Marshall County Community Corrections and JRAC holds Board Meeting
MARSHALL COUNTY — The Board of Advisors for Marshall County Community Corrections / Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC) met last week for their quarterly meeting. The mission of the program is to provide cost effective programs utilizing Evidence Based Practices to generate positive change.
President of the Board Marshall County Superior Court No. 2 Judge Dean Colvin updated the board that an Executive Committee meeting was held on July 13 to discuss a personnel issue. Director Ward Byers was authorized to terminate the employment of a staff member. The position has been posted through Human Resources.
As of the time of the quarterly report, Community Corrections was supervising 138 active clients though there have been some releases since; that number can change daily. Currently Byers is supervising the clients that belonged to the terminated employee’s caseload; approximately 50 clients. Twenty-one clients have failed to complete the program.
Judge Colvin asked if any of those clients failed as a result of not being able to pay their fees. Byers said, “We don’t fail because you can’t pay fees. We always work with them.” Byers said that the vast majority
of clients fail due to technical violations that accumulate including failed drug screens, unauthorized absences, failure to comply with curfews and other technical violations of the rules and terms packet. Marijuana and Methamphetamines continue to remain the top two drug screen violations.
Byers advised the board that he submitted a request to update the Quality Assurance Job Description to Human Resources to include additional duties for an Assistant Director. That update will include a request for increased compensation as it is processed through the county.
Project Income (PI) for 2023 sets at $910,270.93. The PI budget submitted to the State of Indiana and subsequently to Marshall County leaves roughly a half a million dollars that remains un-budgeted in that fund. CTP has $59,750.82. Byers said average monthly income for CTP is $3500. The grant currently sits at $18,370.17. “That’s just money in - money out every month from the state.”
Byers updated the board on some new case laws that went in to effect in July. Some of the changes pertain to the difference between “direct commitment” and “unsuspended executed sentence”; changing the use of that language and what it actually means. Marshall County Courts do not use the term “direct commitment”. They use “placement in Community Corrections at at a level deemed appropriate based on risk.” Currently Byers did not see a need to make changes to the language locally but will be watching for further direction.
The second relevant change was the “vulnerable victim statute”. “A vulnerable victim is defined as anyone who is protected with a protective order. We now have time periods by which we have to notify law enforcement if we lose communication with the person that we are supervising.” said Byers. Loss of communication includes a loss of GPS signal to the device or cellular signal. Community Corrections is obligated to first verify where the person is and locate them. If they are not in violation of the protective order it just needs documented. The challenge arises with clients who lose signal when they enter a manufacturing facility to report for work. Community Corrections has 15 minutes to notify law enforcement when an individual cannot be located or verified. Law enforcement has to put out information to all working officers. A warrant must be sought and served within another specified and limited period of time. “It’s a lot of unrealistic, unattainable time frames. But still, nonetheless, we are required to do that for anyone that is under an order of protection by the court.” Byers has created internal policy to address the issue.
The employment initiative between Community Corrections and employers is still strong. Community Corrections Field Officer Jeff Sharp said there are times when an employee wants to change employers due to higher pay. Community Corrections is committed to growth so the request is granted. Sharp said those changes are slowing down as the RV industry has cut back and announced lay-offs. According to Sharp, Fairmont Homes has gone back to pre-covid employment qualifications which restricts the hire of someone with a felony record. The influx from those employees who have lost their jobs in the RV industry who are seeking employment in Marshall County has also reduced the amount of positions open. Sharp is committed to maintaining strong relationships with employers who are willing to hire individuals who are being supervised.
Judge Colvin expressed gratitude to employers willing to take the risk and noted that the relationship also provides employees which satisfies a need of the employer. Byers said, “In a sense there is less risk because they are supervised and drug tested.”
Marshall County Sheriff Matthew Hassel did not have an update for the board. Judge Colvin noted the reduced number of inmates at the jail and illustrated that Community Corrections is helping to keep that number down by providing an alternative for those who qualify. Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman also noted that an additional prosecuting attorney has contributed to the lower population. The fourth court also relieved some of the judicial burden in terms of pre-trial detainment time. Byers noted that the daily jail bookings reveal that the number of arrests off the street are down. “The jail bookings every day are just not what they used to be.” Though arrests could go up at any time, all those factors have played a role in reducing the population. Chipman added that the two main reasons people are booked, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Failure to Appear, won’t result in long detainment. He said that transfer to Department of Corrections (DOC) is occurring faster as well.
Byers updated the board that Prosecutor Felony Diversion for 2023 was awarded the requested amount of $61,964. That is the same amount that has been requested and awarded for the past several years for the felony diversion program.
Prosecutor Chipman updated the board that there are 25 current participants in the program, seven of them were new since January 1. Two of the seven new participants violated the requirements of the program; their case will be prosecuted. Three individuals are waiting to participate in the program with 16 cases being successfully dismissed since Jan. 1. “I am grateful that DOC continues to fund it,” said Chipman.
Byers updated the board on the Drug Court. The Drug Court received funding for 2023 from the Indiana Department of Corrections in the amount of $65,000. $30,000 funds a Certified Recovery Coach from the Bowen Center on the Drug Court Team. $30,000 funds Public Defender fees with the remaining $5,000 funds used as a stipend for the Drug Court Coordinator for additional duties. The current case load is five clients. They continue to meet weekly and attend meetings. The Prosecutor’s Office continues to screen eligible clients for admission. Drug Court is designed to meet the needs of high risk / high need clients. Byers said that the ideal case load for the court should not exceed 15 clients in order to provide the attention they truly need.
Community Corrections has been awarded requested grant funding in the amount of $362,802 which goes to salaries, benefits and training. The lease at the Community Resource Center costs the program $20,000 a year to the Marshall County Community Foundation. That lease is set to expire in 2025. Byers said that the partnership with Project HOPE and the Bowen Center has been successful.