Under the leadership of Director of Corrections Chadwick S. Dotson, during FY2024 the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has moved strongly forward to provide public safety in the Commonwealth. The agency utilized evidence-based programs and techniques to lower supervisee risks of criminality by raising their skills and abilities to adjust to law abiding life. For the eighth straight year, VADOC leads the nation with having the lowest or second lowest recidivism rate in the nation, with a current recidivism rate of 19%. This is a testament to the agency’s commitment to improve long-term public safety by successfully reintegrating released inmates to our communities and effectively supervising probationers and parolees through a culture of safety, respect, accountability, and ethical behavior.

Below is a summary of key successes and challenges, with more detailed information covered in the report.

Successes:

• Community Corrections Alternative Program (CCAP) facilities offer circuit courts a sentencing alternative to prison for probationers who need intensive substance use disorder services. The CCAP provides treatment within the structure of a VADOC operated community residential facility while diverting participants from incarceration. Following intensive treatment, community employment opportunities are available to CCAP participants.

As a novel initiative during FY 2024, VADOC has partnered with Circuit Court judges to address the increasing need for residential treatment for individuals in local Recovery Court programs by starting a new program pathway within CCAP. Prior to this new pathway, Recovery Courts with limited local resources focused on outpatient treatment services only. Now, courts will be able to refer participants for intensive residential SUD services in CCAP as a continuum of care. The CCAP Recovery Court Pathway program lasts 24 weeks, providing a wide variety of services, including SUD programs, cognitive programming, anger management programming, vocational skills training, and education. These services are available at all five CCAP facilities in Virginia: Appalachian CCAP, Brunswick CCAP, Chesterfield Women’s CCAP, Cold Springs CCAP, and Harrisonburg CCAP. Probation Officers provide regular participant progress reports to the court and video check-ins when requested.

• VADOC’s sex offender containment model of community supervision has operated effectively and provided intensive GPS supervision, polygraph examinations, and treatment services to sex offenders, including the supervision of Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) conditional release cases on behalf of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).

• VADOC utilizes EPICS II as an evidence-based intervention for probationers assessed as having medium to high-risk of recidivism. Probation officers are trained and coached in using EPICS II to guide their interactions in research techniques that motivate supervisees to make positive changes. The intervention has become an established business practice in community corrections.

• VADOC continues to improve the consistent use of supervision practices in its Probation and Parole Districts through the implementation of Community Operational Vulnerability Assessments conducted by teams of staff from other Probation and Parole Districts. The review examines policy compliance, probationer and parolee contacts, and the use of evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism.

• Probationers just released from prison are provided with brief cognitive-behavioral peer support groups to follow up prison treatment. These groups provide guidance during the critical period immediately following release.

• VADOC continues to operate the Federal Fidelity Bonding Program for all justice-involved persons in Virginia to assist with employability. Expansion of bonding efforts include additional educational materials such as posters and videos that are available in all Probation and Parole Districts to better inform probationers/parolees about the Virginia Bonding Program.

• Chief Probation Officers actively participate as co-conveners of Local Reentry Councils in most localities in Virginia, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) or other non-profit organizations.

• VADOC applied for and won the competitive State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award from the Southern Legislative Conference for its innovative and evidence-based use of technology to supervise low level probationers in the community. These new tools have allowed for increased engagement with probationers despite safety challenges. VADOC’s Voice Verification Biometrics Unit for low-level supervision continues to operate successfully. The recidivism data shows that cases assessed as low risk can be supervised with minimal contact and that over-supervision can have an adverse reaction causing their crime rate to increase. In this supervision program, probationers/parolees are monitored using biometric surveillance for voice, facial, and location verification, as well as routine automated interviews. Eight specialists are responsible for 11,000 cases, demonstrating the effective use of resources in this program.

• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) continue to be made available through VADOC Health Services for CCAP participants to ensure Medication Assisted Treatment is an option for probationers. Continuation of buprenorphine for those probationers entering with a prescription remains a standard practice throughout 2024. Referrals to MAT and MOUD providers is available through partnerships with substance use disorder treatment providers for all Probation and Parole Districts.

• VADOC continues to receive the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant which funds Peer Recovery Specialist services in the Probation and Parole Districts, as well as CCAPs. Two full time regional positions facilitate recovery support groups and offer direct services to probationers, while coaching the Peer Recovery Specialist vendors. PRS vendors are also funded through the SOR Grant and in 2024 nine Districts utilized these positions to support substance use disorder needs for probationers. To qualify for PRS support, an individual must have a history of opioid use disorder, stimulant use disorder or history of overdose.

• In 2024, VADOC was selected to serve as a mentor site for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) Peer Recovery Support Services Mentoring Initiative (PRSSMI) grant. Throughout the year, VADOC has met with leadership representing Wyoming DOC and Colorado DOC, in partnership with Altarum to provide technical assistance regarding PRS initiatives in corrections.

• Throughout the reporting period, Medicaid enrollments have been prioritized for inmates releasing from incarceration, as well as those on probation and parole. This effort ensures greater access to medical and behavioral health services, including substance use disorder services. VADOC developed a comprehensive training for staff to increase enrollment efforts. From July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, there were 6,454 inmates released from VADOC facilities. Twelve of these inmates were ineligible to apply for community Medicaid due to non-citizenship. The remaining 6,442 inmates were classified as the following: 5,144 inmates released had Medicaid (80%), 647 inmates had Medicaid in the past (10%), 190 inmates had submitted applications for Medicaid (3%), 55 inmates refused Medicaid enrollment (1%), and 406 inmates have no record of being offered Medicaid (6%). VADOC will continue the provision of streamlining Medicaid enrollment efforts as it plays a vital role with reentry and ensures continuum of care for inmates and probationers in our custody.

• VADOC continues active engagement with the Governor’s Reentry Optimization Initiative led by the Chief Transformation Office of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Through this initiative, success factors are identified, and data collected in the areas of access to health care, employment, housing, mental health, substance use disorder treatment, and supervision levels for supervisees. Key performance metrics are tracked and reported through all levels of leadership. Workstreams operate in the areas of public safety, employment, benefits, and programming and implement initiatives designed to build strategies and best practices for scalability to improve supervisee success.

• The VADOC Operations Extradition/Fugitive Services Unit arrested a total of 428 wanted persons resulting in 878 cleared warrants. The Unit also assisted local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in the arrest of 148 fugitives, clearing 413 outstanding warrants in the process.

• On July 1, 2023, the Women’s Risk and Needs trailer (WRNA-T) was fully implemented in Community Corrections as an additional gender-specific set of assessment questions designed to identify needs at intake specific to women that impact recidivism and positive adjustment within communities.

Challenges:

In addition to sizable accomplishments, VADOC continually evaluates its operations and seeks to improve. The agency operates as a learning organization that continually strives to improve its operations based on evidence-based practices. VADOC will continue to be innovative towards the goal of lasting public safety.

• Probation and Parole Districts continue to be confronted with large workloads, limiting the time and services that can be provided to probationers/parolees.

• Vacancies among Probation Officers is a critical issue that is reaching crisis proportions in some districts. Low compensation and heavy workloads make it difficult for VADOC to attract and retain employees in the overall economy where many other options are available.

• Too many people still enter the community from prison without housing. Housing is particularly challenging for those with sexual and violent offenses. There is also a critical housing need for individuals who need assisted living, nursing homes, and geriatric care.

• Many individuals are released to state probation supervision from local jails without receiving proper reentry preparation, medication or housing planning.

• The rising number of cases placed on GPS and the increased number of individuals with an identified gang affiliation require more intensive probation supervision at a time when Probation and Parole Officer caseloads are already stretched.

• Substance use disorder continues to be a high treatment need among probationers/parolees and community resources for treatment, particularly residential treatment and medically assisted treatment, are extremely limited. Services in rural areas are even more limited than in metropolitan areas.

Moving Forward:

With its many successes and opportunities, VADOC is committed to creating lasting public safety by preparing probationers/parolees to reintegrate into law-abiding lives after their community supervision period is completed. VADOC continues to see significant benefits from its organizational development and application of evidence-based business practices to create a learning organization with the culture that sustains staff and probationer/parolee growth. By following evidence-based practices, VADOC will continue to:

• Identify probationer/parolee risks and needs and give priority to those who pose the greatest risk to public safety.

• Continue to update case plans that address identified risks and needs

• Utilize research-based services to respond to individual needs and reduce the risk of recidivism as resources allow.

• Quickly and appropriately respond to compliance and non-compliance with proportionate incentives and sanctions.

• Continue to evaluate our supervision practices and services and seek ways to improve our operations to achieve our goal of creating lasting public safety.

• Develop sustainability for Peer Recovery Specialist services for probationers.