August 12, 2020

POPAI Board Meeting Minutes for 08/12/2020

Adam opened the meeting, conducted through zoom, at 10:35 am.

Attending:

  • Adam McQueen, President
  • Troy Hatfield, Vice-President
  • C.J. Miller, Treasurer
  • Cherie Wood, Secretary
  • Robert Schuster, District 1 Rep
  • Heather Malone, District 2 Rep
  • Sarah Lochner, District 3 Rep
  • Melanie Pitstick, District 5 Rep
  • Andria Geigle, District 6 Rep
  • Mignon Ware, District 8 Rep
  • Susan Rice, Training Coordinator
  • Esther Kaelin, JDAI Representative
  • Linda Brady, Past President

Also In Attendance:

Tiffany Byers and Esther Kaelin

Secretary's Report

Adam asked if everyone had an opportunity to review the July Secretary’s Report. Mignon made a motion to accept. Heather seconded. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Treasurer's Report

CJ provided the July Treasurer’s Report. As of July 31, 2020, the balance in savings was $17,079.14 and $66,419.02 in checking. CJ stated payments/bills seem to be up to date. Andria made a motion to accept and Bob seconded. All were in favor. Motion carried. CJ also provided the updated budget report.

Technology

Karen sent everyone the report prior to the meeting.

Membership
As of August 5, 2020, we had 1,007 Total Current; 930 POs; 22 Corporate; 55 Other Adam asked about support staff who are not current associate members who want to attend the fall conference. Susan suggested that any potential associate members who want to attend may reduce the amount of their non-member registration to equal the amount to register for the conference ($25) plus an associate membership ($10) for a total of $35.

Education

The 2020 POPAI Fall Conference will be September 16 and 17. POPAI may need to purchase a Zoom license for the conference. Susan said she discussed with Brian Lovins and concluded to wait until we know the number of attendees before deciding the platform for the fall conference. Discussion followed regarding the different options.   Since POPAI will be utilizing Zoom for the remainder of the year, it could be beneficial for us to have our own account.  We will also need to have a business meeting this year and will do so via Zoom. We will wait until we have more information for the fall conference before making a decision. Discussion followed for the registration, topics and facilitating the training. Susan is working on the these and will communicate with Troy for any needs. Susan announced that she is leaving probation in September to work for a private company. She will assist with the transition as needed. The contracts are signed with French Lick through 2022.   We do not have dates secured for the Management Institute. Troy made a motion that the Executive Committee meet to discuss how to move forward with Susan’s position. Heather seconded. All were in favor. Motion carried. Adam will send potential dates. 2021 Management Institute – Discussion for scheduling in person or web based. The Board decided to table this discussion until after the fall training with Brian Lovins to determine the successes and areas of improvement before moving forward in a specific direction.

Chief's Executive Committee

The next meeting will be a Zoom meeting and is TBA.

Juvenile Delinquency Alternative Initiative (JDAI) Update

Esther reported: -IOCS remains on 50% in-office rotation and the State JDAI team is accessible by email, phone, and virtual meetings -The JDAI State Steering Committee Meeting will be held virtually for the second time this Friday -There is hope to hold a coordinator conference in February 2021 -The Indiana JDAI Inter-Site Conference will be held on Oct 7-8 and will be virtual. Registration information will be provided in the near future

Probation Officer Advisory Board Update
Education Committee: Office of Court Services have been working on trainings being virtual this year. CSAMS and PO exams will be live but the trainings leading up to the exam will be virtual. As with everything else in 2020, flexibility is the key. If the officer is unable to do a live testing, there are dates that are set up for accommodations and a remote proctor to be present. The live exams are in the South Tower, there are four dates currently in July and August and more dates will be added as the need arises. Temperatures will be checked and social distancing is in place. New PO Orientation. This is being worked on. One of the benefits of this being virtual is that the sessions are going to be on demand and pre-recorded. This will eliminate the cross-over of having to watch twice if you are in orientations for CSAMS. IOCS is currently working on setting up a panel discussion which will be live on October 22nd. This would be for the New Probation Officers to hear from a Chief Officer, Line Officer, etc. The FAQ will be looked at as the basis for this. This would not be specific to specialty areas but as an in general state wide question and answer. Conference: IOCS is looking at dates in 2021, looking at virtual, nothing currently under contract to have it in person.
  • Looking at different options. Webinars for days, monthly, or monthly with subject focused. Maybe focus around different topics for instance Mental Health Month. Still offering the same amount of work and sessions but it would be spread out over time. Gearing some towards juvenile track, adult track and both. Currently keeping sessions for the conference from 2020
  • Suggestion was made for open viewing times rather than set times, as with business starting back up, this is difficult sometimes to get to the training
  • Suggestions for online trainings:
    • How COVID has affected the staff, families, clients, etc. – mental health
    • Overdose fatality teams
    • Case Review/Planning teams
If you need assistance in finding trainings to get the hours, please contact Chad Long at the Office of Court Services and a staff member will be able to assist in finding trainings for you. IOCS is working on getting the new legislation out for Juvenile and Adult. These will be sent out to the CPO’s and they will be able to send this to the persons they wish to see these. Hot Topics The committee has been working on quarterly report updates. The group may be dividing into a juvenile and adult work groups. Looking to get better and more information that can used        on a daily basis. Some who are in the group are not responsible for doing the quarterly report and it is hard for them to weigh in when they don’t know what goes into the report in their agencies; they will receive a blank report so they are better understanding. Supervision Dianne and Shannon Schmaltz are going to co-chair the Supervision committee. The committee will look at a supervision contingency plan. This is to give the chief’s and directors a plan if there should be a second wave of COVID or any other natural disaster that may shut business down again. They would like to be able to provide a list of suggestions for the different levels of preparations. What strategies are you using? i.e. Google voice, working remotely from home, Zoom, programming, etc. Please email Michelle Hinkle (michelle.henkle@courts.in.gov) at IOCS any ideas of what your county would like to see or what you are using (protocol or supervision) by August 3rd. POPAI POPAI met last week. (https://gopopai.org/) Fall Conference has been cancelled.
  • Will be looking at providing virtual training to everyone.
  • Splitting over two days. POPAI will be making sure that the training provides EBP hours.
  • One healthcare navigator wanted to give a webinar on how to get healthcare services to those coming out of incarceration. This will be a part of the training.
  • Working on a way to issue awards and recognition for the year.
Annual business meeting will be an invite to membership over lunch on one of the days. There are no contested elections. If you are a member, attend the annual meeting luncheon as there has to be a quorum. POPAI is still working on the mentoring initiative. POPAI is reviewing the strategic plan. The plan was approved in January, now reviewing the plan to see where the goals that wanted to accomplish. JDAI will be bringing some new members onto the POPAI board but POPAI is looking for someone to represent JDAI and from the POPAI board on the conditions of confinement for the State. If you are interested, please let Sarah Lochner (SLochner@wabashcounty.IN.gov ) know. JDAI https://www.in.gov/judiciary/iocs/2826.htm JDAI is continuing to return to in office work. They are not cleared for travel, working via virtual. JDAI conference to be virtual (October 7-8).
  • Encouraging sites to have a watch party.
  • Encouraging sites to accept changes that are happening due to the COVID situation.
  • JDAI Institute has a training in regards to moving forward from what we have learned. State team is available if you need support.
5 sites are coming on as introductory sites – Posey, Putnam, Fountain, Noble and Huntington. Lawrence County is a full site as of July 1. Children’s Commission https://www.in.gov/children/ June 17th was last meeting, virtual. There was a presentation on equity inclusion and competence. (https://www.in.gov/children/files/Commission%20Equity%20Guide.pdf) The Commission is working on an equity guide to decision making. Draft has been sent out to IOCS to get to members. It will be up for approval at the August meeting. https://www.in.gov/children/files/Commission%20Equity%20Guide.pdf. Each commission member went around and talked about how they are dealing with COVID in their agencies. Probation is a little different machine as most members are all State Agencies and are doing things similar where Probation is not doing the exact same things they are. Next meeting is August 19th. JRAC/Legislative https://www.in.gov/justice/ JRAC has been meeting with the new expanded membership. Next meeting is in August. Requesting recommendations on what legislation may need to be drafted, proposed, etc., about budgets for the coming year. August meeting will be getting into the EBDM initiative. Continued to be focused on Jail Overcrowding with recommendations. One of the main focuses will be looking at those recommendations and what we need to do to move forward. They are looking at to make things better for those within the criminal justice system and how to remove challenges that are already challenges but will be bigger. IOCS https://www.in.gov/judiciary/iocs/ IOCS continues to work on figuring out how to engage in certification and orientation issues. There has been a case by case travel restriction for certification. IOCS has to go through three levels to explain why they need to go to a site. Zoom meetings are being utilized. Working with court technology to do an app in Incite to do file review from IOCS in SRS if you have this. They will be able to pull those files for purpose of certification. If not on SRS, then an extension will be given to get the certification. Everyone has been really creative in working together. Compact state council met and the grade came out and Indiana did very well through the Pandemic. Please contact the Compact persons as they are willing to help. There were some changes with the compact. (https://www.in.gov/judiciary/probation/2346.htm)   You can watch the playback on the website. Tomorrow (7/15) there is a pre-trial risk assessment training/update on what has been done so far and what the next steps are. Data!! IOCS is looking at grants management kick off if you are receiving grants from IOCS. Researching a case management software which will make everything manageable through IOCS. Some DOC funds have moved to a calendar year. IOCS is working on moving the grants to a calendar year so that everything is on the same schedule. 2 counties are certified for pre-trial – provisional certifications are done remotely currently. Next Meeting: October 20th, 2020

Election
Michael previously sent the information and stated we do not have any contested elections. The slate will still need to be posted and each person will need a minimum of one vote. The slate will be: Pres – Adam McQueen; Sec – Cherie Wood; D2 – Heather Malone; D4 – Mike Small; D6 – Lindsey Villalpando; D8 – Mignon Ware  

Awards and Recognition

Bob stated the annual award information is posted on our website and the nominations are due by August 17. Karen has posted the reminder to the Monday update.

Indiana Evidence Based Decision Making (EBDM) Initiative

State Committee Report and Professional Development Committee – There has not been any new meeting.

Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC)

JRAC: The next JRAC meeting is 8-12-2020. A few topics for discussion will be: Case studies on local jail populations o Law school students and initial hearing representation o Discussion and Vote o Legislative Proposals

• Proposed amendments to IC 35-33-8-3.8

• Driving while suspended workgroup

• Funding recommendations

o Public defender commission reimbursement for misdemeanors o Pretrial services o Evidence Based Decision Making training and technical assistance o Misdemeanor eligibility for Recovery Works   Member Discussion: FY 2022-2023 budget forecast and local impact A discussion followed regarding which legislative issues POPAI should support. Adam will have a better idea after today’s meeting as to what POPAI should take a stance on. In general, POPAI wants to support increases in funding for community supervision and areas that will improve the criminal justice system as a whole. Adam discussed the information he plans to provide at today’s meeting. A few updates from the June 19 meeting: Jenny Bauer highlighted that JRAC has overseen $100M in community supervision grants for the Department of Correction and $70M in Recovery Works expenditures for the Division of Mental Health and Addiction. Ms. Bauer also presented the 2020 legislative amendments to the JRAC statute, which added eight new members and four new duties. She explained that the 2020 amendments incorporate the work of the Jail Overcrowding Task Force and the Evidence Based Decision Making Initiative. Indiana Public Defender Council—Bernice Corley suggested that JRAC study issues of inequity in the criminal justice system and propose legislative amendments as requested by the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus. Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council—Chris Naylor stated that the numbers for charges file and persons arrested decreased significantly since March. Division of Mental Health and Addiction—Rebecca Buhner reported that DMHA conducted 14 audits of Recovery Works treatment providers in January and February. Recovery Works enrollment dropped to 120 per month (down from 300) because of COVID Indiana Sheriffs’ Association—Steve Luce reported that jail populations are down and encouraged use of summons for high volume warrants. He also reported that ISA received a grant for Medically Assisted Treatment and evidence-based treatment in jails and will work with DMHA on implementation. Indiana Department of Correction—Chris Blessinger reported that DOC staff are ready to assist with community supervision grant applications which are due July 17. DOC audits of community supervision grant recipients are currently on hold because of COVID-19 restrictions. Office of Judicial Administration—Mary Kay Hudson reported that OJA is working with courts on emergency petitions to resume operations and developed guidance for remote hearings. Indiana Criminal Justice Institute—Devon McDonald reported that ICJI received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to provide COVID funding to counties. He also reported that ICJI is working with the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association regarding jail data and plan to conduct a pilot. Indiana Association of Community Corrections Act Counties—Ralph Watson reported that IACCAC cancelled its spring training due to COVID and is currently assisting agencies with DOC grant applications. Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana—Adam McQueen reported that POPAI cancelled its annual training institute scheduled for September. State Budget Agency—Kirsten Haney reported that SBA is analyzing fiscal data and preparing for the 2021 session of the general assembly. Association of Indiana Counties—David Bottorff reported that counties are interested in keeping jail populations down. Indiana Judges Association—Judge Mark Spitzer reported that IJA is focused on supporting judges and courts with resuming court operations and collecting information on race and equity Indiana Public Defender Commission—Mark Rutherford reported that the Commission is an opt-in program for reimbursement of public defender costs. He stated that recidivism is decreasing in participant counties. House Courts and Criminal Code Committee—Rep. Wendy McNamara reported that she chairs the Interim Study Committee on Court and Criminal Code. The study committee plans to review consent for sexual activity; criminal trends related to sentencing, incarceration, and treatment; and criminal laws on fraud and deception. Governor—Doug Huntsinger reported that he chairs the Governor’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse. Next steps. Justice Goff led a discussion of next steps for JRAC. He suggested that JRAC needs to meet more often and create smaller workgroups for legislative proposals and racial equity issues. Justice Goff stated that Chief Justice Rush would like to see JRAC work on consensus recommendations from the Jail Overcrowding Task Force and strengthening state and local partnerships. Justice Goff made a motion to form a workgroup on racial equity in the justice system.

Legislation

Legislative priorities for 2021 – Adam expects funding to be a major topic for the new session. Interim Study Committee on Corrections and Criminal Code – September 15 is the first scheduled meeting.

Old Business

Workload/caseload is on the backburner right now. Commission for Race and Fairness: Lakisha stated no updates.

New Business

APPA Summer Institute discussion via email by Board prior to the meeting due to time considerations (motion passed unanimously): Andria:  I make a motion that POPAI pays the $2,000 for the APPA Affiliate group discounted rate for the APPA Fall Virtual Conference, which will allow 25 POPAI members to attend the conference, and that ten registration slots be reserved for POPAI Board members and the remaining fifteen slots be open to any POPAI member (including Board Members) who “applies”.  Ultimately the fifteen slots would be decided based upon a blind drawing. Heather:  I second Andrea’s motion that POPAI pay the $2000 as a perk to membership and offer 10 slots to the board first and then the remainder to the membership. Troy discussed the opportunities for the APPA Conference and those eligible. A discussion followed regarding the Board members who have expressed an interest in attending the APPA Conference. After accounting for the Board members wanting to attend APPA, the remaining slots will be offered to those entered into the drawing. Susan reviewed the list of those who entered in the drawing and marked members versus those who are not. She recently updated the database and will check the mailbox in Indy today. Susan will advise Troy of any membership dues that have recently been be paid. He will then reach out to those who have expressed an interest in the conference if they have not paid this year to check on the person’s status and then notify the winners as soon as possible. Article on website regarding treatment center – Troy discussed a post on the website and the request to remove an article. POPAI received a request from an attorney representing a company who was the subject of an article we posted several years ago. The request was to remove the article due to their belief it was harmful to their business practices as well as having inaccuracies. The Executive Committee took action prior to the Board meeting and removed the article due to several considerations and after an email exchange from the attorney POPAI engaged with for the Amicus brief. Troy made a motion to permanently remove the article from the website, and take future considerations for removal of other articles on case by case basis. Bob seconded. All were in favor. Motion carried. Troy offered discussion about not posting articles behind a pay wall even if the first “x” number of articles are offered for free. It was suggested that we limit the amount of the article posted on website.  We should only capture 1st paragraph to peak an interest and have the link to the full article. An article will be posted on the website about Susan’s departure from probation. Discussion followed regarding something special POPAI can do for Susan as she leaves our organization. We will revisit at next month’s meeting. Annual business meeting planning for September 16 @ 12pm. via Zoom. Sarah suggested having a moderator for the meeting. CJ suggested we stress that we need 10% of the membership involved in the business meeting. It was suggested that we offer random door prizes during the business meeting. Adam will prepare an agenda and send to everyone before our next board meeting. CJ will order the plaques for the outgoing members. Karen is working on the information about the conference and then will send the link to register.

Next Meeting

Executive Board Meeting – Wednesday, September 9 @ 10:30 am EDT via Zoom.