[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6114878,"mediaKeyId","2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266","parentId",2741363,"title","Commission lays out annual reporting schedule, research partnerships and new data snapshot showing 25-year sentencing trends","audioSeconds",5609,"startMs",2390000,"endMs",7999000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266&start=2390&end=7999","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266/thumbnail_2390000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6114878/Pennsylvania/Commission-lays-out-annual-reporting-schedule-research-partnerships-and-new-data-snapshot-showing-25-year-sentencing-trends","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6114878-cc9f71e8733b43906c4fff14ceb326f7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773615719&Signature=QrANz00mAecRNC1tg2XB34cDgFVIqTJWTgcWRkOKRN5v42WEm3n3BZjOoXfXOd26kSh23LVcy3f9dc4hbIQhe7nDHCrupHp9HXTH5yD1I2wl9QZ5929tJVdp38kutV61Qjlmd8ot9IcYcaSkKQOyta-FiV8ftJlNcqPAR1rDgI9uGA7z~zC9zGrpi8MG-WRHK~RmHRBbqNFKJrWyWINlR30AEM5ffcq3ADpPzGMejdHbe8JJwgweRWRCAsXaJQDXCTRiJVZEy0P7A~5Syf7sdhTEiQ8leYbxKNcOF0tH4ZivGRVHh74UT-f~O2S7T4F3YtGJ~KADxILzJ2ONu0IdZA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-21T05:25:47Z","article","Commission staff outlined the calendar and workflow for the commission's annual reporting, judge-verification process and related research projects, and previewed a data snapshot analyzing 25 years of state confinement sentencing trends.

Deputy Director Ryan Myers walked members through the annual reporting and verification timeline. Staff said AOPC data and the commission's SGS Web submissions are reconciled each year in the January–April period; counties are asked to submit any missing sentencing records in April. Staff said they generally seek an 85% or higher county reporting rate and that last year's statewide reporting rate had risen to the mid- to high-90s (staff did not quote an exact statewide percentage during the meeting). The commission has posted its 2022 annual report; staff said they expect to finalize and post the 2023 annual report by June and the 2024 report by the September meeting.

Research unit manager Brett Miller summarized ongoing research partnerships and products. He said a Penn State collaboration is expanding: a former postdoctoral researcher who worked with the commission was hired into an assistant professorship at Penn State and will be affiliated with commission projects. Miller also described a research-practice partnership with Allegheny County's criminal-division staff to study probation practices and outcomes, and said the commission continues collaborations with AOPC on KCER data-system issues.

Miller previewed the commission's third data snapshot, a short data story scheduled for web publication that examines 25 years of sentencing trends. His presentation noted that the number of total sentences reported to the commission has varied over time (including a COVID-related dip); the share of sentences leading to state confinement historically has been relatively stable but rose to a peak around 2009–2013 and declined thereafter. Miller highlighted that a small number of offense types account for a large share of total time sentenced to state confinement. He said firearms-related offenses accounted for a negligible share of state confinement time in 1999 but that by 2023 firearms had become a much larger share of time sentenced to state custody, and that PWID and robbery sentences showed substantial changes over the 25-year period.

On modeling and tools, Miller described a simulation-modeling project the commission maintains by statute to allow staff to estimate policy impacts and population projections. The new simulation model was built around the eighth-edition guidelines (which have limited historical data); the model maps historical seventh-edition outcomes into the eighth-edition logic to produce probabilistic projections. Miller said the model could augment the commission's usual impact analyses for pending legislation by simulating sentences for newly created or regraded offenses and estimating changes in state confinement months and potential correctional costs.

Christy and Brett also described additional research and operational tasks: validating the statutory sentencing risk-assessment instrument, producing quarterly parole reports tied to parole guidelines, the resentencing-verification workstream to ensure probation revocations and resentencings are reported, and the interactive data portal the commission maintains to give public access to dashboards and downloadable datasets.

Staff said they will present county reporting percentages in June, continue judge verification activities, post the 2023 annual report by June and publish the next data snapshot in the coming weeks.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","PA Commission on Sentencing - March 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Staff described timelines for annual reporting and judge verification, highlighted research partnerships with Penn State and Allegheny County, previewed a data snapshot on 25 years of state-sentencing trends and outlined work on simulation models for policy impact analysis.","taxTitle","Commission on Sentencing, Other State Agencies, Organizations, Executive, Pennsylvania","taxId",30809,"location","Pennsylvania","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6114883,"Commission study SR196 maps veterans' \"Cascade of Care,\" merges VA and court records for analysis",1085,4920000,6005000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266&start=4920&end=6005","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266/thumbnail_4920000.jpg","/articles/6114883/Pennsylvania/Commission-study-SR196-maps-veterans-Cascade-of-Care-merges-VA-and-court-records-for-analysis","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6114883-3498f23162f1e0fcb4234058aa987df2/orig.mp4?Expires=1773615719&Signature=UK74yPzVrHUNg3nFMlGfnkubGEntwPXxZie7hl~TITWVWJsRMU-pKib8a0V6aABerNGTdwNMfdhzTXr2aT5OyhZhgluqMKeb8W-c0qFAlRGc~HvtykfPLZwspZNaG54RLPd53nF0DqXoU6CXFlM-KzPDNLtwJnT50Sm2QUGkwCJtXbtXe-kJdb5YNoeANmbc71hacnMY2pOYPRHjSZIz9h-ewhrdAZ22buqbGh6GZbjmTO~U5qxJTpKpBUOfTSvcYhSg6rOKYpUpQg6SFCVb6PkqWN2z4s~Sfuohc21ttRlWXv93zgb9tJwLi2HwJpnu2c77Se3g6Pq2PTm3UCu~~A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing described significant progress on its legislatively mandated study of veterans in the criminal justice system (Senate Resolution 196), including data linkage across agencies, site visits and development of a framework the commission calls the \"Veterans Cascade of Care.\"

Deputy director Noah and research staff reported the project has merged veteran-status records from the Department of Veterans Affairs with Commission data and Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) records to permit cross-jurisdictional analysis. Staff said the merged data allow the team to follow veterans through citation and filing in magistrates' and municipal courts, through Court of Common Pleas filings, and into sentencing outcomes.

Research staff have completed surveys of county jail wardens and president judges, held interviews with veterans-justice officers, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and representatives of the Regional Veterans Treatment Court created in 2024. Site visits have included Allegheny County, Jefferson County and a state corrections veteran services unit (SCI Houtzdale). Staff said the merged administrative data indicate about 6% of individuals in the commission's sentencing dataset are veterans; staff called that a preliminary figure for the study.

The team described the Veterans Cascade of Care as a sequence of steps to identify and link veterans to behavioral-health services: identification (asking about military service as early as possible), screening with brief evidence-based instruments, clinical assessment by trained clinicians where indicated, referral to appropriate treatment resources, initiation of treatment and ongoing retention/continuity of care. Staff told commissioners the model was adapted from cascade frameworks used in public-health and substance-use treatment research and tailored to the criminal-justice context.

Noah and research staff said they will continue analysis of administrative datasets, survey and qualitative data; a Chester County site visit is planned for May, and the advisory board will meet to review findings and inform recommendations. Staff also said they plan to brief Senator Coleman's office as the team finishes the report and moves from findings toward implementation options.

Commissioners noted that identifying veterans early in the criminal-justice process and ensuring screening and assessment capacity are common challenges, especially in rural jurisdictions that may have fewer behavioral-health providers. The study aims to identify barriers and potential policy or practice recommendations that could be implemented at county and state levels.","Under Senate Resolution 196 the commission is conducting a 15-month study of veterans in the criminal justice system, merging Department of Veterans Affairs data with commission and AOPC records, conducting site visits and drafting recommendations based on a \"Veterans Cascade of Care.\"",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6114889,"Commission approves contract extension for CASER development; next-gen sentencing app remains on schedule",788,4310000,5098000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266&start=4310&end=5098","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266/thumbnail_4310000.jpg","/articles/6114889/Pennsylvania/Commission-approves-contract-extension-for-CASER-development-next-gen-sentencing-app-remains-on-schedule","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6114889-315bafd58761d100925a565ed554b646/orig.mp4?Expires=1773615719&Signature=BQczFHuQsPK18SD7JZw4KgigWDZmy0BzW4979m5nfWfNb~gHBW6shQH-cwZoUd2Si3shUsZfur3ej9Ken~mWiZ5gxltpILzpH0SPh1lE37qpAfAYdb4RLo48KNQ4xMdlrV6jZr4R~1giBlcDulUkTM1FHcowK5Ml3OKKZDgx0IrEkHfblIvcE2vUwlNAWl8LPg3A45b1l9h2pEUpD6Z7xu~cK4MXPpaniicZgsy6l8wEhtSYejwgJEGyzMWWGMJpyNTw0wjqZ7LeA6qehQQ4BEIjvD16iwqWxDR8L1x8BG6OwomazTwf5h6kUCG4f5pALm799Qxip-hs-V8nzxTViQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing approved a services contract extension to continue development of the commission's next-generation web application (CASER) and heard a progress report on both CASER and the legacy SGS Web.

Applications and IT manager Christy reported the team had completed core screens and functionality to generate sentencing guideline recommendations in the new CASER application. Completed items include offense creation, prior-record-score calculation, enhancements for offense blocks, implementation of the statutory sentence-risk instrument, a sentence-recommendation page and a printable sentencing-guideline report intended to replace the existing form. Staff said CASER places greater emphasis on showing the sentence-risk assessment on the guideline report screen so judges and practitioners see the value during printing.

Christy presented screenshots of the new offense-gravity-score (OGS) and prior-record-score (PRS) pages and the revised guideline form, which staff said consolidates offender-level information on the left and offense-specific details on the right. She reported the development roadmap remains on track: functional completion and testing are targeted through 2026 with a phased statewide rollout to finish in 2027.

To extend contracted developer support, the commission considered and approved a service-purchase contract not to exceed $50,000 to retain the current developer through June. A motion to approve the contract was made and seconded; the commission carried the motion by voice vote with all those present saying \"aye.\" The meeting record includes both \"Corbin Creek\" and \"Carbon Creek\" as vendor names in the minutes; staff materials listed the contractor as Carbon Creek and staff said the contract will fund continued development and testing of CASER.

While CASER is in active development, staff also reported ongoing maintenance and recent fixes to the legacy SGS Web application. On Feb. 27 staff deployed production fixes addressing incorrect risk-scoring in certain juvenile-adjudication scenarios and implemented statutory changes needed to reflect Act 144 of 2022 and Act 16 of 2024 about registerable offenses and county intermediate punishment eligibility. Christy also reported usage metrics for SGS Web: as of Jan. 31 the system contained more than 116,000 sentences with 2024 sentencing dates and 5,000 with 2025 sentencing dates submitted.

Commissioners asked to review the printable guideline form with sitting judges before the next phase of deployment. Staff said they will bring judges' feedback to the project team before wider rollout.","Members approved a service contract to extend application development support for the Commission's next-generation sentencing application (CASER). Staff said major features for guideline generation are complete and the project remains on track for phased rollout in 2026–2027 while the legacy SGS Web remains in active maintenance.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6114894,"Commission on Sentencing accepts clean fiscal audit, flags reserves near depletion",164,1033000,1197000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266&start=1033&end=1197","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2741363-66316e16229d7430f98371ff728bb266/thumbnail_1033000.jpg","/articles/6114894/Pennsylvania/Commission-on-Sentencing-accepts-clean-fiscal-audit-flags-reserves-near-depletion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6114894-ff8a26d18285bb1ae218c352a04a40e7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773615719&Signature=mj6MHIBYsCk0VlLblTWG2OjJ~ZNgYsS-tAmxijOJz79xrTE-4s~pwPrHsMkaPzuT0S1HAgFBwqcMTWsn4OhOm7i8w3tp8-mtsQubPwlBq6zq4nj6plbmSyIohvTDNVJGhvn9vmNEDgS9yjL8rTd1L~GJz5hiPJKkAvG4GnxqR3WvbzZqywEVbBqnSy~GZqZlp9I8Q4R9A99oAsNWKds-yMOA2UAojaViE6h-DlvfeJeGa2fxj9UjZy9R~j1LeSA-mb752hUwB0aQjFos6~jJjXNi7HU1zvomWPMmoX4oyfDj-JIcM0j21nVCNnpzViei7P5f7trJQRWTzGOcjORwxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing on March 12 accepted an independent fiscal audit and discussed tightened operating finances, including earmarked reserves and a pending budget request to the governor and General Assembly.

The independent accounting firm Boyer & Ritter completed the commission's fiscal year audit under a three-year contract, and staff reported the audit found no deficiencies in internal controls or instances of noncompliance. The commission moved to accept the audit; the motion was made by Joshua B. and seconded by Judge Dally, and the acceptance was carried by voice vote with no objections recorded.

Commission leaders and staff used the audit discussion to review operating finances. The commission's amended operating budget for fiscal year 2024'25 is $3,700,000 and reflects an earlier personnel cut that reduced full-time equivalents from 24 to 22. Staff told members that salaries account for about $2.7 million of the budget, and that the governor's executive budget had proposed essentially flat funding for the commission. Staff said the commission has tightened discretionary spending, limited travel and held a vacancy in the education-and-outreach unit as short-term cost controls.

Executive Director Dr. Kleinman (identified in materials as the commission's executive director) reviewed the commission's liquid reserves, which the staff presented as roughly $1.6 million on the books. Staff explained parts of that balance are earmarked for specific uses: roughly $687,000 tied to JRI-2 funds and approximately $97,000 associated with the commission's multi-year memorandum of understanding with Penn State University. The commission also makes an annual commitment to Penn State (listed in materials as $225,000) to support shared services and graduate-student research support. After those earmarks and other encumbrances, staff reported only about $72,000 of unencumbered, general-operations cash remained for the fiscal year.

To address the fiscal outlook the executive director told members he had submitted a budget request in February for $4.1 million to the governor's office, Senate and House leadership. Staff warned that continued flat funding would force further prioritization of Commission services and could jeopardize the ability to answer time-sensitive requests from courts, prosecutors, defense counsel and legislators.

The commission discussed possible outreach strategies to legislative leadership, including coordinating with the panel's legislative ex-officio members and justice-system stakeholders. No formal change to the operating budget was voted at the meeting beyond acceptance of the audit.

The meeting record shows the audit acceptance and the budget discussion but does not list a roll-call tally for the audit vote; staff recorded the action as accepted by voice without objections.","At its quarterly meeting the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing accepted an external financial audit and discussed an operating budget tightened by staff reductions, earmarked reserves and a pending budget request to the governor and legislature.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commission lays out annual reporting schedule, research partnerships and new data snapshot showing 25-year sentencing trends

Commission study SR196 maps veterans' "Cascade of Care," merges VA and court records for analysis

Commission approves contract extension for CASER development; next-gen sentencing app remains on schedule

Commission on Sentencing accepts clean fiscal audit, flags reserves near depletion