Transformative Change in Community Based Corrections

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Harrison County Day Report Center is a component of the Harrison county Community Corrections Program. The DRC is designed to hold down costs of incarceration at regional jails, serve as an alternate sentencing option for county judges, and provide rehabilitative services. Program costs are just under $250,000 while the county generates nearly 440,000 of income through participation fees and drug/alcohol screening services. The county realizes potential jail savings exceeding $1,000,000 annually. This constitutes a 4 to 1 return on investment. This investment gives county judges another tool in their box when considering sentencing options for offenders would best be served within the community and not in a correctional facility. In the last 18 months, there has been a 30 percent drop in recidivism rates. Data shows that the recidivism rate dropped from 16 percent last year to 11 percent for the current program year. The DRC believes that this is due, in part, to the transforming of a punitive-in-nature program into a rehabilitative, client-centered program. This transformative effort included changing the office culture, improving the assessment/service provision regimen, and increasing the levels of supervision for offenders most likely to reoffend. The culture within the DRC was transformed from a “gotcha” mentality to seeing each participant’s technical violation as an opportunity to interact with them to determine root causes for their behavior.