Delaware Department of Correction

Council on Correction

July 24, 2012 Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance: Members Absent:

Chairman Roger Levy Robert Webster Elder Ty Johnson Kevin Marine Joe Paesani Lois Myers Melissa Dill James Burton Ann Couzens Richard Senato Ed Perez

DOC in Attendance: Commissioner Carl Danberg Deputy Bureau Chief Jenn Carlson Acting Deputy Commissioner Janet Durkee Mike Records Chief Karl Hines John Painter Chief Mike Deloy

I. Call to Order

Chairman Roger Levy called to order the regular meeting of the Council on Correction at 4:10 PM on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 in Conference Room 300, Department of Correction Administration Building.

The minutes from the May 22, 2012 meeting were unavailable for approval. Commissioner will ensure minutes are distributed.

II. Commissioner’s Report

It has been a busy summer between the legislative process, the annual budget for the Department and the State and a significant amount of travel. The Department fared well in the budget and received most of the items requested although the lease increases were not funded. Disposable revenue is diminishing due to unfunded increases. Overall, I am pleased with the budget.

Department received an increase in the medical line. There is a new vendor for mental health and substance abuse. Last time, the medical contract was split. MHM was awarded the mental health piece, but did not perform well. Mistakes were made two years ago in the staffing assessment. MHM was offered an extension but declined. Therefore, the contract was put out to bid and awarded July 1, 2012 to Connections, a community-based Delaware vendor. So far, the Department is very pleased with the transition. The biggest hurdle for the new vendor is finding the right number of appropriately-credentialed people. The contract was awarded in early June to begin the transition. I met with MHM’s President in Denver on Sunday. MHM is a very good company, and I would n0t be opposed to seeing them again. Mike Records agreed with Commissioner’s statement and noted that Connections really has hit the ground running.

I was just in Denver for a meeting of my national counterparts, which is held at the same time as the ACA conference. The meeting was fruitful. One major topic was PREA, which spun out of control. Originally, it was estimated 30-35% of offenders were raped in prison and those statistics resulted in a new federal law. However, later research indicated the rate was about 4 ½% but now appears to be closer to 1%, which is still a large number. USDOJ primary performed the research. Delaware should be able to implement PREA effectively but other states may struggle.

Another major area of discussion was Administrative Segregation, which may also be called Solitary Confinement. It has caught the attention of Federal Legislators. The Department will be heavily involved in the standards for Administrative Segregation. The group will get together again in January/February for training on the appropriate use of Administrative Segregation with hopes of drafting a new policy.

The Day Laborer Program is under review. The internal review indicated no criminal wrong-doing. The Attorney General will determine if a particular law may apply to the program. The program started at SCI in the mid-80s before moving to SWRC and was used to help farmers with harvest. Employers contacted facility with request, and if facility approved, a letter was drafted with the names of offenders authorized to work, which was also supported by the log book. The offenders were supervised and paid by the employer. Once the employer returned the offenders to facility, the letter was destroyed and offenders were signed back in by employer. Program transferred from SCI to SWRC in 1989 using same process. Program continued for 25 years without incident. Recently, two offenders at Representative John Atkins’ father-in- law’s property were instructed to place two tires onto trash pile and burn. The in- law’s neighbors, who do not get along with in-laws, started a fight on the property. The police responded and both the neighbors and Representative Atkins’ father-in- law were arrested while the offenders were returned to SWRC. The incident generated a FOIA from The News Journal. The Department did not have paperwork to identify the offenders working on day labor and log book does not include the employer information. Therefore, the Department was unable to provide the information requested. The Attorney General Office’s review is underway. The internal review indicated everything as I described. There was nothing illegal and the biggest user of the program is Chip West, son of former Representative Charles West. Other users are farmers and locals. Offenders are paid cash by employer and earn at least minimum wage. The Department interviewed former and current offenders that worked in the program and all supported it. The offenders sometimes had to open private bank accounts because funds received exceeded SWRC limit. The claim was that employers used labor for free or program was used to make money off offenders, which was found to be false after interviews completed. It appears there are many misconceptions about the variety of offender programs. I suspended only the Day Laborer Program and asked Chief Hines to review all work programs and draft policies. Chief Hines shut down the Community Service Programs for similar issues. There were no clear policies on the responsibility for supervision of offenders and handling of potential situations. Once a policy is in effect, the Community Service Programs, which service non-profits, will be re-initiated. Pay issues are holding up the reinstatement of the Day Laborer Program because statute states the Department is responsible for maintaining funds of offenders under its supervision. However, statute may apply only to Level 5 and the Department is awaiting an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office. There are a small number of employers using the Day Laborer Program due to the availability of the Community Service Programs.

KEY and CREST are being covered under new Mental Health contract. Joe Paesani suggested bringing in George Deleon to help Connections with implementation of KEY and CREST changes.

Chairman Levy asked if previous mental health vendor breached contract. Commissioner verified that MHM fulfilled two-year contract but each party mutually agreed not to renew optional extension. MHM continued to perform through the end of their contract. He also expressed concern over tax issues of payments to Day Laborer offenders and form of payment in cash as not a good practice. Commissioner responded that Department agreed and new policy will require payment by business check. Department is also looking into use of kiosks that permit deposits to offender accounts at Level 4 facilities, similar to kiosks in use for Commissary at Level 5. All questions need to be resolved before program reinstituted.

III. Old Business

Suggestion Program: A lot of suggestions received in beginning of program, but submissions slowing. The suggestion to change officer uniforms is in process now. There have been no major cost savings from any suggestions.

Dog Programs: 8-week BARK program at BWCI up and running. First graduation of four dogs was held and included media coverage. Three of the dogs have been adopted, and Department will ensure COC is invited to next graduation. PAWS, a program similar to BWCI’s program, has started at SCI. The dogs are being socialized for adoption. Both Wardens want to expand program to service dogs but not ready yet.

Second Chance Halfway House for Women: No action taken as Department is not familiar with house. Chairman Levy will get information to Commissioner.

Group for families of incarcerated individuals: Families have expressed interest in group to assist families of incarcerated individuals, a Parental Advisory Group. There are similar groups in existence in the community, and the Commissioner asked that a subcommittee convene to research needs.

IV. New Business

I-Adapt: 1,065 individuals agreed to participate; 551 from program released into community and the University of Delaware collecting data on completions with SAC. A working group was assigned, and DHSS Secretary Landgraf has authority. Information is shared among State agencies and a larger sample is needed before statistics can be published.

Annual COC Report to Governor: Chairman Levy requested that anyone with comments to be included in the report be submitted to him. He will provide a copy of the report to council when finalized.

Low-level Offender Programs: Programs exist that may work for Delaware and save money. These programs require outside entity to get rolling – State cannot start programs. Commissioner keeps idea in discussions at public meeting, but no community groups have stepped up to date. Department will determine if a DACS report to identify the level of offenders that may be eligible for the programs.

Meeting adjourned at 5:48 PM, motion by Chairman Levy, 2nd by Elder Ty Johnson.

Submitted by Jodie Wedel