Special Commission on Correctional Funding Minutes
Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 10 AM
(virtual meeting)
Commissioners Present:
- Chair Day
- Chair Brownsberger
- Commissioner Widmer
- Commissioner Forman
- Commissioner Whelan
- Commissioner Joy
- Commissioner Preston
- Commissioner Cowdell
- Commissioner Coppinger
- Commissioner Hodgson
- Commissioner Morton
- Commissioner Dolan
- Commissioner Keefe
- Commissioner Cook
- Commissioner Horgan
- Commissioner Ashe
Commissioners Absent:
- Commissioner Fattman
- Commissioner Crowley
- Commissioner Spina
Chair Day welcomed members and informed them that the commission’s requested further extension of its reporting deadline from September 1, 2021, to January 31, 2022, was approved in the supplemental budget passed on October 20, 2021, in Section 17 of Chapter 76 of the Acts of 2021.
Chair Day entertained a motion to approve minutes from the October 6, 2021, meeting. Commissioner Widmer moved and Chair Brownsburger seconded. Roll taken, with all present member approving said minutes, except for Commissioner Joy who abstained.
The Commission began with a review of the task matrix.
Carrie Hill provided an update on the status of the staffing report executive summaries from the NIC pilot program. Carrie Hill explained that executive summaries from the three sheriff participants have been submitted and Commissioner Preston stated that the DOC’s executive summary will be submitted next week.
Commissioner Forman gave an update on funding sources and expense breakdown advising that all agencies have submitted the requested information. He plans to review once more before submitting to the commission.
Commissioner Horgan spoke about the analysis he submitted on the impact of the Criminal Justice Reform Act, Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018.
Commissioner Cook gave an update from the Substance Use, Mental Health, and Discretionary Spending Subcommittee on their review of actual spending on mental health and substance use disorder services. The subcommittee has met with about half of the agencies so far, is meeting with the remaining agencies over the next couple of weeks, is still waiting on recidivism data, continues to analyze the data it has received, and is focusing on how to write the analysis.
Chair Day opened the meeting up to discussion about thoughts on reports or directional thoughts.
Chair Brownsberger moved to authorize the
publication of the NIC executive summaries prepared by the 3 participating
sheriff’s departments and the DOC to the commission’s website, which was
seconded by Commissioner Widmer. Roll was taken and all present members
unanimously authorized said publication.
Chair Brownsberger requested that Commissioner Forman seek approval from
sheriffs and the DOC to publish he and Commissioner Joy’s analyses on the
commission’s website, so the commission can discuss and vote on publication at
the next meeting.
Chair Day advised that the next meeting is scheduled for Friday, December 3, 2021 at 10AM.
Chair Day entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. Chair Brownsberger moved, Commissioner Ashe seconded. The meeting ended.
All data collected by the Special Commission on Correctional Funding can be downloaded here.
The updated Task Matrix can be viewed here.
The Commission Report Outline can be viewed here.