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Community Corrections reports recidivism improvements, program growth and budget requests
Summary
Tim Zaya, director of community corrections, reviewed the day report center's programs, recidivism metrics (26% five-year rate for program graduates), a new DUI program, federal-probation referrals, home confinement GPS monitoring figures, grant revenue and a staffing/title request for a testing technician.
Tim Zaya, community corrections director, presented a multi-part update on the county’s day report center, recovery resource center, home confinement program and related services, including recidivism data, grant revenues and operational requests.
Zaya reported that program graduates have a five-year recidivism rate of 26 percent, compared with a 77 percent national return-to-prison figure he cited from the National Institute of Justice. “Five years, our recidivism rate for program graduates is 26,” he said, adding the local program tracks post-graduation outcomes to measure success.
He described service volumes: staff-facilitated group and individual therapy hours, approximately 2,000 weekly drug screens, roughly 2,500 miles per week in transportation and substantial referrals to the day report center. Zaya said the department has secured federal and state grants — including BJA, COSAP and other grant lines — and listed $1,808,955.39 in grant totals and Medicaid/DHHR billing as part of the revenue mix for the most recent six-month reporting period.
Zaya discussed several program changes: a DUI education program started in the past year to meet state requirements for license reinstatement and to consolidate services in-house; an expansion in federal-probation referrals effective Oct. 1 and related reimbursement; and home confinement (GPS monitoring), which he said supervised hundreds of individuals in calendar 2024 with fees collected that offset program costs.
He also described harm-reduction, recovery and juvenile outreach work: the resource center reported 243 walk-ins and more than 1,000 phone contacts over the past six months; the JOTIP (juvenile opioid treatment intervention and prevention) grant team has reached school populations; and the resource center’s harm-reduction syringe-exchange program operates on a one-for-one exchange model, Zaya said.
Operational requests included a reclassification to formalize a testing-technician title for staff who manage multiple drug-screening processes; Zaya said this would reclassify existing staff rather than add new positions. He also noted that fee collections from home-confinement participants have risen and said the programs save county jail costs by supervising individuals in the community.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about caseloads, program capacity — Zaya said he prefers not to exceed about 25 home-confinement participants per officer — and the value of program data. The commission did not take immediate budget votes during the presentation; members asked for follow-up materials, tours of the facility and additional data points for future meetings.
