Summary of the Local Government
Justice Reinvestment Commission Meeting:
Feb 14, 2019
Counties talk “SWOT”
The Local Government Justice Reinvestment Commission was established in Chapter 515 to represent each county in advising the Oversight Board on various matters. The Commission is charged with making recommendations regarding grants to local governments and creating measures to assess the effectiveness of the grants.
While only five counties were represented at this meeting of the local commission, the variety of representation was most interesting. Representatives from the counties included a police officer, the Director of a local Department of Corrections, and a County Council member. Each provided their unique perspective as part of the Strategic planning process facilitated by Tara Huffman of the Open Society Institute (OSI) Baltimore.
Ms. Huffman began the meeting by asking three key questions which will shape the development of the RFP for Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) funding for localities and local programs. She noted that the overarching goals of the funding is to deflect and divert persons away from the criminal justice system and to prevent persons from reoffending. She gave an overview of four core principles in accomplishing this:
The group then conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) assessment of the current circumstances in the localities.
Strengths mentioned were changes in local services including: mobile crisis teams, emergency evaluations, work release programs, pre-trial diversion, problem solving courts (including teen courts), intake assessment, and the use of specialized staff, including substance abuse advocates and re-entry specialists such as peer counselors. Most importantly, all participants applauded the increased communication among criminal justice agencies through partnership meetings.
Weaknesses focused mainly on the process for seeking grants, which can be cumbersome, especially getting buy-in from local leaders. Also, additional fiscal staff are needed to track grant funds. Most importantly, the group discussed the problem of inmates being released from state straight into the community, NOT to the county facilities. In spite of best practices knowledge, the necessary systems are not in place for inmates to serve the final portion of their sentence at the local facility, which would ease reintegration and re-entry.
While legal changes and technology were mentioned by the participants as opportunities, the group chose to focus on the opportunities created by wrap around services which give a person a better chance of success. These services would be most easily accessed if inmates returned back to their local community through the local jail.
The threats identified by the participants could be clustered into two key concerns: lack of services and shortages of local criminal justice personnel. Expanding on the lack of services, participants noted the holes in the continuum of care and the lack of early detection of trauma. The group discussed the causes of personnel shortages, which included top leadership aging out and a hiring process slowed by current perceptions and stigma that reduce interest in law enforcement jobs.
The participants then reviewed their work and talked about the recurring themes of improving communication among agencies, increasing the availability of mental health services, and providing needed after-care/post release services. They finished the meeting by discussing desired outcomes and measures of success, including community partnerships and community buy-in.
Thanks to Marvelous MAJR Monitor Marks (Pat Marks, that is) for these highlights. Pat stepped in to cover the meeting on only one day’s notice! For more complete minutes and related documents, watch for them to appear on the Commission’s website.
