Governor Rell: $600,000 in Stimulus Funds

To Upgrade Parole Board Information System

                Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced the state will use $600,000 in federal stimulus funds to upgrade and improve the information system shared by the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BOPP) and the Department of Correction (DOC) to help them manage and supervise the release of offenders into communities.

The Governor said the existing Case Notes Offender system is outdated and based on 15-year-old technology.  The Correction Department and parole board rely on papedr-driven process to generate reports on the status of offenders. Much DOC time is used to re-enter data for preparing community release packages.

“Parole and Correction officials must have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips when making critical decisions on whether an offender is ready to return to society,” Governor Rell said. “These stimulus funds will give our criminal justice system another valuable tool in protecting the public as well as enhance supervision of those striving to turn their lives around and become productive community members.”

The upgraded system will allow parole officers to use their laptop computers in the field to access the most current information on offenders under their supervision. The new technology will provide a continual flow of the most accurate and timely information to police, corrections, parole officials, probation officers and the courts.

The Governor said the state will use $240,000 for new hardware and software. The balance – $360,000 – will be used to hire five consultants to design and upgrade the system.  The consultants will be selected from contractors pre-approved by the state Department of Information Technology.

The initiative continues to build upon improvements to the parole system outlined in the 2008 criminal just reform law that Governor Rell spearheaded and was recommended by her Sentencing and Parole Review Task force.

For more information visit the state’s stimulus Web site at www.ct.gov and click on the CT Recovery link.