EXHIBIT 8 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE COUNTY OF WAKE 20 CVS 500110 NORTH CAROLINA STATE CONFERENCE OF THE NAACP, et al., Plaintiff, AFFIDAVIT 0F NICOLE E. SULLIVAN V. ROY COOPER, in his official capacity as Governor of North Carolina, et al., Defendants. I, Nicole Sullivan, am an adult over the age of 18 years, have never been adjudged incompetent, and suffer from no mental impairments. 1. I make this af?davit of my own free will, stating facts of which I have personal knowledge, except as to those matters and things stated herein upon information and belief, and as to those, I believe them to be true. 2. I serve as the Director of Reentry, Programs and Services for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice. 3. I have held this position for over ?fteen years and have worked for the Department of Public Safety for more than 27 years. 4. The RPS section is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring correctional interventions for offenders in prison and on supervision in the community. The goals of the section include promoting public safety, improving offender behavior, and reducing re-offending. Utilizing evidence-based practices as the foundation of all programs and services, offenders are prepared with the necessary skills and tools to live as productive members of the community. The section focuses on a full continuum starting with research and decision support analysis, delivering evidence-based offender programs and services in the major areas of substance abuse, cognitive behavioral programs, educational attainment, vocational training, through the process of reentry and transition (pre and post- release) planning. 5. As Director of RPS, I am responsible for creating the overarching rehabilitation agenda for the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice. In my role, I also lead the Division?s efforts to incorporate evidence-based practices in the skills and abilities of ?eld staff in all state prisons and con?nement centers as well as community corrections staff in all judicial districts. 6. I am also responsible for implementing the legislative mandate outlined in SL 2012-168, Section 5(b) and which designates the RPS section as the single state authority for the coordination and implementation of initiatives for formerly incarcerated individuals and for the creation of Local Reentry Councils. Information Relevant To Reentrv Services 7. The NC Department of Public Safety and speci?cally the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has been intensifying efforts to create a seamless system of reentry and transition for adult and juvenile offenders. These efforts regarding reentry and transition were identi?ed as part of the state?s bi- partisan criminal justice reform efforts, which culminated in the passage of the 2 Justice Reinvestment Act in 2011. Under any circumstances, developing a robust network of direct services for justice-involved and formerly incarcerated individuals is an extremely daunting challenge. 8. In the years leading up to the passage of the Justice Reinvestment Act, the General Assembly created a Joint Select Committee on Ex-Offender Reintegration in Society. This legislative committee made several recommendations, including designating RPS as the single state authority responsible for the coordination and implementation of reentry initiatives. The General Assembly also directed RPS to create Local Reentry Councils across the State. See SL 2012-168, Section 5(b) and 9. The working de?nition of a Local Reentry Council is an organized network of individuals and agencies that provide supervision and coordinate innovative responses to the reintegration of justice-involved and formerly incarcerated individuals at the local level using existing program services. Structurally speaking, an LRC is comprised of an executive committee, an advisory committee, and service providers. The host legal entity that supports the LRC and acts as the interface between the LRC and the Department is called the Intermediary Agency. Organizations must respond to a Request for PrOposal competitive bidding process to be awarded the contract to serve as the Intermediary Agency for an LRC site. The primary role and responsibilities of the Intermediary Agency is to ensure that the LRC model and service delivery approach are implemented and to facilitate the reimbursement process to cover expenditures for reentry services. 3 10. In 2013, a total of ?ve LRCs began operation in the following counties: Buncombe, Mecklenburg, Pitt, Nash/Edgecombe/Wilson, and Hoke/ScotlandJRobeson. Since then, the number of LRCs has increased to 17 sites covering 19 counties across the state, where direct reentry services are provided to formerly incarcerated and/or justice-involved individuals. A map of existing LRCs is attached as Exhibit A. In these communities, LRCs focus on the major reentry barriers such as housing, employment, transportation, treatment referrals, child care services and other supportive services through the development of collaborative network of stakeholders, service providers, community-based organizations, local elected of?cials, and advocates. 11. LRCs also have access into reentry prison facilities to begin building relationships with individuals preparing for release. The LRC staff work closely with prison staff to coordinate opportunities to meet with the incarcerated individuals and discuss reentry needs and concerns in both large group settings and one-on-one appointments. The LRC staff will set up appointments to meet with individuals as they transition into the communities mentioned previously. Through the network, the LRC staff will serve individuals assessed as high-risk/high need to provide intensive services including case management. Individuals are also referred to partners within the LRC network, and LRC staff continue to monitor those referrals and track outcomes through case management. 12. For the months of January and February 2020, the LRCs reported serving 1,018 individuals providing 2,954 services in the areas of Basic Needs, Childcare, 4 Documentation (state ID, social security cards, birth certi?cates), Education, Employment, Housing, Life Skills, Mental Health Referrals, Mentorship, Substance Use Disorder Referrals, Transportation, and Vocational Skills. The majority of the individuals served during this timeframe are individuals who were being released from prison on their projected release date. We also had a number of LRCs that did not report numbers for that period, but presumably continued to provide services. 13. LRCs cover most metropolitan centers within North Carolina. For counties that are not served by LRCs, the Department provides to releasing offenders a list of resources for all 100 counties, which may be found at Community Supervision of?cers also maintain their own list of available community-based resources and may make referrals to the same in counties without an LRC. Response to Af?davits Regarding Reentrv Services 14. In its most recent ?ling with this Court, Petitioners included multiple af?davits from community service providers, each of which stated that the provider ?has capacity? and/or ?stands ready to provide services to men and women returning to the community from prison.? With regard to each of these af?davits, I report as follows: A. Af?davit of Dennis Gaddy. Mr. Gaddy is the executive director of Community Success Initiative in Raleigh, North Carolina. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this organization does not have an active Memorandum of Understanding with the current Intermediary Agency serving the Wake County LRC but has been involved in the past. The organization has provided mentoring, employment assistance, and peer support services to assist justice- involved and formerly incarcerated individuals. It does not provide transitional housing. Based on my knowledge of the organization, this entity?s capacity to serve individuals is not unlimited and it would not be able to provide direct services statewide. B. Af?davit of Alvin L. Long. Mr. Long is the owner/director of Biltmore Housing, Inc. in Asheville, North Carolina. This organization currently has an active MOU with the Buncombe County LRC which allows for compensation of housing services if the LRC refers individuals to this organization. Although the capacity of the organization is unknown, the LRC uses this resource consistently to place offenders in the community, and state funds are used for reimbursement. However, due to the length of stay in transitional housing serving the offender population is increasing. Unemployment and cutbacks on work hours make it dif?cult for these individuals to leave transitional housing, and thus new residents are unable to move in. To the best of my knowledge, Biltmore Housing provides services in Buncombe County only. C. Af?davit of Anita Bennett. Ms. Bennett is the executive director of New Life Connection in Raleigh, North Carolina. To my knowledge, this organization 6 does not have active MOU with the current Intermediary Agency serving the Wake County LRC but has been involved in the past. To my knowledge, this organization does not provide transitional housing services. Based on my knowledge of the organization, this entity?s capacity to serve individuals is not unlimited and it would not be able to provide direct services statewide. D. Af?davit of Joseph T. Hackett. Mr. Hackett states he is executive director of Jordan Peer Recovery in Candler, North Carolina. To my knowledge, this organization is not engaged with any of the LRCs across the state, and the Department is not familiar with the organization or their services. To the extent the organization states it has capacity and stands ready to provide services, it has not to my knowledge previously taken any steps to make such services known or available to the Department. E. Af?davit of Kristen Powers. Ms. Powers is the interim executive director of Benevolence Farm in Graham, North Carolina. To my knowledge, this organization operates a residential program for up to twelve women and prefers to work with women who are being released from prison after long periods of incarceration. The Department, through RPS staff, has a strong working relationship with the Benevolence Farm staff and helped them to develop a transition process that enabled them to connect with female offenders prior to release. This process allows for Benevolence Farm to meet, screen, and secure a smooth transition from incarceration to the program. In 2019, there were 3,800 7 females released from North Carolina prisons. Given the current size of the program, the minimum of at least a 6-month commitment, and the selection criteria, this program can serve only a miniscule fraction of the female population being released from prison. F. Af?davit of Corev Purdie. Corey Purdie is the executive director of Wash Away Unemployment in New Bern, North Carolina. This organization currently has an active MOU with the Craveanamlico LRC which allows for compensation of housing services if the LRC refers individuals to this organization. This transitional housing provider does serve more dif?cult populations such as sex offenders, but the capacity for service is limited. The provider has shared with the Department a willingness to expand services if funding can be found to do so. G. Af?davit of Frankie Roberts. Mr. Roberts is executive director of Leading Into New Communities, Inc. in Wilmington, North Carolina. LINC is actively involved in several aspects of the Department?s reentry efforts. LINC serves as the Intermediary Agency for the New Hanover County LRC and has a contract with the Department for that role. LINC also is a transitional housing provider and to my knowledge its residential reentry program can accommodate 25 men and 20 women. Currently, the Department contracts with LINC for 20 male beds and 16 female beds Thus, the Department has contracted for 80% of available beds at this time, and if known housing resources were utilized 100%, they could provide housing for ?ve additional men and four additional women. H. Af?davit of Ryan Patrick Smith. Mr. Smith is the Innovation and Performance Manager for the city of Durham, North Carolina. To my knowledge, this position is part of the Mayor?s of?ce in Durham and is helping to ?nd innovative solutions to long-lasting problems in that city. The team Mr. Smith leads is involved in the Durham LRC and provides supportive services free of charge to reentry participants. To my knowledge, however, the team does not provide direct service but has developed partnerships for reentry solutions and works to remove barriers for justice-involved, formerly incarcerated individuals in Durham speci?cally and exclusively. To my knowledge, individuals would be referred to the Durham LRC to actually receive services. I. Af?davit of Stephanie Treadway. Ms. Treadway is the executive director of Redirection NC in Raleigh, North Carolina. This organization currently has an active MOU with the Wake County LRC. To my knowledge, the organization provides sober living housing and employment services to justice-involved, formerly incarcerated females. The capacity of the services is unknown. However, due to COVID-19, the length of stay in transitional housing serving the offender population is increasing. Unemployment and cutbacks on work hours make it difficult for these individuals to leave transitional housing, and thus new residents are unable to move in. Information Relevant To The Exftended Limits Of Con?nement Program 15. In April 2020, the Department began transitioning incarcerated offenders back to the community by extending their limits of con?nement pursuant to the Secretary?s authority found at Section 148-4 of the General Statutes. The process and logistics of this program are as follows. 16. After consultation with his senior advisers, the Secretary directs the categories of offenders who will be eligible for consideration for extended limits of con?nement and the order in which categories are to be considered. The populations of these demographic categories are generated by the Department?s Administrative Analysis and IT staff sorting by age, crimes, projected release dates, and underlying health issues. As the evaluation process for each category is completed, the Secretary may expand the pool of consideration, such as by expanding the projected release dates of offenders to be considered. 17 . Priority lists are screened for violent crimes and crimes against a person, such as murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, or assault against a person, to include concurrent expired sentences. The Secretary, exercising his discretion, has determined it is inconsistent with public safety to offer ELC to these categories of offenders at this time. Habitual felon offenders are further reviewed for underlying crimes against a person. 18. Potential ELC candidates are sent to the Division?s Special Operations and Intelligence Unit to be screened for outstanding pending charges 10 and/or detainers. Depending on feedback, those offenders with pending charges/detainers may be excluded for consideration, or their names may be forwarded to the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, which then sends the names to local District Attorneys to solicit feedback on whether ELC should be extended to an identi?ed offender. If the District Attorney does not consent or if there is a secured bond for the pending charge, the offender is deemed ineligible for ELC. 19. If the local DA consents to ELC, the Chief Deputy Secretary for Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice requests additional background information from SOIU and, on behalf of the Secretary, makes a ?nal determination as to whether ELC is approved for offenders in this particular class. 20. Approved offenders with no pending charges or detainers, and offenders with pending charges/detainers who have been further reviewed and approved, start the ELC transfer review process, during which at any point below the offender may be deemed inappropriate for ELC: Check for known crime victims and notify victims if required. a Review medical and mental health needs, with medicines identified and a minimum 30-day supply of medication ordered. The Department is trying to provide up to 90-day supply of medications for ELC offenders but due to the short turn-around on some of these transfers to the community, sometimes medications are mailed out afterwards. ll 0 Residence plan approved and veri?ed by Community Corrections, taking into account residence suitability based on identi?ed medical and mental health needs. If a residence plan cannot be approved or veri?ed, then Transitional Housing is identi?ed. - ELC transfer date is determined. 0 Combined Records enters approved ELC comments in the offender?s record. 0 Facility completes all related forms with the offender who agrees to ELC, including the offender countersigning the Secretary?s noti?cation letter; signing to acknowledge the conditions of supervision; signing a release of medical information to NCFIT to assist with accessing medical care; and signing a release of information for transitional housing if applicable. 0 The facility arranges transportation to the approved residence or transitional housing location. 0 Community Corrections staff hand-deliver a noti?cation letter of ELC transfer to the Resident Superior Court Judge, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Chief of Police. 0 The offender is transferred to community placement. 21. Reentry under normal circumstances is extremely challenging. As a result of the pandemic, there are very few untapped supports available in any community, and what may be available is already stretched to serve the larger community and/or will not accept any new referrals. 12 22. Nevertheless, in preparation for ELC transfers, the Department proactively did the following: Contracted with NC FIT and FIT Connect to coordinate access both to medical care for individuals being released from prison though NC FIT and to assist in transitioning ELC offenders through FIT Connect. Partnered with FIT Connect to identify medical providers willing to serve the ELC offender population during COVID-19, with 100 clinics identi?ed in 45 counties, and to coordinate access to federally- funded quali?ed health centers for services. Contacted the supervising Probation Officer or Transitional Housing Provider to coordinate medical appointments and arrange transportation assistance from transitional housing, if applicable. Contacted Transitional Housing Providers and requested assistance for ELC offenders. Transitional Housing Providers responded by making available an additional 90 beds; 63 male and 27 female. As of May 6, 2020, there are 33 male and 27 female beds still available for ELC. Arranged to provide other reentry assistance provided as needed and as available during ?stay at home? orders. 23. To the extent the Department has declined to completely and totally exhaust every available reentry service in every community, it is with the knowledge that the Department will continue to process up to 2,000 additional 13 offenders for routine release every month, outside of and in addition to those who might be granted ELC. 24. As noted above, I have served in my present position for over 15 years. In that time I have worked very hard to provide offenders with a process of reentry to the community that is workable and free of obstacles, one that both safeguards the public safety and supports the Department?s rehabilitative mission. As this af?davit indicates, this process is very complex and rests upon interconnected community relationships that, taken as a whole, strive to provide released offenders with both a safety net and a path to success. Although we may not always succeed in that endeavor, that is always the goal. In my professional opinion, there is simply no way to accomplish a mass release of offenders into the community at one time without sacri?cing either the services that in our opinion are essential to reentry success, or the interests of public safety. I am advised and can report that this is the position of the Department as a whole. LEFT PAGE TO STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY I, NICOLE E. SULLIVAN, being ?rst duly sworn, say that I have read the foregoing Af?davit, which is being ?led in a civil action currently pending in the Superior Court of Wake County North Carolina, styled as North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al., v. Roy Cooper, in his of?cial capacity as Governor of North Carolina, et al., and know the contents thereof; that the same are true of my own knowledge except as to those matters and things stated therein upon information and belief, and that as to those, I believe them to be true. This the 9/ day of May, 2020. Ma gut/n NECK Sullivan Subscribed and sworn to before me is the 8_ day of May, 2020. Of?cial Signature of Notary: i ?in IQ Lbi 1? Printed Typed Name of Notary: i211: Hf My commission expires: ?it; "3090 mm . Conmiubn Local Reentry Council / Reentry Facility Breakdown The following Reentry Facilities will be housing individuals returning to Local Reentry Council (LRC) catchment areas: (See page 2- Catchment Map) Designated Reentry Facility Anson Correctional Center (Male) Anson Correctional Center for Women Custody Level Established LRC in Catchment Areas Hoke County Local Reentry Council, Scotland County Local Reentry Council, Re-Entry Partners of Mecklenburg Local Reentry Council Hoke County Local Reentry Council, Scotland County Local Reentry Council, Close/Medium Re-Entry Partners of Mecklenburg Local Reentry Council Minimum McDowell County Local Reentry Council, Buncombe County Local Reentry Council Hoke County Local Reentry Council, Scotland County Local Reentry Council, Re-Entry Partners of Mecklenburg Local Reentry Council Hoke County Local Reentry Council, Scotland County Local Reentry Council, Re-Entry Partners of Mecklenburg Local Reentry Council Guilford County Local Reentry Council, Forsyth County Local Reentry Council Durham County Local Reentry Council, Orange County Local Reentry Council Caldwell Correctional Center Minimum Lincoln Correctional Center Minimum Gaston Correctional Center Minimum Davidson Correctional Center Minimum Orange Correctional Center Minimum Wake Correctional Center Minimum Wake County Local Reentry Council NC Correctional Center for Women Minimum Wake County Local Reentry Council Johnston Correctional Institution Minimum Wake County Local Reentry Council Greene Correctional Institution Minimum Nash/Edgecombe Local Reentry Council, Wilson Local Reentry Council Pitt County Local Reentry Council New Hanover Correctional Center Minimum New Hanover County Local Reentry Council (LINC), FayettevilleCumberland Reentry Council (FCRC), Robeson Local Reentry Council Carteret Correctional Center Minimum Craven/Pamlico Reentry Council (CPRC) Page 1 of 2 Designated Reentry Prison Facilities and Local Reentry Council Service Areas LRC Catchment Areas Legend Division of Adult Correction & Juvenile Justice Reentry, Programs & Services Map Updated: March 5, 2020 Page 2 of 2