Best Practice: States in Transition

The purpose of this Best Practice is to assist member states in making advance preparations should they experience a transition in staff that could risk their effectiveness and ability to comply with the statutory requirements to effectuate the Compact due to insufficient staffing. The following are recommendations for states to follow when a change or vacancy in staff occurs in the ICJ Compact Office.

When possible, the Commissioner, Designee, Compact Administrator, or Deputy Compact Administrator is responsible for the following notifications:

1. Notify and provide regular updates to the ICJ National Office of the impending change or vacancy as soon as possible.
2. Notify his/her State Council of the impending change or vacancy.

To ensure business continuity and uninterrupted Compact services, the Commissioner, Designee, Compact Administrator, or Deputy Compact Administrator  is responsible for the following:

1. Working with Agency Directors or senior administrative staff to ensure the ICJ Compact Office is adequately covered and not left vacant when the change occurs.
2. Establishing a checklist of ICJ procedures that includes:
   1. Developing policies and procedures for handling ICJ matters.
   2. Training an alternate person in UNITY.

To support new ICJ Compact Office staff during the transition, the Commissioner, Designee, Compact Administrator, or Deputy Compact Administrator  is responsible for the following:

1. Directing new staff to the resources and training opportunities available through the Commission, i.e. Commission’s website, online training, manuals, technical and training assistance, etc.
2. To the extent possible, bifurcated states should make every effort to assist in training ICJ Compact Offices within their own state when vacancies occur in Probation and/or Parole.
3. To see that the suggested time frame for full implementation and training of the ICJ Compact Office in transition is 90 days

National Office support available to a state in transition includes the following:

1. The ICJ National Office will send a letter to the Governor’s Office from the Commission Chair, if the transition involves a change in the Commissioner, urging a new appointment. 
2. The ICJ National Office will work with the appropriate regional representative to assign a mentor within the region. 
3. The Commission will provide technical and training assistance upon a state’s request.

If a state fails to abide by these recommended best practices resulting in an allegation of non-compliance, then the matter will be referred to the Compliance and Executive Committees for further action.

To assist compact offices in preparing for staff transitions, states may utilize the ICJ Transition/Succession Plan Template to record state-specific information. To view a sample plan or for additional information, please contact your regional representative. After filling in your state’s information, please submit the plan to your regional representative for retention. 

ADDENDUM: ICJ Transition/Succession Plan Template