County probation staff described revenue and collection challenges for drug testing and supervision at the July 3 budget meeting and asked commissioners to consider operational changes to ensure testing costs are covered.

Josh (probation staff) explained the probation office charges a $75-per-month supervision fee that is collected through the court system; the probation department does not receive that money directly to offset testing costs. He said most drug testing costs are covered within that fee currently, but laboratory testing — which often follows an on-site instant screen — typically costs about $15 per sent sample, and cumulative testing can become expensive for individuals tested multiple times per week.

Probation staff suggested options commissioners could consider: 1) charge the laboratory cost per test (for example, $15 per lab test) in addition to the monthly supervision fee; 2) collect pretrial testing fees up front and hold them in escrow, returning them if the defendant is not convicted and applying them if the defendant is convicted; or 3) establish a cap on how many unpaid tests a pretrial client may incur before testing stops. Staff emphasized the legal and operational research required to ensure any new fee structure complies with statutes and court procedures.

Josh said the department is collecting some revenue from juvenile diversion ($25 monthly) and occasional outside-county testing at $15 per test. He also noted that the distribution of the existing supervision fees is broken down by statute into many categories at the courthouse and that the probation department does not currently receive the full $75 directly.

(Ending) Commissioners asked staff to follow up and produce options and legal analysis for adjusting how drug-testing costs are charged and collected, and to improve internal accounting so the probation program recovers lab costs where permitted.