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Subcommittee approves emergency rule tying earned-release credits to programming and risk assessments
Summary
The ALC-EXECUTIVE SUBCOMMITTEE reviewed and approved an emergency rule from the Department of Corrections that changes how inmates earn time off their sentences, linking credits to validated risk assessments and program participation; the rule is effective March 7, 2025.
The ALC-EXECUTIVE SUBCOMMITTEE on March 7 reviewed and approved an emergency rule from the Department of Corrections that changes how inmates accrue earned release credits, the panel chair said.
Toni Rowell, chief legal counsel for the Department of Corrections, told the subcommittee the Protect Arkansas Act (2023) tasked the Board of Corrections with setting the rule. "The former system by which we considered an inmate's early release from prison was almost entirely based on good behavior and did not have much weight at all for participation in programming," Rowell said. She said the new rule shifts credit-earning toward completion of programs tied to inmates' validated criminogenic needs.
Under the rule, inmates receive a validated risk assessment on intake using the Ohio Risk Assessment System. Rowell said that assessment will identify criminogenic needs and that staff will create individualized case plans. "When as they complete programs that are tied to those criminogenic needs, they'll earn the time that is tied to their programming," she said. The rule replaces a prior approach of lump-sum credits that were not weighted to sentence length or to need.
Rowell said the secretary of corrections must publish a manual that explains the rule's calculations and lists what percentage each offense can earn; each inmate will also receive a one-page summary explaining how to earn maximum credits. She acknowledged the rule contains calculation steps and said the manual is intended to make the system more digestible for staff and inmates.
The subcommittee approved the proposed emergency rule "without objection," and the chair announced the review and approval will be effective at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025.
No formal roll-call vote or dissent was recorded in the transcript. The record shows a staff presentation followed by a brief question period and unanimous consent to adopt the emergency rule. The Department of Corrections and the Board of Corrections are named in the transcript as the implementing entities; the transcript also refers to the secretary of corrections as responsible for publishing the explanatory manual.
The rule changes the mechanics of earned-release credit calculations, ties credit to risk-assessment results and program completion, and directs the secretary to provide clearer, written guidance and offense-specific percentages for credit-earning.
