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18 <br /> Quintana Stewart said North Carolina is ranked #1 from Kaiser Family Foundation for <br /> vaccinating those over age 65. She said she will share the BOCC feedback with her <br /> employees. She said UNC Health has been a huge partner, and she is grateful for the <br /> community volunteers who have been assisting with the vaccine clinics. <br /> c. Presentation on Orange County Bail Reform Initiatives <br /> The Board received a presentation regarding the ongoing Bail Reform Initiatives in <br /> Orange County facilitated by Jessica Smith, W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor and <br /> Director of the Criminal Justice Innovation Lab at UNC's School of Government. <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> In April 2018, the Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a Resolution <br /> Supporting 3 Days Count—A Nationwide Effort to Make Communities Safer and Ensure Better <br /> Outcomes for All by Applying Common Sense Solutions to Widespread Pretrial Justice <br /> Challenges. The Resolution recognized that pretrial detention, even for a few days, is de- <br /> stabilizing to people's lives and can have severe consequences. The money bail system in <br /> North Carolina disproportionately impacts people of color and those with insufficient financial <br /> resources and does not adequately address true risk to the community. While Orange County <br /> has implemented many of the evidence-based best pretrial practices including an internalized <br /> Pretrial Services program in the Criminal Justice Resource Department (CJRD), the use of an <br /> empirical risk assessment tool, providing defense counsel at the first appearance, the increased <br /> use of pre-arrest diversion and citations in lieu of arrest, Orange County was still incarcerating <br /> individuals on secured bonds in the majority of cases. <br /> Since 2019, Orange County senior court stakeholders and the Criminal Justice Resource <br /> Department have collaborated to implement new bail reform initiatives that build on the efforts <br /> that have been underway here for many years. A Pretrial Work Group was established and led <br /> by Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Allen R. Baddour. In addition to court, law <br /> enforcement and pretrial services stakeholders, the Work Group includes Commissioner Renee <br /> Price and bail reform advocates in Orange County. The Work Group received funding from the <br /> County Manager, the CJRD and the District 18 Judicial Bar to contract with Professor Smith to <br /> facilitate the design and implementation of these new initiatives. The goal of the Working Group <br /> is to eliminate the unnecessary pretrial detention of individuals who do not present a significant <br /> risk but who are detained pretrial because they are unable to afford money bonds imposed in <br /> their cases. <br /> The Work Group decided on two critical reforms to address initially: <br /> A new structured decision-making tool to guide magistrates' bail decisions; and <br /> A new decision-making process for responding to non-appearances in District Court. <br /> Following many meetings and the support of all stakeholders, the decision-making tool became <br /> effective in October 2020. The Non-Appearance policy became effective in January 2021. The <br /> District 18 Local Bond Policy was amended to include these new reforms. <br /> The CJRD supported the Criminal Justice Innovation Lab's application for grant funding to <br /> complete an evaluation of the impact of these reforms. The grant funding was awarded and the <br /> evaluation will examine the impact of the reforms on release conditions being imposed, jail <br /> bookings, non-appearance rates, new pretrial criminal activity and other justice system metrics. <br /> The funding also will support a validation of the County's pretrial risk assessment tool and <br />