Overview of the Massachusetts Parole Board

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Massachusetts Parole Board.

Overview

The Massachusetts Parole Board (MPB) was established by Section 4 of Chapter 27 of the Massachusetts General Laws and is an agency within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. MPB’s website states,

We serve the public, victims, inmates, parolees, and petitioners throughout the Commonwealth by conducting face-to-face parole release hearings, supervising parolees in the community, providing notice and assistance to victims, and providing reentry services to offenders leaving custody with no mandated post-release supervision.

According to Section 103.1 of its Policy 120 PAR 103, “Department Vision, Mission and Goals,” MPB’s mission is as follows:

The Massachusetts Parole Board, as an integral component of the criminal justice system, promotes public safety through the responsible reintegration of offenders into the community through supervised conditional release, so that a successful transition from confinement to parole discharge provides a basis for a continued responsible conduct.

Parole allows certain incarcerated individuals who are released before their sentences expire to serve out the remainder of their terms in the community with supervision under conditions approved by MPB members.

MPB received direct appropriations of $15,508,501, $17,366,718, and $23,627,796 for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. MPB has seven members, appointed by the Governor, including one member designated as chair. The chair was Paul Treseler from September 2015 through April 2019. Since April 2019, the chair has been Gloriann Moroney, Esq. In 2018, MPB conducted 4,532 release hearings for inmates, according to its 2018 annual statistical report. According to the 2019 annual statistical report, released in October 2020, MPB conducted 4,294 release hearings for inmates in 2019. The final statistics for the number of 2020 release hearings for inmates were unavailable when this audit report was written.

Risk and Needs Assessment in the Level of Service Case Management Inventory

According to Section 130 of Chapter 127 of the General Laws,

[Parole] permits shall be granted only if the board is of the opinion, after consideration of a risk and needs assessment, that there is a reasonable probability that, if the prisoner is released with appropriate conditions and community supervision, the prisoner will live and remain at liberty without violating the law and that release is not incompatible with the welfare of society.

In 2013, MPB introduced an instrument called Level of Service Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) to conduct risk and needs assessments. The assessment is a tool to assess incarcerated individuals who seek parole; it contributes to MPB’s decisions about approval or denial of parole.

According to MPB’s policy and procedures, the timing of reassessment depends on each parolee’s case. For example, any parolee serving a supervised parole of 12 months or more is required to have an initial reassessment 6 months after release and annual reassessments thereafter.

To manage inmates and parolees through incarceration, parole hearings, and supervision, MPB uses the State Parole Integrated Records and Information Tracking (SPIRIT) system. SPIRIT is a case management system used to track parolees’ locations and eligibility for hearings, maintain and modify parolees’ files, and perform other functions necessary to fulfill MPB’s responsibilities. Initially developed in 2008, SPIRIT was upgraded to SPIRIT II during our audit period, in August 2018.

Fiscal Year 2017 Smart Supervision Program

In fiscal year 2017, MPB was awarded $738,344 for the “FY 2017 Smart Supervision: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities” competitive grant by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and Bureau of Justice Assistance. The purpose of the grant is to provide resources to government units like MPB to help establish an effective program of parole practices that reduce recidivism. The grant began October 1, 2017, and MPB was granted an extension through September 30, 2021. MPB selected service providers to participate in the program through reentry services (e.g., housing assistance, job searches, and substance use treatment) for parolees after incarceration. MPB partnered with the University of Massachusetts—Boston to conduct a project called Parole Recovery Opportunity Supervision. This program provides enhanced supervision and treatment for parolees who have been identified as High or Very High on the LS/CMI risk and needs assessment, have a history of opioid/opiate misuse, and are released to the Lawrence or the New Bedford Regional Parole Offices.

Reentry Services

According to Section 359.01 of MPB Policy 120 PAR 359, “General Conditions of Parole,”

To ensure successful integration into the community and to protect public safety, the Board shall impose the following general conditions of parole for each offender granted a parole release. . . .

The Parole Board shall provide each parolee with written information about obeying each general condition for parole.

Once a parolee is released from an institution, the parolee must immediately report to a designated MPB regional office. At the regional office, the parolee is processed in accordance with the standard operating procedures for the Field Services Division on the day of release.

MPB requires parolees to fill out and sign reentry forms before they can be granted parole and released for supervision. These forms are the Certificate of Parole, Home Plan Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Waiver, Home Sponsor Agreement, Agreement to Extradition (if applicable), and Release of Information Form. They ensure that parolees agree to and understand their board-approved parole conditions and supervision levels.¹

Reentry Form Purposes

Reentry Form	Purpose of Form
Certificate of Parole	Documents the agreement entered into by MPB and the parolee and outlines the parole conditions.
Home Plan CORI Waiver	Documents the parolee’s agreement to waive the right of having his/her CORI report remain private, in order for a home plan to be approved.
Home Sponsor Agreement	Documents the home sponsor’s agreement to allow the parolee to live in the sponsor’s home.
Agreement to Extradition (if applicable)	Documents the parolee’s agreement to be extradited to another state for a warrant.
Release of Information Form	Documents the parolee’s agreement to the release of any and all information (such as treatment notes, tests, results, reports, or information provided to the parolee by the treatment program) to MPB.

 

Each parolee is assigned a parole officer to keep track of the parolee and the mandated parole conditions approved by MPB. MPB parole supervisors conduct biannual case audits to ensure that parole officers meet standards of supervision. As part of the case audit process, parole supervisors conduct a comprehensive review of each parole officer’s case files by checking SPIRIT II to verify the completeness of the records in each case file, particularly the sections in each offender’s profile that pertain to supervision.

1.     Supervision levels are determined by MPB and the parole conditions. There are four levels of supervision, which vary regarding the number of visits, substance use testing, and/or other activities, in accordance with the parole conditions.

Date published:	March 24, 2021