The Washington County Quorum Court voted 13–2 to appropriate $506,469.12 from reserve funds to continue partnership with Returning Home’s CAP (Community Alternatives Program) for a one‑year period, amid extended public comment and requests for more transparent accounting.

Justice Seki (who moved the ordinance) and supporters framed the appropriation as continuation funding for a program the county has jointly funded since 2022. Justice Seki said the court intended to continue the partnership “from 05/01/2026 through 04/30/2027” (amended language discussed on the floor) and that the funds will be administered through the county grants process.

Opponents and several public commenters asked for more financial detail and for accounting showing how prior appropriations were spent. Justice Koger urged the court to withhold additional funding until the court received a full accounting of how approximately $1.6 million previously allocated had been spent, how much went to administrative overhead and how much directly supported programming.

Brenda, a Returning Home representative, told the court that earlier grants had not required line-item reporting under the previous administration and that compiling earlier expense detail would take time. She also said the organization will provide monthly and quarterly reports going forward and that future transactions will flow through the county’s grants and payables process. “We can put that together. But it's gonna take us some time to get those funds put together or those expenses expensed,” she said.

Deputy or county grant staff explained the county’s oversight process: funds will be processed through the grants office, then through payables, and subject to federal audit rules where applicable. Supporters highlighted performance metrics returned by the program: Returning Home reported 106 program graduates in the past year with a stated 41 percent recidivism rate among participants and 66 graduates not re‑incarcerated. Justice Rio Stafford calculated a cost roughly $7,575 per non‑recidivating graduate when spreading the appropriation across program graduates.

Speakers also debated whether the court should prioritize funding pretrial services rather than expanding CAP, but several justices said they wanted both options pursued: “I want both,” Justice Rio Stafford said, urging a pretrial services plan from judges and criminal-justice stakeholders alongside continued support for CAP.

On the roll call, the ordinance passed 13 in favor and 2 opposed (Justices Washington and Koger). The court rejected an amendment requiring Returning Home to submit monthly accounting directly to the quorum court; that amendment failed on a recorded vote. The main appropriation ordinance passed and staff said the funds will be administered through the county grants office with standard transaction-level review and outside audit where required.

Action: Ordinance appropriating $506,469.12 from reserve funds to support the Returning Home CAP program for a one‑year period (05/01/2026–04/30/2027) was approved 13–2.

The judge and staff emphasized that the agreement would be processed using the county’s existing grants and payables controls, and that future monthly or quarterly reports would be provided to the court as recommended by several members and requested by public commenters.