getting the right people in the right program urban & rural approaches to offender screening
TRANSCRIPT
Getting the Right People in the
Right ProgramUrban & Rural
Approaches to Offender Screening
Problem Oklahoma’s incarceration rate is among the
highest in the nation.
Spending on corrections has increased 41% over the last decade.
Crime rates have fallen less than most other states.
From jrioklahoma.com
History
January 2011: Governor Mary Fallin, Speaker of the House Kris Steele, Senate Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, and Supreme Court Justice James Edmondson requested technical assistance from the Bureau of Justice (BJA) and the Pew Center on the States (PEW) to provide a comprehensive analysis of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system.
History In response, the Counsel of State
Governments (CSG) was retained to work with several state agencies, including ODMHSAS.
May 2011: HB 2131 was signed into law which among many things, increased the eligibility for early release from prison. It also created a JRI workgroup to further assess the state’s sentencing codes.
History Throughout the months that the Legislature
was not in session, the JRI workgroup continued to work with CSG conducting an in depth review of sentencing programs and policies creating a framework of recommendations.
Within those recommendations was the need for a statewide screening program for offenders to better identify sentencing alternatives.
History
May 2012- Governor Fallin signed into Law HB3052.
HB 3052
Any person found guilty of a felony offense shall, prior to sentencing be required to submit to an approved risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation which shall be administered and scored by assessment personnel certified by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Any person lacking sufficient skills to comprehend or otherwise participate in the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall have appropriate assistance. The court, district attorney, arrested person, and counsel for the arrested person shall have access to the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation . The risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall not be admissible as evidence in the criminal case unless specifically waived by the defendant or for purposes of determining sentencing options for a defendant who has pled guilty and punishment is to be determined by the court. The court and the district attorney shall consider the results of the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation to determine sentencing options for the person.
HB2254
Trailer bill which repealed parts of HB3052
Changed the shall to may
HB2254 Any person found guilty of a felony offense may, prior to sentencing be
required to submit to an approved risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation which shall be administered and scored by assessment personnel certified by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Any person lacking sufficient skills to comprehend or otherwise participate in the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall have appropriate assistance. The court, district attorney, arrested person, and counsel for the arrested person shall have access to the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation . The risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall not be admissible as evidence in the criminal case unless specifically waived by the defendant or for purposes of determining sentencing options for a defendant who has pled guilty and punishment is to be determined by the court. The court and the district attorney shall consider the results of the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation to determine sentencing options for the person.
HB2254
Effective November 1, 2012
New section of law was placed in:
OK ST T. 43A 3-704
May 2013 Any person found accused of a felony offense may, prior to sentencing
submit to an approved risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation which shall be administered and scored by assessment personnel certified by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Any person lacking sufficient skills to comprehend or otherwise participate in the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall have appropriate assistance. The court, district attorney, arrested person, and counsel for the arrested person shall have access to the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation. The risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation shall not be admissible as evidence in the criminal case unless specifically waived by the defendant or for purposes of determining sentencing options for a defendant who has pled guilty and punishment is to be determined by the court. The court and the district attorney shall consider the results of the risk, mental health, and substance abuse assessment and evaluation to determine sentencing options for the person.
Screening Goal
Determine:
Likelihood to Reoffend (risk screening)
Substance Dependence vs. Substance Abuse
Potential Mental Health Concerns
Risk and Treatment Need Why is it important to know?
Two parts:
Level of Treatment
Offender’s risk to reoffend
Research shows that matching levels of supervision and treatment with risk and needs levels results in significantly better outcomes. (Risk-Need Responsively Model)
Offender recidivism can be reduced if the level of treatment and supervision services provided to the offender is proportional to the offender’s risk to reoffend.
Information Needed
Risk Screening
Substance Abuse Screening
Mental Health Screening
Risk Assessment
Ohio Risk Assessment System-Community Supervision Tool (ORAS-CST)
Training was provided by the University of Cincinnati
Mental Health Screening
Mental Health Screen Form lll
Initially designed by the Project Return Foundation, Inc.
Recommended by SAMHSHA for use in criminal justice populations.
Screens for both mild and serious mental health issues.
Substance Abuse Screening
Texas Christian University Drug Screen ll (TCUDS-ll)
Validated for use in correctional settings to determine eligibility for substance abuse treatment services.
Recommended by SAMHSA.
Administration
Total time for the administration of these tools is approximately 45 minutes.
User friendly
Computer based
Training Required
Certification is required to be able to provide offender screenings
Trainings are available free of charge through ODMHSAS
History of Offender Screenings Programs Pontotoc & Tulsa
CountiesPontotoc Awarded grant to
AACDC October 2012
3 staff attended OS training in October 2012 and received certification
November 2012 began planning and implementation of screenings
Tulsa Awarded grant to F & CS
December 2012 3 staff attended OS
training in February 2013 and received certification
March began planning in conjunction with various organizations: Court Services, PDs office, DA’s office, Judges, Com. Sentencing
April began pilot program
Pilot Program Pros
Ada
Established tx center in the community
Jail Diversion programs viable in community
Small town connections
Tulsa
Jail Diversion program in place for 10+ years
2 staff were officed within the county jail
Already had access to offenders and computers/internet
Pilot Program ChallengesAda
Educating judges and attorneys about the program
Learning about the recommendation options
Communications between individuals/offices involved
Finding time to do the screening on top of maintaining caseloads
Gaining access to offenders Unavailability of internet
access in the county jail
Tulsa
Educating judges and attorneys about the program
Communications/feedback between individuals/offices involved
Finding ideal time to screen Obtaining accurate info
about offenders criminal history
Finding location to screen offenders out of custody
Alternatives to Incarceration Programs Already in Place
Ada Probation S/A Education Outpatient S/A
treatment IOP treatment Residential Inpatient
TX DA Supervision Mental Health Court Drug Court
Tulsa DOC Supervision DA Supervision DOC Female
Offenders Program Community
Sentencing Drug/DUI Court Mental Health Court Veterans’ Court Women in Recovery
Progress
Ada Gained access to the
offenders through the Sheriff’s office/staff
Meetings were set up with judges, district attorney, and attorneys and OIDS
Continue to hand write and enter OS and enter online once back in the office
Able to gather criminal history data through OCDR/OSCN
Able to dedicate one full time staff member to the OS process
Tulsa Learning about the referral
options/ programs Meetings were set up with
Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Community Sentencing, etc.
Services, resources, target population
Educating attorneys and judges about the program
Gathering accurate information through the OSCN/ODCR/JOLTS systems
0%
25%
50%
20.4%
4.8%
25.5%
14.4%
9.8%
20.8%
Final Disposition
Information provided by ODMH-SAS
One County’s Outcomes
87% Decrease in Jail Days
Length of Time Offenders
Spent in Jail
Information provided by ODMHSAS
One County’s Outcomes
87% Decrease in Jail Days
Cost of Incarcerating
Offenders
Information provided by ODMHSAS
Another County’s Outcomes
87% Decrease in Jail Days
Length of Time from Arrest to
Drug Court Admission
Information provided by ODMHSAS
TULSA COUNTY
PONTOTOC COUNTY
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OffenderScreening.mp4
4 ORAS-CST TRAINERS
CERTIFIED BY THE
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
SCREENINGS AVAILABLE IN 18 COUNTIES
OVER 3,000 OFFENDERS SCREENED
TO DATE
OVER 60 CERTIFIED
SCREENERS
OVER 1,900
FINAL
DISPOSITIONS
Recorded
OVER 80% of OFFENDERS HAVE BEEN DIVERTED
FROM PRISON
Questions?
Contact Us:
Michael Lewis
Vicki Orsburn