Roger Phillips, chair of the Adult Parole Board, told the Legislative Performance Audit Oversight Committee that his board has completed 18 of 26 recommendations from an earlier performance audit and is working on the remaining eight.

"I think the 18 that have been accomplished, I think that's fair to say those programs have been successfully completed," Phillips said, describing progress since he joined the board in 2019. He told the committee some outstanding items are tied to planned structured decision-making training and information-technology changes at other agencies.

The audit, which the board says predates some of its members, included recommendations on decision-making criteria, tracking mechanisms, a records-retention policy, and guaranteed access to inmate mental-health and substance-abuse information used for parole hearings. Phillips said the board has pursued structured decision-making training through conferences and the National Institute of Corrections, but implementation timing depends on federal training availability and funding.

The board’s director of operations, Jay Mackey, has attended conferences and training on structured decision making, Phillips said, and the board expects the National Institute of Corrections to provide a multiweek program that could improve how it implements several remaining recommendations.

Several open items also depend on other agencies. Phillips said recent software changes at the Department of Corrections have left some data not yet populated and that the board needs IT assistance to scan and confidentially store historical records. He said the parole board lost about 20% of its workforce and that staffing and IT bottlenecks have slowed records scanning and other administrative work.

Senator Rosenwald asked why the board had not adopted a clear records-retention policy. Phillips replied that the board follows the state’s archives and records-management statute for minimum retention periods and has not destroyed records; the issue is drafting a formal board policy and creating an access-controlled area in the state's file-storage system. "We are keeping them for at least for the minimum of 4 years," Phillips said, adding that the Department of Corrections typically uses a 10-year retention standard.

Committee members pressed for an updated report to the Department of Administrative Services so the audit-tracking spreadsheet can be updated. Committee members proposed a follow-up report after the first of the year, with March identified as a target for an update on the eight open items. Phillips said he hoped the remaining items could be resolved within six months but noted the timeline depends on DOC and IT work and the availability of federal training.

The committee also asked the parole board to include timelines and note any external dependencies (for example, IT, DOC, or federal training) when it files its updated documentation with DAS. Phillips said he had submitted documentation to DAS and was told the department would post it after the meeting.

What the committee will track: the board is to file an updated report to DAS listing the 18 completed items, the eight open items and timelines or conditions for completion; the committee signaled it will review that update and may invite the board back if issues remain unresolved.