HomeMy WebLinkAbout20181158.tiffPresent:
WELD COUNTY
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Centennial Center, 3rd Floor, Conference Rooms A & B
915 10th Street, Greeley
Judge Julie Hoskins, Commissioner Steve Moreno, Judge Michele Meyer,
Judge Thomas Quammen, Robb Miller, Roger Ainsworth, Cory
Flummerfelt, Kyle Ward, Dianna Campbell, Hugo Sanchez, Jim Merson,
Keith Coleman, Mike McCormick, Mary Kay Holamon, Michelle
Steinmetz, Ruby Jaime -Soto, Doug Erler, Kamie Cooley
Chair, Judge Hoskins called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m.
1. Introduction of attendees
2. Approval of October 10, 2017 meeting minutes
• The minutes were accepted with no changes. Judge Meyer moved to approve,
Roger Ainsworth seconded, the motion passed unanimously.
3. Criminal Justice Coordinator Position Update
• Doug Erler presented a copy of the proposed Criminal Justice Coordinator position
job description. He updated the attendees that the County Commissioners approved
funding for this position and he is about to kick off the recruitment process. More
to report at the next meeting.
4. Presentation: 19th JD Probation Female Opportunity Program (FOP)
• Probation Officer, Mary Kay Holamon with the 19th JD Probation Department and
Michelle Steinmetz with North Range Behavioral Health (NRBH), presented on the
19th JD Probation Female Opportunity Program (FOP). Mary Kay supervises this
specialized caseload at the 19th JD and reported that her goal is to improve outcomes
for these clients. The program recently changed their program's name from the
Female Offender Program to the Female Opportunity Program, hoping to improve
outcomes by increasing client self-esteem and relationships. She reported that since
1980, there has been a 700% increase in the incarcerated female population. She
reported there are more than 1.2 million women in the criminal justice system in
the United States and over 1 million are on Probation. In Colorado, the incarcerated
women rate is higher than the national average. Women are most likely to commit
property and drug crimes. It is rare for a female to commit a crime without a co-
defendant. She summarized how science reveals that there are 100 gender
differences in the human brain. Females have more white matter and blood flow in
their brains, causing them to use verbal, feelings and emotions more than males;
therefore, addictions tend to happen quicker for women. Research also shows that
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unhealthy relationships often increases illicit substance use. When supervising
women, she has found that focusing on building relationships is key, as females
tend to show more disconnections due to past trauma. Common risk factors for
women include substance abuse, sexual trauma, mental health, lack of education,
employment and housing and poor relationship skills. Research shows that seventy-
two percent of women in the criminal justice system have a child before the age of
18 years of age. Women are generally the primary care giver for children. If
women go to jail, the Department of Human Services is often contacted more than
if a male/father is detained. One in four women are a victim of severe physical
violence. She also touched on Relational Aggression and how this occurs due to
insecurity (lack of health connections), indirect/emotional bullying, lack of control
and inability to express emotions. Michelle Steinmetz with NRBH conducts
Equine Therapy at NRBH, which is a form of experiential therapy that involves
interactions between clients and horses. She spoke about how research shows this
form of therapy increases the opportunity for women to make choices, have control,
and express emotions in a healthy way. FOP also aids in skill -building in
budgeting, sober parenting, life skills, nutrition and health/wellness. Referrals for
the FOP come from the Courts or from fellow Probation Officers. The caseload
consists of Misdemeanor and Felony cases. Judge Meyer asked how many clients
are on the current caseload, Mary Kay reported it is currently at 25; max is 30.
Mary Kay said most of her caseload consists of clients with misdemeanor drug
charges. There is no PSI/front end screening for most misdemeanor charges;
therefore, Judge Meyer asked about how to refer these clients to the program. Mary
Kay said most of the time these types of clients are referred to her by fellow
Officers. Kyle Ward from UNC asked if there was a wait list, Mary Kay said not
now. Mary Kay said she usually supervises clients on her caseload even after
graduation from the FOP, and until they finish their Probation sentence. Typically,
the FOP lasts one year. If a client is referred to the caseload internally, she will
then set a review hearing with the Court 30-60 days out. Judge Quammen reported
that when he hears reviews, it is an opportunity to give clients feedback and for
clients to share what they have accomplished with the Probation Officer present.
Jim Merson from the PD Office asked if there are any relationship building classes
or groups being offered with significant others. Mary Kay said not now; as she
doesn't see it as a healthy opportunity for her clients; however, they do focus on
mother/daughter relationship building, etc. Kyle Ward asked how they are tracking
outcomes and if there is some form of program validation planned. Mark Kay said
the department collects data quarterly and they found some negative outcomes in
2016, which has prompted additional training. Kyle said there are graduate students
in the Criminal Justice Program that might be interested/willing to assist with
tracking 2017 outcomes. Mary Kay and Michelle concluded their presentation and
the CJAC attendees thanked them for their dedication and commitment to making
FOP successful.
5. Subcommittee Reports
• Sheriff's Office Jail Reports
i. Captain, Roger Ainsworth reported that 11,270 adults were admitted to the
jail in 2016 vs. 11,874 in 2017 (+5.4%). Currently, the average daily
population increased by 86 offenders from 628 to 2016 to 714 in 2017
(+13.7). A record (776 offenders) in jail was set August 11, 2017 (includes
secure housing out -of -county placements). The jail is 99% over capacity
regarding staffing. Municipal court warrant arrests decreased from 558 to
462 (-17.2%). Traffic related charges also increased (1984 traffic bookings
in 2016 vs. 2420 in 2017, +22%). Eight hundred and eight of these in 2016
were for new DUI bookings compared to 1022 in 2017 (+26.5%). All other
traffic related bookings including, but not limited to DUI FTA, DUI FTC,
DUR, HTO, increased from 1176 in 2016 to 1398 in 2017 (+18.9%). Judge
Meyer asked why DUR and DARP arrests have increased. Roger reported
the arrests and jail population tend to be driven by external policies. Judge
Quammen pointed out that Community Corrections and Parole violations
are on average 60%. Jim Merson voiced some concern in that many
defendants charged with traffic offenses (DARP, DUR, etc.) are remaining
in custody until trial, causing unnecessary jail crowding (waste of
resources). With the upcoming change in time for bail hearings to 2:30
PM on weekdays, Doug commented that this might also (slightly) affect the
length of stay in jail for new arrestees. Roger agreed saying though it might
affect the length of stay by hours, but not days.
• Alternative Programs -Work Release/EHM
i. Dianna Campbell, Alternative Programs Director, reported the Work
Release Program in 2017 averaged 93 new intakes each month. Thirty six
percent of those were transported from the jail for first day orientation and
28% of clients self -reported illicit drug use at entry. The top charge at intake
is Alcohol -Related Traffic (43%). The current end of month client count
average was 145 clients in September. Of the court ordered releases, 70%
closed out positively, 5% were classified as neutral (not eligible for the
program or had warrants) and 25% were regressed. Judge Quammen asked
how the 2017 data compared to 2016. Dianna reported the two years were
very comparable. Of the regressions from Work Release, 17% were
regressed for not following staff directions, 19% for being out of place
assignment, 14% for positive BA's and 19% for positive UA's. The average
number of days completed in the program prior to regression was, on
average, 50 days. For the Electronic Monitoring Program, they completed
612 new intakes in 2017. Of those, 14% were transported from the jail for
first day orientation, 6% had additional TAD monitoring and 32% self -
reported illicit drug use at entry (again most from clients who self -reported
to the program). The top charge at intake is Non -Alcohol Traffic related
(62%). The average daily population is 57. Eighty-nine percent of the
clients discharged successfully, 5% classified as neutral and 7% for
negative reasons. On average, clients served 64 days prior to regression.
• Pretrial Services
i. Kamie Cooley, Pretrial Services Supervisor, reported on 2017 YTD
statistics for the Pretrial Services program. She reported on the average
year-to-date Public Safety rate of 86%, which means 14% of the
defendants on pretrial supervision accrued a jail able law violation,
whereas either a summons issued or arrest occurred. The technical
compliance rate was 89%, which means 11% of the defendants on pretrial
supervision their bond or summons was modified/revoked, most notably
for positive urinalyses, missed urinalyses and/or lost contact. The Court
Appearance rate is 80%, which means 20% of the closed pretrial
supervision cases these defendants did not appear for a court hearing and a
warrant was issued. Kamie reported the FTA rate decreased by 2% from
2016, which stemmed from their pending intake population. She noted the
program is interviewing new arrestees for daily Bail Hearings an average
of 286 new arrestees each month (68% of all eligible arrestees) and
providing a Bail Report for bail/bond hearings on those defendants. If a
Bail Report was completed and Pretrial Services recommended a PR
Bond, the Courts agreed with the recommendation 66% of the time. If a
Bail Report was completed and Pretrial Services did not recommend a PR
Bond, the Courts agreed 67% of the time. On the supervision side of
Pretrial Services, the program maintained an average daily population of
979 defendants under pretrial supervision, with an average of 245 new
monthly intakes and an average of 245 monthly case closures. Once a
defendant is ordered to pretrial supervision, she said staff track the
defendants assessed Colorado Pretrial Assessment Tool (CPAT) category
and risk score for appropriate supervision (Category 1 being low risk and
Category 4 being high risk). Judge Quammen asked what the service fee
collection rate was, Kamie reported about 80% ($33,000 in 2017). She
noted these funds are routed back to certain clients to help pay for release
conditions like electronic monitoring and/or toxicology testing. Judge
Quammen said the partnership between Pretrial Services and WCSO
booking techs at the jail seems to increase success for defendants. Roger
Ainsworth asked how they could assist with the pending intake population
reporting to Pretrial Services. Kamie said she is always looking at ways to
get these defendants into the Pretrial Services office to commence
supervision. These defendants present the highest percentage of pretrial
release failures.
6. Open Forum
• Kamie introduced Pamela Hernandez the Justice Services Department New Court
Date Notification Program Specialist. She replaces Ruby Jaime -Soto who was
promoted to the Pretrial Services program.
• Roger Ainsworth reported he will follow up with Judge Meyer regarding increase
with traffic arrests.
• Mike McCormick from NRBH said his agency was recently issued two (2) grants.
One will help fund their inpatient female treatment program for pregnant women
or women with children ages 0-5, starting in July at the regional center at NRBH
(12 beds). Additionally, NRBH received a co -responder grant from the Office of
Behavioral Health, which will help fund 3 FTE to go out with first responders to
support law enforcement when dealing with substance abusing offenders. Judge
Hoskins said she supports this initiative.
• Judge Meyer reiterated that bail hearings are now being held at 2:30 p.m. on
weekdays. All new arrestees will now be processed together now. No changes to
weekend bail hearings.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. The next CJAC meeting will
be Tuesday, April 10, 2018 @ 12:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by,
Kamie Cooley Doug Erler, Director
Pretrial Services Supervisor Weld County Justice Services Department
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