20-216. RECORDS, REPORTS AND STATISTICS. (1) The board shall keep a
record of and require reports from all persons on parole or probation and
enforce observance of rules and regulations for parole or probation estab-
lished by the commission or the courts. It shall prepare and publish reports
and statistics relating to probation and parole and it shall submit to the
governor, at such times as the governor may direct, but at least annually, a
full and complete report of the board and its agents, showing the disposition
of all cases coming before the board or the commission and such additional
information relating thereto as the governor may request.
(2) The board and the department of health and welfare shall submit a
joint report to the legislature by January 15 each year analyzing:
(a) The criminogenic needs of the active population of probationers and
parolees;
(b) Current funding available to deliver effective, evidence-based
programming to address those needs; and
(c) Any gap in funding to meet the treatment needs of all moderate and
high-risk probationers and parolees.
(3) By November 15, 2015, and biennially on November 15 thereafter, the
board shall develop and deliver a report to the governor and the legislature
on the programs to reduce recidivism that are funded by the state. Subject
to the availability of moneys, the board may contract with an independent
contractor or academic institution for this purpose. The report shall
include an evaluation of the quality of each program and its likelihood to
reduce recidivism among program participants and shall include a plan for
program improvements by the board. The program evaluations shall ensure
that treatment programs are delivering services in a way that aligns with
the scientifically based research to reduce recidivism. Program evaluation
shall be standardized and a validated program assessment tool shall be used.
Each program evaluation shall include a site visit and interviews with key
staff, interviews with offenders, group observation and file and material
review. The information shall be compiled into a composite score indicating
adherence to concepts that are linked with program effectiveness, such
as program development, program procedures, staff, offender assessment,
treatment processes and programs and quality assurance. Program evaluation
should also include feedback to the program concerning strengths, weak-
nesses and recommendations for better adherence to scientifically based
research and the principles of effective intervention.
(4) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Program" means a treatment or intervention program or service
that is intended to reduce the propensity of a person to commit crimes
or improve the mental health of a person with the result of reducing the
likelihood that the person will commit a crime or need emergency mental
health services. "Program" does not mean or include an educational
program or service that an agency is required to provide to meet edu-
cational requirements imposed by state law or a program that provides
basic medical services.
(b) "Scientifically based research" means research that obtains reli-
able and valid knowledge by:
(i) Employing systematic, empirical methods that draw on obser-
vation or experiment;
(ii) Involving rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test
the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
and
(iii) Relying on measurements or observational methods that
provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers,
across multiple measurements and observations and across studies
by the same or different investigators.
[20-216, added 1947, ch. 53, sec. 16, p. 59; am. 1969, ch. 419, sec.
4, p. 1160; am. 1980, ch. 297, sec. 2, p. 769; am. 2014, ch. 150, sec. 8,
p. 420.]