Interaction between the community corrections officer and the prisoner prior to release may improve the officer's understanding of the service needs that individual has, the risks that the individual will present to the community, and the role that family members and other parties can play in the individual's readjustment. Such interaction can also build trust between the person approaching release and the officer. This relationship, coupled with a familiarity with the community to which the prisoner will return, should enable the community corrections officer to effectively inform the strategy for supervising the individual. The field officer can offer a valuable perspective on which terms and conditions will be valuable or reasonable for the individual in his or her particular community. If familiar with and invested in the reasons for the conditions of release prescribed by the releasing authority, the officer can serve as an effective representative of the corrections system in the community. Finally, the supervision officer should also be a channel through which community and family input can be presented to the transition team.

The value of connecting a community supervision officer to an individual before his or her release has been discussed for years, but there are significant obstacles to implementing this policy in a meaningful way. ^[1]   Officer caseloads may be prohibitively large, so that meaningful communications are seldom possible, and correctional facilities may be located far away from the communities where supervision officers are based. Corrections and community corrections administrators should collaborate to ensure that these challenges are addressed. Transition planning responsibilities should be prioritized appropriately within the often already challenging caseloads that field officers carry, and creative strategies used to overcome barriers of distance between prisons and the communities to which individuals return after release. These may include teleconferencing or transferring individuals approaching release to facilities near the communities to which they will be released. (See Recommendation e, below, for more on the advantages of prerelease transfers).

Contact between the community corrections officer and the individual in prison or jail should begin at least three months prior to release and, if possible, as much as a year before the release date. The timing of the pre-release contact should be made on a case-by-case basis and be governed by the tasks to be performed and the community-based linkages to be made. These in turn will be informed by the conditions of release assigned by the releasing authority, and the timing of the release decision relative to the release itself.

Example: Project Greenlight, Vera Institute of Justice, the New York Department of Corrections, and the New York Division of Parole

During this year-long pilot program, parole officers met with individuals up to two months prior their to release. Officers led classes for soon-to-be released inmates on such topics as cognitive and practical life skills, job readiness, substance abuse, and more. In addition, parole officers worked with the inmates to prepare individual release plans, so that the work of supervising these individuals in the community proceeded more smoothly and effectively.

Community corrections administrators should consider, in matching field officers to specific individuals in need of supervision, the proximity of the officer to the community where the individual will be returning. When the individual preparing for release has been assessed as having special needs, such as mental health or sex offense issues, administrators should also seek to assign them to supervision officers with specialized training.

Example: Specialized Caseloads, New York Division of Parole

The New York State Division of Parole, in conjunction with the New York Office of Mental Health, has established specialized caseloads in certain New York metropolitan areas to service parolees with mental illness. Parole officers in this program receive specialized training on mental illness and carry a reduced caseload of approximately 25 cases. The specialized parole officers work with community mental health agencies to link parolees to appropriate services.

Example: Special Management Unit, Connecticut Parole and Community Services

Parole officers assigned to the Special Management Unit supervise parolees who require ongoing intensive supervision or specialized treatment. The unit focuses primarily on supervision of paroled sex offenders but also works with parolees with severe mental illness. Special Management Unit parole officers receive training in supervision and in medical and mental health issues, and they each maintain a caseload of no more than 25 parolees. The unit emphasizes interaction between treatment providers and parole officers; officers participate in both group and one-on-one counseling sessions with parolees and treatment providers.

When connecting field officers to the individuals that they will supervise prior to release is not possible, the community corrections agency can assign to a prison a transitional community corrections officer who can facilitate contact between the individual and his or her field officer. This transitional officer should act as the representative of the community corrections agency on the transition team and before the releasing authority.