Reducing Violent Crime: Improving and Expanding Intensive Supervision Caseloads

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) will use FY22 Smart Reentry/Smart Supervision: Category 2 funds for its “Reducing Violent Crime: Improving and Expanding Intensive Supervision Caseloads” initiative.  Expanding the recently piloted Intensive Supervision Caseload (ISC) design, the project will use grant funding to:

Implement case manager positions to work with supervised individuals who have shown a propensity for violent behavior; These positions were filled by part-time staff annuitants since June 2021. The full-time positions were recently approved and we are in the process of hiring and bringing them on Board in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. My understanding that the approved position for the Philadelphia district is now on hold due to the prosed modification to the grant.
Coordinate with the BJA-provided technical assistance provider to implement a technological solution that will determine the most effective referrals for ISC participants; A new tool is being developed to track both reentrant progress through the ISC phase system and the referral to resources process. Once finalized the tool will be utilized by the case managers to compile and track data related to these processes. An agency source with the know-how and expertise to interpret this data and report on the results needs to be identified.
Expand the project to additional parole districts where violence is increasing; and – crime data for the remaining 6 parole districts has been received. Expansion of the ISC program should be delayed until the program transition from the Philadelphia District to the Chester district has been completed and is operational.
Evaluate the results of the program in conjunction with the BJA technical assistance provider. – An initial program evaluation was completed by DOC research and statistics staff. This evaluation was inconclusive. Further efforts to evaluate the program need to be undertaken.

The project will achieve the below outcomes:

440 eligible individuals under supervision will participate, with 80% or more successfully completing the program; - unknown. Projected analysis of this data has been rendered a huge set back with the transition of the entire Philadelphia District caseloads (well over half of the cases being provided with services) out of the program. Once Chester District Office cases are brought onboard, the total number of involved cases at any given point in time is going to be far lower than the 440 targeted participants.
Implementation of a new technology tool into PADOC’s existing IT environment/applications to assist in determining the most valuable referrals; and - in process, anticipated launch date of June 1, 2024
Completion of an evaluation to determine violation and recidivism rates of participants both during and after participation in the program, as well as information on how the age, prior violations, referrals made during participation, and violations during participation correlate to long-term success.  – awaiting the entry of data into the new IT tool and approximately one year of analysis of the recorded data – target date June, 1 2025.

Intended beneficiaries are individuals under state supervision who have shown involvement in violent behavior, including engaging in violent behavior or being present at other violent crimes. - no change

The proposed service area for the project will initially be the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg state parole districts, which are the three districts that have the highest number of individuals under state supervision committing or being the victim of violent activities. The project will expand the ISC initiative to two of the seven additional state parole districts identified as having the highest increases in violent crime. Change from Philadelphia District to Chester District.

This proposal meets the criteria of Priority Consideration 1(A), promoting racial equity and removing barriers to access and opportunities for communities that have been historically underserved.  Please see page 5 of the attached narrative. 

This proposal also meets the criteria of Priority Consideration 2(B), priority for organizations with a disproportionate share of probation or parole cases in the state.  Please see attached Documentation of Priority Consideration.