Report 2010-124 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2010-124: Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: The Benefits of Its Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions Program Are Uncertain (Release Date: September 2011)

Recommendation #4 To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of

Once Corrections resumes its use of COMPAS core and reentry assessments, it should develop practices or procedures to periodically determine whether its staff are using COMPAS core or reentry assessments as intended. Such a process might include performing periodic site visits to corroborate that COMPAS is being used as required.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2016

The Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) Community Transition Program (CTP) conducts the COMPAS Re-entry Needs Assessments on the offender population paroling to DAPO. These Assessments are the foundation for developing each parolee's Re-entry Case Plan and provides the proper identification of each parolee's needs for appropriate parole supervision under the CPSRM and in relation to SOMS data collection capabilities. Furthermore, DAPO is working with the Division of Rehabilitative Programs to integrate the new SOMS Case Planning module to further enhance the use of the COMPAS Re-entry Assessment in parolee case planning. The DAPO CTP supervisors conduct regular quality assurance audits of the COMPAS Re-entry Assessments to ensure that parolee Case Plans incorporate the appropriate elements for field parole agents' use in parolee supervision. Additionally, CTP staff collaborate with the DAPO field parole agents and assist with the direct placement of parolees into community-based programs based upon the outcomes identified in the COMPAS Reentry Assessment, and in correlation to each individual parolee's needs.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Corrections provided us with procedures that it disseminated in 2014 for supervisors to periodically review COMPAS assessments. In previous responses, Corrections indicated that these supervisory reviews had been put on hold due to budget cuts. However, Corrections indicated that these reviews have been restored and provided examples of recently completed supervisory reviews as evidence.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2015

Within the Division of Rehabilitative Programs, business rules included in the SOMS Classification and Programs module provide an automated check against eligibility criteria prior to moving an offender from a waiting list to a program. For in-prison programs, regulations are in place and memoranda have been distributed instructing classification staff to use the COMPAS needs scores to determine an offender's program placement and sequencing. CDCR currently issues a quarterly report on goal 1.2 of the Strategic Plan, which indicates the number and percentage of offenders paroling who have received rehabilitative programming consistent with their identified needs. CDCR reporting indicates the number of offenders who have been assessed as having a criminogenic need and are currently enrolled in a rehabilitative program versus enrolled offenders without the required need. These reports are possible due to the implementation of the SOMS Classification and Program modules, which occurred on 4/25/14.

For the Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO), ongoing staffing issues prevent DAPO from being able to provide a more specific target date for the reinstatement of QA reviews.

Due to character limitations, please see CDCR's submitted proof of practice for additional information.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014

Business rules included in the recently implemented SOMS Classification and Programs module provide an automated check against eligibility criteria prior to moving an offender from a waiting list to a program.

For in-prison programs, regulations are in place and memoranda have been distributed instructing classification staff to use the COMPAS needs scores to determine an offender's program placement and sequencing. CDCR currently issues a quarterly report on goal 1.2 of the Strategic Plan, which indicates the number and percentage of offenders paroling who have received rehabilitative programming consistent with their identified needs.

CDCR is currently developing reports to indicate the number of offenders who have been assessed as having a criminogenic need and are currently enrolled in a rehabilitative program versus enrolled offenders without the required need.

CDCR's Division of Adult Parol Operations (DAPO) has initiated the review and enhancement of the assessment methods used in the QA review process, further increasing the scope of the assessment tools to evaluate the extent of which the COMPAS case plan components are being utilized in the supervision of offenders on State supervised parole.

DAPO anticipates reinstating QA reviews with the enhanced procedures within the coming year.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013

With the implementation of the latest release of COMPAS version 8 on May 10, 2013, CDCR is able to monitor staff activity within the Northpointe Software Suite including the number of assessments, completion of assessments, timeliness of assessments, and adherence to departmental directives.

Currently, CDCR distributes a weekly report to each institution, indicating the number of completed COMPAS Core assessments during the week and the percentage of eligible offenders who have received an assessment. Additionally, CDCR distributes a monthly report to each institution listing all eligible offenders who have not received a COMPAS Core assessment.

With the implementation of this new technology, CDCR is able to conduct "virtual" site visits and able to corroborate COMPAS is being used as required. Also, CDCR, in partnership with the University of California San Diego, is developing a fidelity tool which will include a site review. Part of the fidelity tool will evaluate the administration of the assessment and its adherence to established protocols.

CDCR will continually monitor and evaluate the data as we continue to move forward with rehabilitative efforts.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Corrections did not provide evidence of any meaningful monitoring of its staff's use of the COMPAS core assessment. Although Corrections did provide support that it tracked-by institution- the number of COMPAS-assessed inmates, Corrections did not provide evidence that it is monitoring how its staff are making decisions based on COMPAS-generated results.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2012

The Department is currently developing a proposed site visit process that will include a review of the assessment process and a follow-up report that outlines any issues found during the visit. The Department has begun publishing a monthly report to Executive Staff ranking institutions by percentage of eligible offender assessments completed. The Department is expecting to make use of a variety of new utilization monitoring options which will become available in COMPAS version 8.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2010-124

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.