HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1750        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2638

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Russell E. Holmes

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to reform parole.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1750        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2638

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

_______________

An Act to reform parole.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 158 of chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 4 paragraphs:-

The agents employed by the parole board shall, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board, supervise, counsel and advise prisoners released on parole from the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, or from any institution to which they were removed therefrom and shall assist them in securing employment. The agents shall:

(a) meet and communicate on a monthly basis with parole eligible individuals in the department of correction at least 180 days in advance of a release hearing to ensure that a viable home plan is completed and presented at the hearing;

(b) engage with community housing providers and develop pool of long-term residential providers, transitional and sober homes as well as community based behavioral health providers;

(c) connect with community providers to ensure proper referral and connections are made prior to release;

(d) participate in monthly facility level triage meetings with department of correction staff; and

(e) ensure all individuals released from department of correction facilities to parole do so with a state identification and birth certificate.

The department of correction shall submit to the board an individual case summary for each parole eligible individual that shall:

(a) provide detailed summary of incarceration that includes:

(1) offenses and sentence structure;

(2) institutional record of behavior to include major disciplinary infractions and sanctions imposed;

(3) health, behavioral health and substance use disorder information, any education, treatment or program participation and completion; and

(4) identify all moderate to high need areas as identified by the risk needs assessment and provide recommended interventions or service matching to address said need areas; and

(b) provide recommendation of proper community placements in the community to the board in writing prior to the hearing.

Within 30 business days of release, a risk assessment and case plan, in collaboration with and signed by the parolee, shall be completed by the agents of the parole board. The plan shall address individual factors, identified need areas, in addition to social determinants such as employment, housing, education, health and behavioral healthcare. Risk assessments shall be conducted every 6 months thereafter. Case plans shall be reviewed and modified accordingly every 6 months, if goals are achieved a new case plan shall be developed.

Face-to-face contacts by agents of the parole board with supervised individuals shall be need-based and focus on identified needs and goals of case plan. The board shall provide support and guidance to supervised individuals regarding job training and employment, education, housing, health and behavioral treatment and programming.