Step 1 - Determine if Legal/Statutory Authority Permits Early Termination
Step 1 - Determine if Legal/Statutory Authority Permits Early Termination web_adminThe dosage probation model is predicated on people's ability to earn early termination from supervision through earnest engagement in interventions that reduce their likelihood of recidivism. In this way, the dosage probation model should be implemented only in jurisdictions with the legal authority to grant early termination from probation.
One of the first steps in conducting your dosage probation readiness assessment is to ensure that your jurisdiction has the statutory or local legal provisions to allow the probation agency, court, and/or another entity the authority to grant early discharge from probation. This section guides you through making such a determination and understanding its implications for implementing dosage probation.
TO DO
Review statutory/local legal provisions regarding early termination
Determine how to proceed with the readiness assessment
Complete the relevant portion of the readiness assessment rating form
Review Your Statutory/Local Legal Provisions
Agencies interested in implementing dosage probation should determine the exact, current state statutes and/or local provisions that stipulate the legal authority to grant or seek, with the court's permission, an early discharge from probation supervision.
Consider the following questions to help you examine your state statutes and local legal provisions. You may need to address other issues specific to your state or jurisdiction.
What do your current state statutes say about early termination from probation, if anything?
What do your current local legal provisions say about early termination from probation, if anything? How do they compare to your state statutes? If your statutory and local provisions conflict, which one supersedes the other?
What is the authority, if it exists, of your probation agency, the court, and/or another entity to grant early termination?
Determine How You Will Proceed
If your jurisdiction does not have the express authority to grant early termination, it is recommended that you not complete the readiness assessment or implement dosage probation. Agencies interested in implementing dosage probation should work within their agency, with local criminal justice system stakeholders, and with the legislature to consider adopting changes in statutory or local legal provisions to support early termination from probation.
If your jurisdiction has the express authority to grant early termination, proceed with your readiness assessment. Before moving on, however, begin to think critically about the impacts of your jurisdiction's legal authority on early discharge policies and practices you may adopt through dosage probation.
Many statutes do not permit probation agencies, the courts, and/or other entities unlimited discretionary power to discharge people from probation early. Instead, many statutory and/or local legal provisions stipulate specific eligibility criteria or restrictions to guide authorities in making this determination. For example, a statute or local provision may permit early termination from probation but only for people convicted of certain offenses, who serve half of their sentence, who remain violation-free for a certain period, or who meet other “earned time credit” criteria. In addition, some statutory or local legal provisions do not permit early termination for people with outstanding fines, fees, or restitution. From a dosage probation perspective, consider how these stipulations might impact someone who has worked hard to achieve their dosage target of 100, 200, or 300 hours and has earned an early discharge.
If specific criteria exist for early termination in your jurisdiction, it is essential to identify them upfront and consider how they might support or challenge early discharge through dosage probation. You may review the Dosage Probation Model Fundamentals to help you consider the possible impact of your jurisdiction's legal authority on early discharge as a core element of the dosage probation model.
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In addition to the statutory or local legal provisions available to you through your state or jurisdiction, you may find it helpful to review the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Community Supervision Significant Enactment Database, developed in partnership with Arnold Ventures. The database tracks significant law enactments related to community supervision and can be filtered by bills relating to “length of supervision” and “fines and fees impact on supervision.”
While you are not expected to solve potential early termination challenges at this point, you may wish to inquire about them further as you continue your readiness assessment. For example, when assessing stakeholder interest in the dosage probation model, you may want to speak with judges, prosecutors, or others about concerns they may have and about your statutory and/or local legal provisions regarding early discharge. During future implementation efforts, your jurisdiction's Dosage Probation Policy Team will grapple with developing specific policies related to early termination. The information you gather during the readiness assessment can help frame these future policy discussions and decisions.
Consider the following questions to help you understand the potential impacts of your jurisdiction's legal authority on early discharge policies and practices through dosage probation. You may need to address other issues specific to your probation agency or jurisdiction.
Does your jurisdiction currently exercise its authority to grant early termination from probation? If so, under what circumstances? How might the circumstances support or potentially challenge the implementation of dosage probation? How might early discharge policies or practices be impacted by implementation, and for whom (e.g., judges, prosecutors, defenders, probation, advocates of/people harmed by crime)?
If your jurisdiction has but does not currently exercise its authority, what needs to be done to make early discharge from probation possible? What early discharge policies or practices may need to be put in place, and for whom?
Does your state have pending or new legislation that impacts early probation termination (e.g., early discharge restrictions, caps on the length of probation terms, mandatory minimums)? How might the legislation support or potentially challenge implementation? How might early discharge policies or practices be impacted?
Who has the authority to amend your statutory and/or local legal provisions regarding early termination should your future policy team decide or need to make modifications?
Are there questions or issues about which you would like to gather more information during the readiness assessment? What concerns might you have about current early discharge policies or practices? Do you wish to speak with any stakeholders in particular about these questions, issues, or concerns?
Complete the Readiness Assessment Rating Form
Once the above-described activities have been accomplished, complete Part 1 of the Dosage Probation Readiness Assessment: Jurisdiction Rating Form. Use your assessment of the statutes/local legal provisions you reviewed to help you determine whether the legal/statutory authority to grant early termination from probation is an area of strength, an area for improvement, or a significant challenge to implementing dosage probation in your jurisdiction.