Divisions

The Board of Parole Hearings, is comprised of the executive office and five divisions.

Executive Office

The Executive Office is comprised of the Executive Officer, Chief Deputy Program Operations, Chief Deputy Field Operations and the Workforce Operations. The Executive Officer is the administrative head of the Board, is responsible for managing the daily operations and implementing policies. The Workforce Operations assists the Board’s units, programs and sections with work-flow efficiencies and optimization; to develop system tools to monitor and track compliance with remedial plans, permanent injunctions, court orders and Board procedures; and to liaison with CDCR entities, governmental agencies and plaintiffs’ counsel.

Administrative Services Division

The Administrative Services Division is comprised of the Budgets Unit, Personnel Unit, Accounting Unit, Contracts and Procurement Unit, Facilities Support Unit, Training Unit, and the Information Technology Unit. The Administrative Services Division oversees the Board’s daily business operations, including fiscal oversight, personnel, management information systems, office reception and mail functions, contracts, procurement, accounting services, training, and space/property/fleet management. The Administrative Services Division liaisons with various CDCR Programs and other State Agencies, in addition to working with numerous private vendors while administering contracts and procurements.

Hearings Division

The Hearings Division conducts parole suitability hearings, Youth Offender hearings, Elderly Offender hearings, Nonviolent Parole hearings for indeterminately sentenced offenders, Medical Parole hearings, commitment hearings for Offenders with a Mental Disorder and Penal Code Section 3000.1 or 3000(b)(4) parole reconsideration hearings.  It also includes the ADA Compliance Unit and the Central Office Calendar, a clearinghouse and source of information regarding on-going cases.

Legal Affairs Division

The Legal Affairs Division advises BPH management and program staff regarding compliance with applicable regulations and law; provides extensive decision review of Board hearing decisions for legal sufficiency and recommends modifications as necessary; assists with training Board commissioners and deputy commissioners; and provides legal support for drafting proposed regulations or regulation amendments and statutes. The legal team also oversees litigation, habeas petitions and all legal challenges to Board operations, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. The legal team also supports compliance monitoring activities relating to court orders and provides legal support services to all of the Board divisions as needed.

Offender Investigations & Screening Division (OISD)

The Offender Investigations & Screening Division (OISD) orders mental health treatment as a condition of parole for Offenders with a Mental Health Disorder; screens the background and history of inmates to identify potential Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) and processes holds for completion of the SVP process.

The OISD functions are also to provide review, evaluation and summary through an investigation process upon the Governor’s request. These investigations include pardon, reprieve, and commutation cases. Other investigations include death penalty investigations, allegations of innocence or mitigating circumstances from long-term inmates, requests for medical release or re-sentencing consideration, and evidence that Intimate Partner Battering/Battered Woman Syndrome may have been a significant factor in the life crime. The OISD also conducts investigations for the Board itself, including any parole suitability concerns raised by Commissioners, investigations of parole plans prior to release of long-term inmates to parole, confidential informants, and out-of-state investigation requests. The OISD is also responsible for office security, and provides executive protection.

The OISD includes the Board’s Forensic Assessment Division (FAD), which is responsible for conducting violence risk assessments for indeterminately sentenced inmates prior to their parole consideration hearing. FAD provides the Board’s suitability hearing panels with Comprehensive Risk Assessments to assist in understanding a long-term inmate’s potential for future violence and protective factors that could minimize his or her risk if  released to the community. FAD psychologists use evidence-based risk assessment tools to present hearing panels with their structured professional judgment, or expert opinion concerning each inmate’s potential risk for future violence. FAD clinicians’ expert opinion include  findings from a clinical interview of an inmate and a review of his or her institutional record. Comprehensive Risk Assessments may include but are not limited to, evaluation of the inmate’s commitment offense, institutional programming, past and present mental state, and analysis of static and dynamic risk factors based on the inmate’s behaviors and relationships, emotions and attitudes, and perceptions and attributions.

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BPH Units

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