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Alternative Metrics Working Group

 

Mandates

Pursuant to 24-33.5-535 CRS (established in Senate Bill 2024-029), the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) shall convene a working group to make recommendations to the Colorado General Assembly regarding metrics other than recidivism to assess criminal justice system outcomes. 

Additional general mandates include:

  • Members shall be appointed no later than November 30, 2024.
  • The first meeting shall occur by February 1, 2025.
  • Meeting shall allow for remote participation. 
  • The working group shall consult with stakeholders and provide opportunities for participation in working group meetings.
  • Submit a report:
    • by July 1, 2025 to the CO House of Representatives Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee and to the House Judiciary Committee and to the CO Senate Health and Human Services Committee and to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
    • that summarizes the efforts of the working group and any recommendations about the development and implementation of methods and metrics, other than measuring recidivism, to evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.
  • The working group sunset date is June 30, 2026.

JULY 2025 REPORT
Report of the Alternative Metrics of Recidivism Working Group (July 2025)

Tasks

FUTURE MEETING PLAN: Following the completion of the July 2025 AMWG Report, the Working Group will continue to meet to address mandated tasks prior to the statutory sunset date of June 30, 2026. Future meeting dates are to be announced, but are expected to occur monthly. A future summary report of this additional work is expected in 2026.

The specific tasks assigned to the working group include:

  • Study metrics and methods, other than recidivism, to:
    • Supplement current measures including those related to desistance (severity and timing) and risk reduction. 
    • Comprehensively measure successful outcomes that consider various aspect of life (e.g. employment, housing, education, mental health, personal well-being, social supports, and civic and community engagement).
    • Enhance measures of criminal justice system performance and adherence to best practices in supervision program design and implementation.
  • Identify methods to obtain information from those involved or recently involved in the system regarding supervision experiences.
  • Identify gaps or barriers in data collection, measurement and data matching, and recommendations on addressing these gaps or barriers.
  • Create an implementation timeline for these metrics and methods that addresses any data limitations and necessary resources.
  • Identify customization of measures to account for age, gender, race, ethnicity, or risk of a cohort.

NOTE: This Working Group follows the efforts of the Recidivism Definition Working Group that were completed in September 2024.

Meetings & Calendar

All Alternative Metrics Working Group meetings will be held in a hybrid format, with both in-person and virtual options. Guests and members of the general public are welcome to attend the meetings and will be given an opportunity to provide public comment. The Division of Criminal Justice is responsible for staffing the working group. If you have questions or would like more information, contact Erin Crites.

Meetings

UPCOMING MEETINGS

NEXT MEETING
MEETING PLAN: The AMWG has completed an interim report that soon will be posted to this page and submitted to the mandated committees of the CO General Assembly. The AMWG will continue to meet to address mandated tasks prior to the statutory sunset date of June 30, 2026. Future meeting dates are to be announced, but are expected to occur monthly.

DATE: To be posted
TIME: To be posted

Virtual Option: Zoom
To be posted

FUTURE MEETING, as necessary
To be posted

See all previous meeting materials in PREVIOUS MEETINGS below.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Previous meetings are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent meeting is listed first). Note that audio files are only available for 180 days following the meeting date; expiration dates ("exp.") are included below. Materials are posted upon approval by the WG.

July 2, 2025 (Some materials pending approval)
Agenda (7/2/25; pdf) | Minutes (7/2/25; pdf)
Audio (7/2/25; Mp3; exp. 12/30/2025) & Transcript (7/2/25; pdf)

June 26, 2025 (Some materials pending approval)
Agenda (6/26/25; pdf) | Minutes (6/26/25; pdf)
Audio (6/26/25; Mp3; exp. 12/24/2025) & Transcript (6/26/25; pdf)

June 12, 2025 (Some materials pending approval)
Agenda (6/12/25; pdf) | Minutes (6/12/25; pdf)
Audio (6/12/25; Mp3; exp. 12/10/2025) & Transcript (6/12/25; pdf)

May 22, 2025 (Some materials pending approval)
Agenda (5/22/25; pdf) | Minutes (5/22/25; pdf)
Audio (5/22/25; Mp3; exp. 11/19/2025) & Transcript (5/22/25; pdf)

May 8, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (5/8/25; pdf) | Minutes (5/8/25; pdf)
Audio (5/8/25; Mp3; exp. 11/5/2025) & Transcript (5/8/25; pdf)

April 24, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (4/24/25; pdf) | Minutes (4/24/25; pdf)
Audio (4/24/25; Mp3; exp. 10/22/2025) & Transcript (4/24/25; pdf)

April 10, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (4/10/25; pdf) | Minutes (4/10/25; pdf)
Audio (4/10/25; Mp3; exp. 10/8/2025) & Transcript (4/10/25; pdf)

March 27, 2025  (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (3/27/25; pdf) | Minutes (3/27/25; pdf)
Audio (3/27/25; Mp3; exp. 9/24/2025) & Transcript (3/27/25; pdf)

March 13, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (3/13/25; pdf) | Minutes (3/13/25; pdf)
Audio (3/13/25; Mp3; exp. 9/10/2025) & Transcript (3/13/25; pdf)

February 27, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (2/27/25; pdf) | Minutes (2/27/25; pdf)
Audio (2/27/25; Mp3; exp. 8/27/2025) & Transcript (2/27/25; pdf)

February 13, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (2/13/25; pdf) | Minutes (2/13/25; pdf)
Audio (2/13/25; Mp3; exp. 8/13/2025) & Transcript (2/13/25; pdf)

January 23, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (1/23/25; pdf) | Minutes (1/23/25; pdf)
Audio (1/23/25; Mp3; exp. 7/23/2025) & Transcript (1/23/25; pdf)

January 9, 2025 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (1/9/25; pdf) | Minutes (1/9/25; pdf)
Audio (1/9/25; Mp3; exp. 7/9/2025) & Transcript (1/9/25; pdf)

December 12, 2024 (Audio/Transcript available upon request)
Agenda (12/12/24; pdf) | Minutes (12/12/24; pdf)
Audio (12/12/24; Mp3; exp. 6/11/2025) & Transcript (12/12/24; pdf)

November 18, 2024
Agenda (11/18/24; pdf) | Minutes (11/18/24; pdf)
Audio (11/18/24; Mp3; exp. 5/18/2025) & Transcript (11/18/24; pdf)

MATERIALS

Materials posted by the Alternative Metrics Working Group.

January 9, 2025
The Limits of Recidivism: Measuring Success after Prison (2022)
READ ONLINE - OR - FREE DOWNLOAD (at National Academies)
(Note: Chapters 3 and 4 are of most interest to the WG.)

For reference,
Final Report: Recidivism Definition Working Group (October 2024; pdf)

REPORTS

Reports completed by the Alternative Metrics Working Group.

JULY 2025 REPORT
Report of the Alternative Metrics of Recidivism Working Group (July 2025)

2026 REPORT - PENDING
The Working Group will continue to meet until the sunset date of June 30, 2026, culminating in another report.

Calendar entries appear below as: "Alt. Metrics WG"

Members

Pursuant to 24-33.5-536 (2) (a), C.R.S., the working group comprises the following eight members:

(I) A representative of the division of youth services within the department of human services, appointed by the executive director of the department of human services;
Kelli Burmeister, DYS/CDHS

(II) A representative of the department of corrections, appointed by the executive director of the department of corrections;
Dave Wolfsgruber, CDOC

(III) A representative of the judicial department, appointed by the state court administrator;
Aaron Stewart, Colorado State Judicial Branch

(IV) A representative of the department of public safety, appointed by the executive director of the department of public safety;
Jack Reed, DCJ/CDPS

(V) Two members from an institution of higher education with expertise in the criminal legal system who have conducted relevant research regarding the effectiveness of the criminal legal system, appointed by the executive director of the department of public safety; and
Jonathan "Jon" Caudill, Ph.D., University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Kate LeMasters, Ph.D., University of Colorado-Anschutz

(VI) Two members who are each a representative of a community-based organization that works for criminal legal reform, appointed by the president of the senate.
Christie Donner, CO Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (ccjrc.org)
Whitney Leeds, Growing Home (growinghome.org)


WORKING GROUP STAFF
Erin Crites, Division of Criminal Justice/CDPS      
Linda Harrison, Division of Criminal Justice/CDPS
Kaylynn Duncan, Division of Criminal Justice/CDPS

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