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Parole board: virtual hearings increased victim participation as caseloads grow under policy shift
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Summary
Director Mary Jane Ainsworth told the Corrections & Institutions committee that switching to virtual hearings has increased victim participation and scheduling flexibility, and that justice reinvestment has shifted practice toward parole rather than furlough, increasing board workload; Ainsworth estimated roughly 600 in‑state parolees and agreed to produce detailed data.
Mary Jane Ainsworth, director of the parole board, told the Corrections & Institutions committee on Jan. 7 that the board’s use of virtual hearings and changes from justice reinvestment have affected participation and caseload.
Ainsworth said the board moved from traveling to facilities pre‑COVID to virtual hearings (initially via Skype and now on Microsoft Teams). "All of our hearings are recorded instead of just having audio recording because before we'd have a tape recorder at all of our hearings. Now they are all video recordings," she said, adding that recordings are retained in board files and can be requested through public records requests.
She described two practical advantages: increased victim participation and greater scheduling flexibility. "We've seen a lot of advantages to continuing on Teams," Ainsworth said, noting victims are sometimes reluctant to travel to correctional facilities and that video reduces the intimidation of attending in person.
On caseload, Ainsworth estimated roughly 600 in‑state parolees, with additional individuals supervised out of state under interstate compact arrangements. She told committee members that justice reinvestment policies have led the board to parole more people directly out of facilities rather than rely on furlough as an intermediate step; that shift has increased the frequency and complexity of both parole and violation hearings.
Committee members pressed Ainsworth for more precise data about the types of conditions being violated and the factors driving revocations (housing instability, substance use, mental health needs); Ainsworth said she would provide those numbers in a follow‑up session. The briefing closed without formal action.
