaska salary and benefit packages are higher than the private
sector.
9:04:56 AM
MS. WINKELMAN concluded the presentation by sharing her goals
and objectives, which included the health and wellbeing of
staff; inmates, defendants and probationer/parolees leaving
better than when they entered the system; and identifying
efficiencies and resources to reduce recidivism. She suggested
several technological upgrades that would help automate the
system, such as the use of tablets for requests for information
and video conferencing for court hearings. She reported that
there had been four inmate deaths since January 2024, and
discussed the institutional response and internal review team.
9:15:24 AM
COMMISSIONER WINKELMAN, in response to committee questions,
explained that mail is photocopied before distribution to
prevent the entry of contraband. She expressed her hope that in
the future, tablets could be utilized to help address these
challenges.
9:23:29 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 9:23 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DOC Overview - (H) Community & Regional Affairs February 1 2024.pdf |
HCRA 2/1/2024 8:00:00 AM |
DOC Overview |
| DOC Response to H-CRA 02.01.2024.pdf |
HCRA 2/1/2024 8:00:00 AM |