Monday, October 26, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 1
Committee: Committee on Criminal Justice
The Committee on Criminal Justice, chaired by Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers, held an oversight hearing on the organizational strategy of the Department of Probation, including staffing, caseload management, and community-based programming. Commissioner Sharon Goodwin testified that the department's strategy is 'what works' (evidence-based practice), reporting that the vacancy rate dropped 8%, roughly 100 new probation officers are joining, the training academy was shortened from 5.1 to 3.5 months, caseloads were right-sized by risk level, and court liaison functions and NEON stakeholder groups are being rebuilt. The committee also heard Introduction 1104, sponsored by the chair, which would require the department to give young people accused of crimes notices explaining the criminal legal process; the department supports its intent with recommendations. Members pressed on the 50% increase in juvenile rearrests reported by the committee, program completion rates (60-70%), early termination of probation filings, and juvenile adjustment rates (about 1,400 of 9,000 intake cases adjusted, with a stated goal of 20% next year). No votes were taken during the portion captured.
0:24 So much. Ow! Ow! Good morning.
0:24 Welcome to the committee on
0:25 criminal justice. Please place
0:26 your phone on vibrate or
0:26 silent mode anytime during his
0:27 hearing do not approach the
0:29 days chair propels. We are
0:30 ready to begin. Good morning.
0:38 I am Council Member silvina
0:40 Brooks Powers, chair of the
0:56 committee on
0:56 . Criminal justice. I want to
0:57 welcome everyone to today's
0:58 hearing on the organizational
0:58 strategy of the department of
0:59 probation. The department of
1:00 probation plays an important
1:00 role in New York city's
1:01 criminal legal system, its
1:02 responsibilities extends
1:02 beyond supervising individuals
1:03 in in to include court related
1:04 investigations, juvenile
1:12 intake, an adjustment and
1:12 connecting people under
1:13 supervision with services tha
1:14 tsupport their stability and
1:14 successful completion of
1:15 probation, the department's
1:16 organizational approach
1:16 affects how these
1:17 responsibilities are carried
1:19 out how offices interact with
1:21 the people they supervise what
1:23 the outcomes are for people
1:25 under department supervision
1:33 and how effectively young
1:34 people and families navigat
1:35 ethe court system. In recent
1:35 years, the department has
1:36 faced significant challenges
1:37 related to staff and shortages
1:40 employee retention caseload
1:41 management and the direction
1:42 of its supervision policies as
1:46 of the department reported
1:47 vacancy rate of approximately
2:01 23% 255 vacancies, 210 of
2:02 which were probation offices.
2:03 The elimination of court
2:03 liaison offers a positions
2:04 under the previous
2:04 administration raiseconcd erns
2:05 about coordination with family
2:06 court and the ability to
2:07 identify opportunities for
2:07 adjustment before young people
2:09 enter formal court proceedings
2:11 . The return of court liaison
2:19 functions, along with changes
2:19 to pay for assignments and
2:20 staff requirement efforts
2:21 makes it important to examine
2:22 how the department is
2:24 organized today and how these
2:26 decisions affect the agency's
2:30 work. The department has been
2:31 under New leadership since
2:32 commissioner goodwin's
2:33 appointment in today's hearing
2:36 is an opportunity to hear
2:37 directly from the department
2:47 about the change that
2:47 leadership has brought what
2:48 remains in development and how
2:49 those changes are impacting
2:49 probation officers and those
2:50 under their supervision as we
2:52 examine the department's
2:54 organizational strategy. We
2:54 must consider both the
2:56 conditions facing probation
2:58 officers and the experiences
2:59 of the people under their
3:08 supervision, effective
3:09 probation requires trained and
3:10 supported staff manageable and
3:10 appropriately structured
3:11 caseloads, coordinationith w
3:12 the ports and access to
3:12 services that address the
3:13 needs, contributing to justice
3:16 system involvement. Today, the
3:17 committee will examine the
3:18 approaches to assigning and
3:23 supervising cases in the role
3:25 of the community based
3:36 programs in supporting
3:36 successful outcomes. We will
3:37 also consider how the
3:37 department evaluates program
3:38 effectiveness and uses
3:39 available data to guide
3:39 decisions about services and
3:41 resources in addition t
3:41 otoday's topic, the committee
3:43 will be hearing introduction
3:44 number 11 or for sponsored by
3:46 myself in relation t
3:47 oproviding youth accused of
3:55 crimes with information about
3:55 the criminal legal process.
3:56 This bill would require the
3:57 department of probation to
3:57 provide young people accused
3:58 of crimes with notices
4:00 explaining the criminal legal
4:02 process.
4:02 These notices would provide
4:05 information. Wanna just in
4:06 cases filing petitions pre
4:09 sentence reports and potential
4:11 dispositions their notices
4:33 would also provide information
4:34 regarding different
4:35 . Criminal defense providers
4:35 in New York City that the
4:36 young person make contact. The
4:37 bill would also require that
4:37 before beginning and intake
4:38 interview with the probation
4:39 officer, a young person to the
4:39 protections afforded them
4:40 during the interview. Young
4:41 people and families should
4:41 understand how this process
4:49 works before they begin it. A
4:50 notice delivered at first
4:50 contact would give them the
4:51 information they need to make
4:52 informed decisions and I look
4:52 forward to working with the
4:53 department and our
4:54 stakeholders to get it right
4:54 ?I am joined by a council
4:55 member murano and I would also
4:56 like to take a moment to thank
4:56 my staff and committee staff
4:57 where their hard work, frazie
5:01 r, counsel to the committee,
5:02 chad benjamin policy analysts
5:07 casey lasky, financial
5:07 analysts owen brady. My policy
5:10 and budget director and rene
5:11 tell my chief of staff. I look
5:14 forward to a productive
5:14 discussion with the department
5:16 and our other stakeholders
5:17 about the direction of
5:19 probation in New York City.
5:21 The progress being made to
5:22 strengthen its operations in
5:29 the steps needed to ensure
5:29 that the department carries
5:30 out its responsibilities
5:31 effectively while supporting
5:33 rehabilitation, accountability
5:34 and successful outcomes for
5:34 the people it serves now, I
5:37 would like to act with
5:38 committee council t
5:39 oadminister, though. Hmm. Good
5:46 morning. We will now hear
5:47 testimony from the
5:52 administration before.
5:52 We begin, I will administer
5:53 the affirmation. Panelists
5:54 please raise your right han
5:55 ddo you affirm to tell the
5:55 truth, the whole truth and
5:56 nothing but the truth before
5:57 this committee and to honestly
5:58 answer Council Member. All
6:02 right. You begin when ready.
6:26 Oh, good morning,
6:27 chia broad Powers and
6:27 members of the criminal
6:28 justice committee. I am sharon
6:29 goodwin, commissioner of the
6:29 New York City department of
6:30 probation. Seated with me
6:31 today is first deputy
6:31 commissioner robert and deputy
6:32 commissioner's dwayne mckenzi
6:33 e. Tina who? Jerry and stacy
6:34 deaths and who oversee legal
6:34 and external. If ekeus adult
6:46 operations and juvenile
6:46 operations, respectively.
6:47 Thank you for the opportunity
6:48 to testifybout a the important
6:48 work of the department of
6:49 probation and his organization
6:50 of strategy, the department of
6:51 probation or strategy can be
6:51 summed up in just two words
6:54 what works refer to in the
6:56 field as evidence based
7:07 practice. It is a return t
7:08 oour core values and returned
7:09 to working with people and the
7:10 larger community to help the
7:10 clients get out and stay out
7:11 of the justice system. My
7:12 entire career has been with
7:12 New York City probation 40
7:15 years ago, I started as an
7:17 intern fresh out of you now,
7:37 utica university, my
7:37 . Alma mater. I have held
7:38 nearly every position and the
7:39 probation officer title series
7:39 , including probation officer
7:40 trainee probation officer.
7:41 Court leaves officer
7:41 ,supervising probation officer
7:42 ,branch chief assistant
7:43 commissioner, deputy
7:43 commissioner and now
7:44 commissioner, restoring the
7:44 agency to its fundamentals t
7:52 owhat works has been my core
7:53 focus today, I will provide an
7:54 update on some of the best
7:54 practices implemented thus far
7:55 , staffing and recruitment by
7:57 size and caseloads and rebuild
8:02 in relationships
8:02 . Without question, probations
8:04 most most important asset is
8:07 its people. We cannot do this
8:18 work without quality,
8:18 experienced staff for the past
8:19 three years probation had the
8:20 highest vacancy rate of any
8:20 City agency 23%. Thankfully,
8:21 we are beginning to see
8:22 results from my staff and
8:24 recoupment focus as our
8:26 vacancy rate has decreased 8%.
8:29 This has had a marked impact
8:42 one staff more
8:42 . And work and ultimately the
8:43 resources and attention
8:44 available for the people we
8:44 serve. Here's how we got the
8:45 probation officers are one of
8:46 the most highly educated and
8:48 credential civil service
8:48 titles in New York City
8:51 government. The title series
8:52 sweet requires a bachelor's
8:54 degree and two years of
9:13 casework experiments
9:14 . To hire college graduates
9:14 who do not have yet the case
9:15 .work experience like I didn't.
9:16 When I first started, we
9:16 instituted the probation
9:17 officer training title. This
9:18 additional civil service title
9:19 meets the field the job
9:19 allowing us to hire and train
9:20 more offices more quickly. The
9:26 next probation officer. A
9:27 trainee exam will be open for
9:28 filing November 5 do the 25 22
9:31 26 r probation training
9:33 academyas h been strategically
9:34 optimized from 5.1 month to
9:39 35 months while maintaining
9:39 compliance with the New York
9:40 state training mandates and
9:53 regulatory requirements. So
9:54 far this year we have
9:55 conducted two probation
9:55 academies, graduating 5
9:56 7offices went roughly another
9:57 50 candidates expected t
9:57 ograduate in in total. This
9:59 amounts to almost 100 more
10:02 officers joining the
10:03 department of probation,
10:04 family and 20 26 when we need
10:05 them the most combined with
10:20 four additional academies
10:21 tyou. Tear books Powers for
10:25 your commitment to our offices
10:28 too often the work of
10:30 probation goals unnoticed
10:43 since becoming go on another
10:44 sense becoming cheer. You have
10:45 not only attended both academy
10:46 graduations but even join us
10:46 agency to celebrate probation
10:47 week. Thank you for seeing and
10:48 celebrating the hard work and
10:49 dedication of this small but
10:49 mighty agency and its people.
10:53 What staffing and hiring
10:55 trending positively. We could
11:06 . Now return to another
11:06 evidence based practice
11:07 assigning caseloads loads
11:08 according to risk and buy o
11:08 rright sizing caseloads kinds
11:09 who engage in higher risk
11:10 behavior require more
11:10 attention intervention time
11:12 and resources. Therefore we
11:14 continue to work towards
11:16 ensuring that the officers
11:17 supervising the highest with
11:34 behaviors have the fewest
11:34 number of cases. When I
11:35 returned to the agency, we
11:36 found that previous policies
11:36 have resulted. And in a bag of
11:37 caseloads. Officers were
11:38 overloaded from having to
11:38 supervise a high number of
11:39 cases mix and low med,ium and
11:40 high vis behavior clients. Not
11:41 only is this poor practice for
11:41 my work low perspective but
11:46 often results in lower risk
11:47 behavior, getting too much
11:48 intervention and high risk
11:49 behaviors is not enough.
11:51 We we assessed the case
11:52 loads and bite sized them,
11:54 according to risk level
11:55 . And return to longstandin
11:58 gagency practice that are
12:00 vitamin offices are very
12:01 familiar with and therefore a
12:03 ship result and better
12:04 outcomes for the people we
12:17 serve. Lastly, we know we
12:17 cannot do this work alone her
12:18 e. Probation community is not
12:19 only the neighborhoods are
12:19 kind of cool home, but also
12:20 the border community of
12:21 neighborhood based
12:21 organizations, businesses,
12:24 nonprofits, government
12:25 agencies, judges and other
12:26 stakeholders who are key
12:27 partners in this work we
12:31 building those trusted
12:40 relationships is.
12:40 Not only the right thing t
12:41 odo but necessary to ensure our
12:42 clients have what they need to
12:42 succeed. Already this year we
12:43 have met with the judges to
12:44 begin restoring our court
12:44 liaison offices and family
12:47 court. We have paid long
12:48 overdue and even a lapse
12:50 contracts which struggle is
12:53 service providers
12:54 . We are rebuilding our
13:03 neighborhood opportunity net
13:03 neon model by re establishing
13:04 on neon stakeholder groups
13:05 assuring community voice I
13:05 spart of a community decision
13:06 making because when probation
13:07 and the larger community are
13:09 working together. Anything is
13:12 possible, for example, earlier
13:13 this year, one of our
13:15 probation clients. Bloke. The
13:17 record for fastest completion
13:29 of the commercial drive
13:30 ,license, certification and
13:30 partnership with emerged
13:31 careers next mile program and
13:32 the maid is office of criminal
13:33 justice are client graduated
13:33 with not one, but two job
13:34 offers paying over 80000 a
13:38 year. A key part of our role
13:39 is supporting young people and
13:51 their families is assure mint
13:52 that they have access to
13:53 information about their rights
13:54 and filming core process we
13:54 got in and throw 11 0 4 the
13:55 department supports the intent
13:56 of the bill and it's generally
13:56 matches our current practic
13:59 eas part of intake process and
14:01 family court probation
14:02 provides the young person with
14:04 their family and their family
14:12 with that package of
14:12 information, including a
14:13 notice of rights. Why there
14:13 are some details and ancho 1
14:15 10 4 where we have
14:16 recommendations, might team
14:17 and I look forward to working
14:18 with the council to ensure
14:21 that this bill aligns with the
14:22 family court act and best
14:24 serves on young people and
14:28 their families proper staffin
14:33 g, right size caseloads. A
14:33 strong relationships are
14:34 fundamental to the work we do.
14:36 And as you have heard
14:37 probation is all about
14:39 focusing on what works.
14:41 Although we still have a way
14:43 to go. I am beyond proud of
14:45 the work and dedication so far
14:46 this year from the people of
14:50 this department a client
14:52 deserves nothing less. Thank
14:57 you for the opportunity t
14:58 otestify. My team and I are
14:59 pleased to answer any
14:59 questions you have
15:02 . Thank you, commissioner and
15:02 I just want to publicly thank
15:04 you for getting your testimony
15:05 is while it's not the 24 or 48
15:07 hours. I was looking for, it's
15:09 still counts, so I was able t
15:11 oregions testimony wells on the
15:12 train in today, and I feel
15:15 like it's helpful because it
15:24 helps me to, like, reconfigure
15:24 . The questions are going to
15:25 ask to make sure that the
15:26 conversation is meaningful, so
15:27 I appreciate that, and I want
15:27 to acknowledge the effort.
15:28 Among goodness, I will not
15:29 also knowledge that we've now
15:29 been joined by council members