VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PROBA TION AND P AROLE A S SOCIA TION WWW.APPA-NET.ORG2 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 33 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION4 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 president’s message TIM HARDY PRESIDENT I would like to introduce myself. I’m Tim Hardy from Yuma, AZ. I have been with the Yuma County Juvenile Court since 1991 and have been the Director/Chief for the past 22 years. I have been a member of APPA since 1997. I was sworn in as President of APPA this past August in San Francisco. I would like to briefly discuss my vision for the future of APPA. First and foremost, I think I am a “people person” and look forward to working with all members. I believe everyone has something to offer APPA, no matter what your level of experience is in the field. Our association has come a long way over the last 44 years. I’m excited to be your president as we celebrate our 45th birthday next summer in New York City. We continue to offer more and more training that can be applied to all levels of probation and parole and to those who work in the field with adults, as well as youth. We will continue to improve to be a more transparent organization on decisions as we move forward. We have been diligently working on a Strategic Plan to help guide us through the next five years. This will help us to be more effective in what we do. I’m proud to be part of an Executive Committee that has already rolled their sleeves up and are hard at work. I truly believe in community justice and safety for all. I believe in and follow the guidelines of Kids at Hope. For those of you who don’t already know, Kids at Hope is a philosophy that has a simple belief that “All children are capable of success, no exceptions.” I see that philosophy applying to each one of us believing in those we work with, no matter if we work with youth or adults. I’d like you to join me in my belief that says, “We will never give up on anyone we work with, and we won’t tolerate anyone who does.” 5 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION American Probation and Parole Association 21 Evidence-Based Curricula & Certification Training from NCTI in Partnership with APPA National Curriculum & Training Institute®, Inc. | 319 E. McDowell Road, Ste. 200 Phoenix, AZ 85004 6 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 I’d like to discuss some projects I plan to continue working on and hopefully complete within the next two years: • Complete our Strategic Plan • Review the current make-up of our Board of Directors to streamline to be as effective as possible • Provide additional juvenile related training at our conferences • Develop APPA Standards for Probation and Parole • Utilize the expertise of our members • Increase our membership to 4,500 as we reach our 45th year • Be part of a nationwide COMMITMENT to “immunize” our youth against HOPELESSNESS; we need to ensure they know adults BELIEVE in them My commitment to you is to continue to advance the mission of APPA and to increase and enhance our membership to the more than 90,000 professionals in our field. With your assistance, I know we can reach our goals. president’s message7 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION 8 PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3 editor’s notes BRIAN LOVINS EDITORIAL CO-CHAIR FOR PERSPECTIVES FAYE S. TAXMAN EDITORIAL CO-CHAIR FOR PERSPECTIVES The First Step Act of 2018 (“Act,” hereafter) is a federal law that makes wholesale changes to the federal sentencing and correctional system. This is the first law that is geared towards reforming federal sentencing and the Federal Bureau of Prison (BOP). The BOP controls nearly 178,000 inmates and runs reentry centers. The value of the law lies in the way in which it reforms the system: 1) by implementation and use of a new risk and need assessment tool; 2) incentives for earn time credits for participation in recidivism reduction programs; 3) location of individuals closer to their residence; 4) enhanced procedures to reform programs and services; 5) reduction of mandatory minimums and retroactive Act application; and 6) performance measures to monitor implementation. This bipartisan legislation is lauded as a major effort to reform federal sentencing and corrections.9 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION Even with these key features, concerns about the Act exist. Much has to do with the potential implementation of the Act across the country. The new instrument was developed in a few weeks and is being revised based on statistical procedures. The number of programs that will be eligible to be part of the earn time credits is still being debated, as is the criteria for assessing whether a program meets the criteria for a recidivism reduction program. And, how the BOP incorporates these legislative reforms is of great concern. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is overseeing the implementation of the BOP reforms. DOJ has established an Internal Review Committee, which is an external advisory body. BOP is working on plans to implement the Act. Some 3,000 individuals have already been released with more planned over the next few years. The new risk and needs assessment tools are in a developmental stage with plans to develop additional needs scales. The three articles in this issue of Perspectives give an outlook of the unique qualities of the Act. They provide a balanced assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Act. Many have commented the Act is too limiting—it does not cover reentry or federal supervision. It does not change most of federal sentencing and the guidelines. Many have commented that the next major federal legislative reform act should focus on supervision, and improvements in reentry with attention to the residential centers and federal supervision under the Administrative Office of the Courts. It does appear that there is an interest in expanding reforms throughout the federal sentencing and correctional system, an opportunity for the federal system to catch up to many states. editorial committee FAYE S. TAXMAN, PH.D. Editorial Co-Chair University Professor Criminology, Law & Society Director, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence 10519 Braddock Road, Suite 1904 Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 993-8555 BRIAN LOVINS. PH.D. Editorial Co-Chair Justice System Partners 4921 NE 26th Ave Portland, OR 97211 ARTHUR J. LURIGIO, PH.D. Dept. of Criminal Justice Loyola University of Chicago 820 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: (312) 915-7564 JASON D. STAUFFER Division Director Bureau of Offender Reentry Coordination PA Board of Probation and Parole 1101 South Front Street, Suite 5500 Harrisburg, PA 17104 Phone: (717) 787-5699 SUSAN V. BURKE SUSAN BLACKBURN Juvenile Court Consultant PA Juvenile Court Judges Commission 1871 Old Main Drive Shippensburg, PA 17257-2299 Phone: (717) 277-1411 JASON DUDISH-POULSEN, PH.D. Executive Assistant to the Director Cook County Social Services Department 2650 South California, 9th Floor Chicago, IL 60612 Phone: (773) 674-6041Next >