In Oct. 2020, the first Homicide Review Committee (HRC) met as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative 2 (JRI2) legislation mandates. One finding had to do with the Level of Service Inventories – Revised (LSI-R) assessment and Quehanna Boot Camp graduates. Parole field supervision staff utilize both the Violence Forecast Model (VFM) and the LSI-R to determine appropriate supervision levels for parolees. Without an LSI-R, the VFM is not able to be generated.
In less than six weeks from the completion of the HRC, staff from the Bureau of Reentry and JRI2, along with Parole Agent Newton Condict and Parole Supervisor Christine Harbursky, developed a training for Quehanna Boot Camp staff on conducting the LSI-R. Due to COVID-19 concerns, these staff members quickly became familiar with the Microsoft Teams Platform to deliver the training remotely at the staff members' work stations. This allowed each staff member to stay in their own office but still be able to speak directly to the other participants and the instructors.
On Dec. 16, seven QBC employees completed the LSI-R training. It should be noted that, as usual, the snow was falling at Quehanna at a significant rate, but all staff remained to successfully complete the training. On the very next day, Quehanna staff began administering the LSI-R to Boot Camp Teammates.
Through this effort, parole staff will have better information and hopefully, the community will be safer. The remarkable efficiency of the staff at the Bureau of Reentry and JRI2, the willingness of the two trainers to learn a new platform in such a short time, and the professionalism displayed by Quehanna staff to not only get trained, but immediately begin conducting the LSI-R are examples of what make the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections so great.