MOUNT VERNON — On Tuesday, the Knox County Commissioners signed a grant agreement that will help the Knox County Common Pleas Court rehabilitate low-level offenders and comply with state guidelines regarding incarceration.
The $179,426 grant is through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. It runs from Dec. 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019. The county will receive two payments totaling $107,656 in Fiscal Year 2018 and four payments totaling $71,770 in FY 2019.
Lisa Lyons, chief probation officer for the Knox County Common Pleas Court, said the grant has three specific goals:
- Reduce the amount of offenders sent to prison because their probation was revoked due to technical violations
- Reduce the number of offenders being convicted of fourth-degree felony (F4) offenses
- Hire an intervention specialist who will also assist in creating a drug court program
Technical violations include failure to report to a probation officer or not completing a counseling program.
“The state wants us to utilize internal sanctions instead of them going to prison,” explained Lyons. “They want people to be able to utilize treatment in their own community. That’s the push with the grant money and grant program.”
Lyons said the target goal for reducing those convicted of F4 nonsexual, nonviolent offenses is four people a year. F4 offenses include drug trafficking and drug possession.
“Our total number of felony fours who went to prison in about the last 18 months is about 20,” said Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel. “A 25 percent reduction in that amount will work out to four or five people.”
The grant will help cover supplies, training, mileage and incentives for offenders who meet rehabilitative goals, but it primarily will go toward covering the salaries and benefits of two additional probation officers: an intervention specialist and a re-entry person.
“The intervention specialist will be dealing with intervention in lieu of conviction,” said Lyons. “It’s also our goal to implement a drug court within the next year; the intervention specialist will work on planning and creating that special docket.”
Intervention in lieu of conviction is a one-year program for first-time offenders whose drug or alcohol use was an underlying factor in their offense. If the offender successfully completes the treatment program, the case is dismissed.
Wetzel said the intervention specialist will also work hands-on with offenders admitted to the Eden Counseling Center, a 54-bed residential housing facility. Eden reserves 10 beds for offenders coming through the Knox County Common Pleas Court.
“The re-entry person will be dealing primarily with judicial release individuals and will act as a liaison between the state when an offender is about to be released from prison and us,” said Lyons. “The re-entry person will meet offenders while they are still in the institution and create a case plan. Once they are released, they will go directly into whatever program has been decided on, whether it be a halfway house or community control.”
“Re-entry is a big deal,” said Wetzel. “It’s getting a high profile in the probation practice because that’s where repeat offenses occur. So if you can get them right after they get out of prison and get them treatment right away, whether it’s medication, getting their GED, jobs or housing, you have a better chance of success. The purpose of this is to help them re-enter the community and get the support they need to make them successful, instead of rearresting them if they re-offend.”
Lyons said that by having a re-entry person, offenders will know who to go to for help if they need assistance obtaining a state ID, getting a Medicaid card re-started or with transportation and other issues.
“If you don’t have a person who can get those things done, then there’s a period of about two weeks where [the offenders] are very vulnerable,” said Wetzel.
Lyons anticipates a minimum of 20 offenders will be involved in the judicial release program. Having the re-entry officer handle those cases frees up the other probation officers to work with offenders in the pre-trial release program and allows for more intense supervision of their current caseload. The current caseload for the three established probation officers ranges from 35 to 53; the caseload for the recently hired probation officer is around 10 and growing.
Wetzel anticipates the intervention specialist will be on board by Jan. 2, 2018, with the re-entry person also being hired in January.
As part of the grant agreement, Lyons has to submit quarterly financial, statistical and performance reports to the ODRC. Reports include not only the F4 offenders not sent to prison, but also F4 offenders sent to prison along with explanations as to why.
If the program does not meet 25 percent of its target goals, ODRC will not renew the grant for FY 20. If it meets at least 50 percent of its goals, it is eligible for additional money through incentive awards as well as renewal of the initial grant amount.
