APPR will host seven workshops and two plenary sessions at the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) 2024 Annual Conference and Training Institute, held in New Orleans from Sunday, September 8, to Wednesday, September 11. Learn more about this year’s conference.
Register now for your spot at NAPSA and join us at the workshops described below.
APPR Workshops at NAPSA 2024 Conference
Click on the title to jump to the description:
- Pretrial Release: Strategies, Considerations, and Procedural Fairness
- Getting the Conversation Started: Communicating with the Bench (and Others)
- Blueprint for Success: Effective Strategies for Implementing Pretrial Services
- Jail Population Review: Understanding—and Changing—Who’s in Your Jail
- Rural Pretrial Champions: Transforming Pretrial Justice Through Mentorship and Innovation: Plenary Session
- Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Support Parts 1 and 2
- Pretrial Compliance and Noncompliance: Plenary Session
- Putting Pretrial Research into Action: Accomplishments, Ongoing Challenges, Lessons Learned
- The Release Decision and Conditions of Release: In Their Shoes
Monday, September 9
Pretrial Release: Strategies, Considerations, and Procedural Fairness
Decisions about pretrial release and detention play a critical role in the delivery of justice. However, until recently, such decisions had not been the focus of significant attention nationally. That has changed as many jurisdictions have improved their pretrial systems to increase fairness, equity, and community safety and well-being. Judicial officers are central to these efforts.
The first appearance hearing plays a considerable role in determining whether someone is released or detained—and if detained, for how long. So it is crucial to structure these hearings in a way that protects the rights of the accused, leads to fair and equitable decisions, and ensures community well-being and safety. This workshop will introduce the key elements of a fair, effective, and legally sound first appearance hearing. It will explore the latest empirical research about commonly used pretrial release conditions. The workshop will draw on experience and expertise from those working in and impacted by the criminal legal system. It will also offer guidance on effectively improving policies and practices concerning first appearance hearings in your jurisdiction.
Presenters
Matt Alsdorf, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Dr. Kelvin L. Banks, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Alison Shames, director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Brandon Brown, Justice Policy Consultant
Shahiem Smith, Justice Policy Consultant
Getting the Conversation Started: Communicating with the Bench (and Others)
Pretrial Services can be a catalyst for increasing the knowledge of judicial officers, prosecutors, and public defenders about pretrial services and effective policies and practices. In this training, participants will learn specific tactics and approaches to communicating effectively with judicial officers, prosecutors, and public defenders. We will discuss how to identify champions open to ongoing information exchanges to create regular opportunities for internal education. The presentation will include feedback from judicial officers and prosecutors whose own learning experiences influenced them to become champions for pretrial justice.
Presenters
Spike Bradford, communications manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Holly Ziemer, communications director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Kristie E. Puckett, Gender Justice Policy Expert
Blueprint for Success: Effective Strategies for Implementing Pretrial Services
Relative to probation and parole supervision, the field of pretrial services is relatively young. Many jurisdictions do not yet provide formal pretrial services, and few resources exist that provide guidance on how to develop or expand a pretrial services organization. Hosted by the new Community Supervision Resource Center (CSRC), this workshop will discuss work in progress focused on developing a blueprint for implementing successful pretrial services. This future CSRC work will provide jurisdictions with step-by-step instructions and guidance on implementing a pretrial services program grounded in best practices and research. Whether your jurisdiction is building a program from scratch or looking to rebrand or enhance an existing program, this new line of work will provide valuable information and effective strategies for successful pretrial services. Faculty are experienced pretrial services practitioners who previously developed and now serve as consultants to those who want to start pretrial services agencies. Participants will be encouraged to provide feedback and insight.
Presenters
Tara Boh Blair, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Lakisha Fisher, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Mariam Popper, consultant
Jail Population Review: Understanding—and Changing—Who’s in Your Jail
For many jurisdictions seeking to improve their pretrial systems, reducing unnecessary pretrial detention is among their primary goals. And with good reason: Research shows that detention, even for short periods, can result in harsher sentences, loss of jobs and housing, and an increased likelihood of future arrest. Developing a successful strategy for reducing detention begins with understanding who is currently in jail pretrial and why they are being held—and then identifying what about that picture needs to change. Using real-world examples from pretrial practitioners, this session will provide guidance on developing this sort of jail population overview and using it to drive change. It will also discuss how and why to develop a collaborative, cross-functional process to review the jail population on an ongoing basis to identify people who could safely be released from detention. Jurisdictions implementing this practice see it not just having critical immediate-term impacts on people’s lives but also providing an impetus for longer-term, more systemic improvements.
Presenters
Matt Alsdorf, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Tanya Anderson, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Lakisha Fisher, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Dr. Tammy Meredith, APPR Partner
Hillary Hartoin, director, Cass County (IN) Court and Pretrial Services
Tuesday, September 10
Rural Pretrial Champions: Transforming Pretrial Justice Through Mentorship and Innovation: Plenary Session
The APPR Rural Pretrial Practitioner Fellowship is an innovative program designed to enhance pretrial justice in rural settings through mentorship-based learning, building champions for change, and developing solutions that address the unique challenges rural jurisdictions face. This fellowship equips practitioners with the skills and knowledge needed to implement pretrial best practices, fostering improvements practitioners can apply across rural and urban jurisdictions. This panel will bring together fellows from the program to share their insights and experiences, providing actionable strategies and inspiring pretrial professionals to implement effective and sustainable improvements regardless of their geographic locations.
Presenters:
Lakisha Fisher, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Hillary Hartoin, director, Cass County (IN) Court and Pretrial Services
Kathi Zaddam, coordinator, Minnehaha County, (SD) Pretrial Services
Melana Gross, statewide operations supervisor, (KY) Pretrial Services
Jesstina Ditton, director, Grant County (IN) Pretrial Services
Jennifer Gibbs, executive director, Criminal Justice Alternatives, Wake County (NC)
Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Support Parts 1 and 2
This training will offer an overview of criminal legal system interactions for Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence (DV/IPV) related cases, including available assessments and supervision. The training will also discuss community-based support for survivors’ well-being. Impacted people will share their insights, and faculty will introduce practical, evidence-based ways to support everyone involved in DV/IPV cases. The training is designed to help pretrial system stakeholders and their community partners develop effective responses—both pretrial and in the broader criminal legal system—to address and reduce the harm associated with DV/IPV.
Presenters
Dr. Kelvin L. Banks, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Tamika Cheree Henry, founder, I Am Here
Gene Johnson, associate director, Center for Justice Innovation
Shawn LaGrega, deputy director, Maine Pretrial Services, Inc.
Dr. Tammy Meredith, APPR Partner
Kristie E. Puckett, Gender Justice Policy Expert
Pretrial Compliance and Noncompliance: Plenary Session
Structured sanctions and incentives are used widely in probation supervision but are less common in pretrial supervision. This training will provide an overview of best practices in responding to compliance and noncompliance with pretrial conditions of release. Panelists will provide feedback on shifting their practices and steps agencies can take to develop a consistent way to address people’s behavior while promoting pretrial success and not simply managing failure.
Presenters & Moderators
Dr. Kelvin L. Banks, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Dr. Michael R. Jones, consultant, advancing pretrial policy & research
Jessica Ireland, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Alison Shames, director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Panelist
Mary Barber, Michigan Liberation, Oakland County, MI
Shayna Caleb, Social Worker-Public Defender Office, Oakland County, MI
Judith Gracey, Defense Attorney, Oakland County, MI
Jeff Hall, Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Oakland County, MI
Barbara Hankey, Director of Public Services, Oakland County, MI
Samantha L. Honig, August County, VA
Barbara Morrison, Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Oakland County, MI
Eric Schmidt, Manager of Community Corrections, Oakland County, MI
Tomaudrie Thomas, Prince William County, VA
Judge Cynthia Walker, Judge – 50th (Pontiac) District Court, Oakland County, MI
Wednesday, September 11
Putting Pretrial Research into Action: Accomplishments, Ongoing Challenges, Lessons Learned
This workshop will highlight pretrial improvements and implementation efforts in three states participating in the APPR Research-Action Site project. You will hear from Fulton County, Georgia, which has a well-established, long-standing pretrial services agency, how they transformed their agency using a research-driven approach. Pulaski County, Arkansas, will discuss how they implemented the first pretrial services agency in the state from the ground up. Pierce and Thurston counties in Washington will share lessons from implementing the Public Safety Assessment and working towards system-level adaptive change.
Presenters
Tara Boh Blair, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Nicole Carbone, justice services administrator, Pretrial Services, Pierce County (WA) Office of the County Clerk
Carrie Hennen, director, Thurston County (WA) Pretrial Services
Tiffany Iwundu, director, Pulaski County (AR) Pretrial Services
Felicia Pack, court support manager II, Pretrial Services Supervision, Superior Court of Fulton County (GA)
The Release Decision and Conditions of Release: In Their Shoes
This workshop is designed to simulate the experience of being a person with conditions of release set and the decisions they must make to comply. The workshop will be an interactive scenario. A judge will set conditions of release. People charged (i.e., workshop participants) will be given conditions and then required to follow those conditions and make decisions that impact liberty, compliance, and daily needs.
Presenters
Tanya Anderson, associate director, Center for Effective Public Policy
Tara Boh Blair, senior manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
Barb Hankey, director, Oakland County Public Services
Gilbert Jaramillo, Senior Statewide Program Manager, Pretrial Justice Division, New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts
Please check the NAPSA website for workshop dates and times.