Director: Programs saved Larimer millions

Community Justice Alternatives, other sentencing programs one focus of meeting

Larimer County has saved over $11 million in 2023 through its Community Justice Alternatives and alternative sentencing programs, according to analysis by the Community Justice Alternatives department.

The data was presented to Larimer County commissioners during a work session Monday morning.

The savings come from the relatively lower cost of housing a person in Community Justice Alternatives programs compared to the county jail.

According to Emily Humphrey, director of Community Justice Alternatives, housing one person at the Larimer County Detention Center costs $175.78 per day. Meanwhile, Community Corrections can house people for $101.26 per person per day, and individuals on work release cost only $95.95 per day.

Those costs are all higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation that followed, she added.

“You can see we’re significantly lower than a traditional jailbed, although we’re higher than we’ve been in the past,” Humphrey said.

In just the first three quarters of 2023, Community Justice Alternatives spent around $15.5 million, compared with $27 million over the same period spent by the jail. If all of the individuals in community corrections and alternative sentencing were instead housed at the jail, Humphrey said, the county would have spent an additional $11.6 million.

By the end of the year, including the fourth quarter of 2023, she projects that the county will have saved $15.5 million by redirecting individuals away from the county jail.

In addition to the savings, the outcomes for those in community corrections and alternative sentencing are better, Humphrey said, owing to community corrections and alternative sentencing addressing underlying conditions