High-Risk Supervision Modification
According to the American Probation and Parole Association ( APPA ), there are roughly 4.5 million people on probation and parole nationally . A large number of those individuals placed under supervision pose little to no public safety risk , are perhaps over-supervised or supervised for extended periods of time . Accordingly , the new supervision model led to a reimagination of how individuals would be classified in order to best prioritize case activity . To ensure those who needed more intensive supervision activity received the most activity , the risk assessment instrument was modified to establish clear criteria for risk reassessment scores . A brief explanation of the modifications are as follows :
Risk Score Ranging from 1-7
Supervision cases with risk scores that range from 1-7 receive traditional supervision services from a DCS Officer in addition to the monthly centralized reporting requirement for a minimum of 90 days . If the supervisee is in compliance after 90 days and has made satisfactory progress toward their supervision plan , the requirement for traditional supervision services from a DCS Officer can be lifted and the supervisee will remain on centralized reporting . This modification is in-line with current research around the concept of the frontloading of resources to the beginning of the period of community supervision which is widely recognized as the most vulnerable .
Risk Score Ranging from 8-10
Internal data from the DCS Office of Strategic Planning and Research suggested that individuals who assessed as an 8 on the risk instrument were disproportionately revoked to incarceration compared to other scores . Cases with risk scores that range from 8-10 receive traditional supervision services from a DCS officer in addition to the monthly reporting requirement . By making this change , DCS began focusing resources on the three highest risk levels and setting an achievable performance goal for caseload carrying officers .
DCS Specialized Cases
No changes were made to the practices associated with specialized cases as they continued to be supervised by a specially trained officer . These cases include individuals with diagnosed mental health disorders , attending substance abuse treatment programming , assigned to Day Reporting Centers , or convicted of a sexual offense .
Georgia DCS — A Not so New Normal 2021