Massachusetts Parole Board

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Massachusetts Parole Board covering July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015.

“This report details the audit objectives, scope, methodology, findings, and recommendations for the audit period, July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015.”

Auditors reviewed parts of how the Parole Board managed parolee cases through its Field Services Division.

“The objective of our audit was to review certain aspects of the Parole Board’s Field Services Division case management practices.”

The report says late or missing reassessments can affect public safety because parolees may not be getting the right level of supervision.

“Not reassessing supervision levels in a timely way threatens public safety by increasing the risk of recidivism.”

For residents, the issue is whether parole supervision is being handled carefully, whether public money is being collected as required, and whether parolees are being monitored at the right level.

“The Parole Board uses these monthly supervision fees to supplement its state appropriation and defray operating costs.”

The auditors concluded that the board collected some fees and did some monitoring properly, but failed in two areas: fee collection and timely supervision-level reassessments.

“The Parole Board does not perform supervision-level reassessments in the required timeframe.”

The auditor recommended stronger controls, reminders, monitoring, and enforcement so fees are addressed and reassessments happen when required.

“The Parole Board should implement monitoring procedures to ensure that its policies in this area are adhered to.”

This matters because the audit found that many sampled parolees with fee obligations did not fully pay, and many sampled parolees were not reassessed on schedule.

“Specifically, during our audit period, 44 (63%) of the 70 parolees in our sample did not pay $9,690 (28%) of their total supervision-fee obligation of $35,195.”

A supervision-level reassessment means checking again how closely a parolee should be monitored, using levels such as reduced, standard, maximum, and intensive.

“Parolees are assessed to determine the level of supervision they require while on parole, out of four levels: reduced, standard, maximum, and intensive.”