County’s Community Corrections Plan OK’d

The annual plan and application for funding of Washtenaw County’s community corrections program was approved at the July 11, 2012 meeting of the county board of commissioners. The plan covers the period from Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013 with a $1,037,788 budget.

Community corrections is operated by the sheriff’s office and includes a variety of programs. Goals include: (1) reducing prison sentences for eligible offenders; (2) reducing jail crowding so that priority for jail beds will be reserved for dangerous offenders; and (3) reducing recidivism by providing credible alternatives to incarceration. Services range from pre-trial intervention to jail-based programs and treatment initiatives for probationers and parolees.

Of the $1.037 million budget, $430,719 is expected to be funded by the Michigan Dept. of Corrections, with an additional $260,890 estimated to come from fee revenue, $240,983 from the county general fund, and $105,196 from the community corrections fund balance. Because people who participate in these programs would otherwise likely be in the county jail, the sheriff’s office estimates that community corrections saved the county $4.756 million in 2011 by eliminating the need for 55,953 jail bed days at $85 per day.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]