NICEALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE  March 22, 2022 8:03 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Sara Hannan, Co-Chair Representative Calvin Schrage, Co-Chair Representative Josiah Patkotak, Vice Chair Representative Harriet Drummond Representative Mike Prax Representative Ken McCarty Representative Kevin McCabe MEMBERS ABSENT  All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR  PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS - HEARD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous action to record WITNESS REGISTER KELLY GOODE, Deputy Commissioner Office of the Commissioner Department of Corrections Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information during the presentation on the Department of Corrections. JEN WINKELMAN, Director Division of Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Department of Corrections Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information during the presentation on the Department of Corrections. JEFF EDWARDS, Executive Director Parole Board District Probation Offices Department of Corrections Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information during the presentation on the Department of Corrections. APRIL WILKERSON, Director Division of Administrative Services Department of Corrections Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information during the presentation on the Department of Corrections. LAURA BROOKS, Director Division of Health and Rehabilitation Services Department of Corrections Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information during the presentation on the Department of Corrections. ACTION NARRATIVE 8:03:03 AM CO-CHAIR CALVIN SCHRAGE called the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Representatives Patkotak, Drummond, Hannan, and Schrage were present at the call to order. Representatives McCarty, McCabe, and Prax arrived as the meeting was in progress. ^PRESENTATION: Department of Corrections PRESENTATION: Department of Corrections    8:03:32 AM CO-CHAIR SCHRAGE announced that the only order of business would be the Department of Corrections presentation. 8:04:09 AM KELLY GOOD, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Corrections (DOC) co-presented a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Department of Corrections" [hard copy included in committee packet]. 8:05:17 AM JEN WINKELMAN, Director, Division of Pretrial, Probation, and Parole, Department of Corrections, co-presented a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Department of Corrections" [hard copy included in committee packet]. She explained that the pretrial service program, established in 2018, has pretrial service officers who are responsible for completing risk assessments with release recommendations and providing supervision for defendants placed on pretrial. The court may order electronic monitoring (EM) as a part of the release conditions. She said 2,600 people are under community supervision and 1,600 are under electronic monitoring. EM equipment has increased by 98.4 percent in the last three years. Pretrial Electronic Monitoring devices include GPS bracelets, radio frequency bracelets, and alcohol detecting devices. 8:08:51 AM MS. WINKELMAN, in response to committee questions, attributed the growth of EM equipment to the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be used. Based on risk assessment, the EM system is a great tool for the DOC to use based on the decreased rate of repeat offenses and increased likelihood of court attendance; though there are some instances were clients remove the bracelets and are repeatedly put through the EM system despite previous bracelet damage or removal. 8:16:40 AM MS. WINKELMAN explained that there would be concerns about space availability at corrections facilities if the EM system was optional or had a rental rate and replacement rate put upon the client. She pointed out that it costs $176 per day for a "hard bed." With EM, people on pretrial can still work and support their families. Courts perform a risk assessment to determine if a candidate is eligible for an EM device. There are many factors that are considered to determine EM eligibility. 8:23:31 AM MS. GOOD responded to committee questions and said there are currently no laws or statutes that address damage inflicted on EM bracelets. Whether or not an offender could make bail, EM is utilized in lieu of excessive bail. A speedy trial is at the hands of the courts, and offenders are using EM for longer periods compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE suggested making a law that if an EM is damaged or cut off, then a charge would be inflicted. 8:32:00 AM MS. WINKELMAN said that EM is available across the state. 8:34:48 AM JEFF EDWARDS, Executive Director, Parole Board, District Probation Offices, Department of Corrections, co-presented a PowerPoint presentation, entitled "Department of Corrections" [hard copy included in committee packet]. He discussed the discretionary parole process on slide 7. The time accounting record provides the discretionary parole eligibility date and the projected mandatory release date. Not all incarcerated Alaskans are eligible for discretionary parole. The board reviews case plans at parole hearings and makes program and treatment referrals based on assessment. MR. EDWARDS moved to slide 8 and said eight to ten weeks before the parole board visit, institutional parole officers (IPOs) provide applications for discretionary parole. Six weeks before the Parole Board visit, inmate applications are due to IPOs. Two weeks before the Parole Board visit, the IPO submits a completed case plan. The IPO reaches out to the victim's family to help guide them through the process. The parole hearing is about 30 minutes long with three to five members of the Parole Board present. 8:41:32 AM MR. EDWARDS, in response to Representative Hannan, said that in 2019 there were about 900 discretionary parole hearings. In 2020, there were just over 200 parole hearings. He mentioned legislation that made discretionary parole eligibility more limited. 8:46:11 AM MS. GOOD explained in response to committee questions, that IPOs work for the DOC and report to the superintendent of the institution they are employed with. They work within the institution for the purpose of working directly with inmates. She explained that victim notifications via the IPOs come into play once the perpetrator is within the DOC system, not during the indictment process or before incarceration. 8:49:45 AM MR. EDWARDS discussed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on discretionary parole on slide 10. She noted that hearings were conducted via video conferencing. There was a pause in some programs, but it didn't impact the discretionary parole decision-making process. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 69 percent of those eligible for parole completed precondition programs like alcoholics anonymous or other substance abuse programs. He said 29 percent failed to complete necessary programs due to their own behaviors or choice and 2 percent are on a treatment waitlist. He responded to Representative Hannan and said that there are four decision-making criteria that are mandated by the legislature and are used to determine parole eligibility for each case. Release decisions are taken very seriously. There is an internal policy within the Parole Board that if an individual has a long enough sentence, if parole is denied, there will be an opportunity to reapply in 10 years. 8:59:03 AM MR. EDWARDS responded to Representative McCabe and said that video conferencing may have had a small impact on the reduced rate of discretionary parole. He agreed that there was no significant difference in the parole board's actions because of new legislation or COVID-19 pandemic teleconferencing needs. 9:03:26 AM MS. GOOD said that visitation is now available at all facilities. Contact visitation is not yet permitted but is expected to reopen soon. 9:04:58 AM APRIL WILKERSON, Director, Division of Administrative Services, Department of Corrections, referenced slides 12 and 13 in the PowerPoint presentation, titled "Department of Corrections." In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 21) the total number of overtime hours worked was 337,817. Critical support staff includes maintenance, food services, laundry services, administrative, and criminal justice technicians. Overtime for critical support staff included 14,963 hours for FY 21. The primary drivers for overtime included, COVID-19 pandemic impacts, high employee turnover, scheduled and unscheduled leave, retirements, and position vacancies in important roles. She gave an example of facilities that need to contract out food services and during the gap in service, the superintendent and other administrative staff stepped in to assume food service roles. Even though there are inmate workers, oversight is needed. 9:08:31 AM MS. WILKERSON said there has been an increase in overtime during the COVID-19 pandemic and in prior years there hasn't been a budget for overtime. Premium pay, which includes holiday hours, overtime from excess hours, and overnight shifts, is budgeted just under 2 percent. 9:11:10 AM MS. WILKERSON explained to Representative McCabe that overtime hours will always be needed. Even if institutions were more appropriately staffed, those individuals who seek overtime hours will still be able to get them. Overtime availability is based on seniority. 9:14:30 AM LAURA BROOKS, Director, Division of Health and Rehabilitation Services, Department of Corrections, continued on slide 15 of the PowerPoint presentation, titled "Department of Corrections." She said that although not all programs are back up and running since the COVID-19 pandemic, they are expected to be fully operational soon. There is a statutory requirement and responsibility to provide physical healthcare and mental health services. Slide 15 shows a list of the services that are provided. She said 65 percent of the offender population have a diagnosed mental health disorder. Of those, 22 percent have a serious and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder. About 80 percent of the incarcerated population qualify to be mental health trust beneficiaries. About 75 percent of the female population have histories of sexual victimization. Most resources have been utilized in crisis intervention and stabilization. 9:18:55 AM MS. BROOKS, in response to committee questions, explained that mental health services continued during the COVID-19 pandemic and some group therapy was temporarily converted to one-on-one therapy. Psychiatric care was not paused. She explained that Title 47 management involves non-criminal holds for those experiencing extreme public intoxication or are experiencing a serious mental health problem and are awaiting a bed at the psychiatric unit. She stated that Alaska has the highest incidence of sexual assault in the country which is translated to the victims who are in custody. 9:24:33 AM MS. BROOKS, in response to Representative McCabe, said that the department provides some programming that is not necessarily considered treatment. She said a busy inmate is less likely to get into more trouble while they are incarcerated. Mentorship and role models are an important part of activities provided for the incarcerated population. She is hesitant to tie recidivism numbers to one program, because there are a variety of needs that need to be met for an individual to be successful. Transformational Living Community (TLC) provides mentorship, guidance, and many other skills intended to address criminogenic needs. MS. BROOKS, in response to Representative McCarty, said that over the last five years there has been a concerted effort to adjust the curriculum to ensure evidence-based programming. Staff have been trained in cognitive behavioral interventions, which is an evidence-based approach that has proven efficacious for the criminal justice population. There has been a shift to ensure an evidence-based approach. The department utilizes programs certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA). Medications are sometimes limited or changed for individuals who are incarcerated because of the availability of 24/7 monitoring. She noted that narcotics are not provided to the inmate population. Evidence based interventions are used to deal with problems like anxiety in lieu of medications like Xanex. There is a high instance of abuse and redistribution amongst the inmate population, therefore narcotics are not allowed. Other ways of addressing mental health needs are utilized. 9:32:58 AM MS. BROOKS showed slide 16, which shows Alaska's psychiatric treatment unit locations. There are 340 beds dedicated to the severely mentally ill population. She responded to Representative Schrage and said there was a decision made in the courts that changed the way that Title 47 beds are handled. This high-needs population needs effective programs. The need has shifted to a crisis intervention model, instead of a treatment model because of the high number of those in need. The ability to treat pretrial defendants is very complicated. She explained to Representatives McCarty and Schrage that capacity in psychiatric care units is always at 100 percent. The DOC and the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) have worked together to ensure that individuals lacking criminal charges and are awaiting a bed at Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API), are provided care as soon as possible. 9:40:40 AM MS. BROOKS responded to Representative Hannan, and said that on any given day, there might be 10-15 men and 4-5 women in Alaska waiting for a bed at one of the acute care psychiatric units. If the capacity of these units were doubled, a shift away from a crisis-intervention model could be possible and more effective treatment and care could be given. More bed space could allow for more time for treatment and prevent premature patient movement through the system. 9:41:18 AM MS. BROOKS provided a substance abuse treatment overview on slide 17. In-custody services are mostly provided by contractors. Residential treatment and intensive outpatient treatment involves a treatment community "mod" within the facility. Slide 18 shows the substance abuse treatment program locations. 9:44:47 AM MS. BROOKS, in response to Representative McCarty, said that blood panels are not taken at the time of incarceration due to a lack of funding and resources. All medical needs, health issues, and substance abuse histories are self-reported by the incarcerated person. She said etiology is secondary to the symptoms and that there are detailed protocols to address symptoms such as those associated with detox. Substance abuse councilors are a mix of DOC staff and contractors. Some programs regarding substance abuse were paused during the COVID- 19 pandemic but now are being made available once again. 9:51:30 AM MS. BROOKS discussed the sex offender management overview on slide 19. There are 6 institutions that provide sex offender treatment and about a 120-bed capacity for treatment. There are about 300 community sex offender treatment slots. There is also a new rural telehealth treatment, which allows offenders to stay in their rural home communities, keep their jobs and living situations and still receive treatment instead of needing to move to an urban environment for treatment. CO-CHAIR SCHRAGE thanked the presenters and provided closing remarks. 9:54:01 AM ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:54 a.m.