Counties play a critical role in supporting probation and parole services with approximately 4.5 million people under community supervision. The COVID-19 pandemic has put many of these services, the people who provide them and the people they serve at risk. To slow the spread of the virus while maintaining services, community supervision agencies are adapting traditional practices to reduce person-to-person contact, including increasing the use of video and telephone conference technology for essential business, reducing arrests and incarceration for technical violations, and reducing, postponing or eliminating fees associated with supervision in light of COVID-19’s economic impact.
Join NACo on August 5th, 2020 at 3 PM ET as we highlight county probation departments’ innovative policy and practice changes during COVID-19. Presenters will also discuss the short- and long-term implications of these changes, the impact these changes are having on communities and public safety and practical strategies county leaders can use to continue to reduce the use of supervision.
