RD579 - Restorative Housing in the Virginia Department of Corrections FY2024 Report – October 1, 2024
Executive Summary: Authority This report has been prepared and submitted to fulfill the requirements of Chapter 516 of the Acts of Assembly of 2019.(*1) This provision requires the Department of Corrections to report certain information pertaining to the agency’s Restrictive Housing and Shared Allied Management programs to the Governor, the Chairmen of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, and the Clerks of the House of Delegates and the Senate by October 1st of each year.(*2) Background For many years, correctional systems across the nation have relied on Segregation as a management status for inmates deemed as a risk to the safety of other incarcerated inmates or prison staff. Typically, inmates were assigned to a static period of “Disciplinary Segregation" because of a conviction for an institutional infraction or to “Administrative Segregation" due to assaultive and disruptive behaviors at lower security level prisons, escape histories, or extremely violent and notorious crimes. Inmates were managed constitutionally, but with high security controls limiting opportunities for socialization with other inmates. Segregation practices often lacked articulable standards allowing progression into lower security levels or general population. Since 2011, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has remained dedicated to a culture change reducing the use of Segregation. VADOC spearheaded an organizational shift, mitigating the risk associated with direct release of inmates managed in Segregation through the Step-Down program at Wallens Ridge and Red Onion State Prison. The Step-Down program focuses on risk reduction and risk control. Participants can progress to a general population setting with the use of interactive journaling, therapeutic modules, and programming that is done individually and in group settings. Inmates are evaluated on several dynamic characteristics including behavior, personal hygiene, cell compliance, and demeanor toward staff and other inmates. VADOC’s reform efforts have been nationally recognized. In 2013, the Southern Legislative Conference presented Virginia with the State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award, recognizing Virginia for its diligent work in creating the Step-Down program. In 2014, the General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 184 “commending the Virginia Department of Corrections for its outstanding leadership and dedication to public safety in administering the Step-Down program."(*3) In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice, in its Report and Recommendations Concerning the Use of Restrictive Housing,(*4) highlighted five jurisdictions that have undertaken particularly significant reforms in recent years, featuring Red Onion State Prison. Virginia has served as a model to over a dozen different states who have toured, observed, and applied aspects of the step-down operations in their own jurisdictions. In 2016, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera)—in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)—selected Virginia as one of five new states to join the Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative. Vera assisted VADOC with its reform efforts, provided recommendations, and developed a partnership of learning from cultural reform. The Vera Institute of Justice report highlighted “Great Successes" of Virginia’s Restrictive Housing Reforms and offered support for future initiatives. Virginia’s efforts have continued with several progressive changes. In April 2016, VADOC began a Restrictive Housing pilot program in four medium security level institutions based upon the success of using behavior as a primary metric for progression into general population. These sites phased out the use of static disciplinary convictions to determine progress and began considering behavior, compliance, rapport, and other dynamic factors to evaluate the inmate’s progression. By November 2018, the disciplinary model was entirely phased out and the behavior-based Restrictive Housing program was successfully expanded to all facilities. VADOC continued its efforts to reduce the use of Restrictive Housing through the creation of diversion programs in general population geared towards inmates with unique risks and needs: • Steps to Achieve Reintegration (STAR) for inmates with an unspecified fear of returning to traditional general population. Participants are placed in STAR pods where they gradually reintegrate into controlled movement, programming, and recreation. • The Secure Diversionary Treatment Program (SDTP) for inmates with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI). SDTP diverts inmates with an SMI from RHU into a graduated behavior management program. In the summer of 2021, VADOC was again honored with a STAR award by the Southern Legislative Conference for SDTP. • Shared Allied Management (SAM) program for inmates who have unique medical, mental health or other vulnerabilities making an assignment to traditional general population difficult. Further details about the SAM program can be found on page 6 of this report. From 2019 to 2020, VADOC began to offer three and then four hours of meaningful out-of-cell time to all inmates in the Restrictive Housing program, using a combination of structured and unstructured activities. To facilitate this initiative, all medium security facilities and higher added an Interactive Program Aide position to coordinate and deliver these programs. Program aides work with inmates individually and in small group settings to provide pro-social activities, including interactive journaling, cognitive simulation, art activities, reading, education, and guided group discussion. The past decade has brought several initiatives to VADOC that are aligned with the goal of managing behavior, promoting accountability, targeted programming interventions, and creating responsible and safe pathways into general population. Ultimately, these programs foster long-term public safety for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Adoption of Restorative Housing Section 53.1-39. of the Code of Virginia mandates that VADOC’s Restrictive Housing program to adhere to the standards adopted by its accrediting body, the American Correctional Association (ACA). By January 2020, the agency’s program had evolved beyond the parameters set by ACA. Specifically, ACA defines Restrictive Housing as an assignment where the inmate is separated from general population and confined to a cell for at least 22 hours per day for the safe and secure operation of the facility. In practice, the end of Restrictive Housing (as defined by ACA) took place in January 2020, when all inmates, regardless of security status, were afforded at least four hours of out-of-cell time per day. VADOC determined that its Restrictive Housing policy should be redefined as a response to its reform efforts, to better reflect agency practice, and due to the impact on accreditation. To that end, on August 1, 2021, VADOC formally adopted a Restorative Housing program for all inmates who require enhanced security and programming opportunities. The Restorative Housing program is characterized by its emphasis on behavior management, personal inmate accountability, meaningful out-of-cell time for programming, and pathways to transition inmates safely into traditional general population. VADOC’s Restorative Housing program was the subject of legislation during the 2023 General Assembly Session. HB2487(*5), Restorative housing; restrictions on use, would codify the Restorative Housing program and set a set standard of correctional management for the Commonwealth. HB2587 was enrolled on March 13, 2023, and was adopted into the Code of Virginia §53.1-39.2, effective July 1, 2023.(*6) Changes in Total VADOC Population Since the first Annual Report, the Average Daily Population in VADOC has decreased 20%, from 29,994 at the end of FY2019(*7) to 23,862 at the end of FY2024. This decrease was due to a combination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of Enhanced Earned Sentence Credits effective July 1, 2022, and applied retroactively. As a result, the proportion of the VADOC inmate population with a violent Most Serious Offense (MSO) increased from 66% to 76% between FY2019 and FY2024. Conversely, the proportion of inmates with a property/public order MSO decreased from 18% to 11% and drug related MSO decreased from 14% to 12% between the same time period.(*8) The shift towards more violent offenses and less property or drug offenses as inmates enter the VADOC system has resulted in a greater concentration of inmates classified to high-security level facilities upon intake. The impact this shift has on the Restorative Housing program is explained in the following sections of this report. FY2024 Restorative Housing Program Summary Section 53.1-39.2 of the Code of Virginia establishes four specific referral pathways into the Restorative Housing (RHU) program: 1. An inmate makes a request to be placed in Restorative Housing with informed voluntary consent. 2. An inmate needs such confinement for their own protection. 3. There is a need to prevent an imminent threat of physical harm to the inmate or another person. 4. An inmate’s behavior threatens the orderly operation of the facility. The Code requires that inmates referred to the Restorative Housing program by their own request or for protection receive similar opportunities for activities, movement, and social interaction as provided in general population, considering their safety and the safety of others. Thus, VADOC created a new management status within the program for this alternative general population (Alt-GP) requirement. Inmates referred into the program for their behavior continue to be managed under the Restorative Housing management status. These statuses are differentiated internally by movement and privileges while living in Restorative Housing Units. Further details about management statuses and operational practices within the units can be found by reviewing OP841.4, Restorative Housing Units at the end of this report or online.(*9) Regardless of their management status, all inmates referred to the Restorative Housing program are offered a minimum of four hours of meaningful out-of-cell time, mandated by Code to include programmatic interventions or other congregate activities aimed at promoting personal development or addressing underlying causes of problematic behavior. Recreation may be included in this requirement and should be provided in a congregate setting unless there is a significant or unreasonable risk to the safety and security of the inmates, staff, or the facility. In addition, all inmates referred to the Restorative Housing program, regardless of management status, work with a multi-disciplinary team to develop a transitional action plan into general population. This plan is updated weekly and approved by the facility unit head. Plans include actions needed to transition the inmates out of the program as soon as possible and a review of any less restrictive housing options available. |
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