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Resident urges Howard County to hold home-monitoring contractor ASAP accountable, proposes tiered fee tied to compliance record
Summary
At the FY26 operating budget public hearing, a resident asked the council to adopt accountability measures for private home-monitoring companies after media reports of alleged failures by one contractor; the resident suggested a tiered per-day fee based on a company's compliance history.
A Howard County resident asked the county council during the FY26 operating budget public hearing to hold private home-monitoring companies accountable and to consider tying the county’s per-day oversight fee to a company’s compliance record.
Ryan Powers, speaking as a resident of Glenwood, cited news reports about alleged service failures by Advantage Sentencing Alternative Solutions (ASAP). "The lack of Howard County response in holding home monitoring company Advantage Sentencing Alternative Solutions ASAP responsible for the reported service violations... is extremely disappointing," Powers said, quoting local news coverage. He quoted coverage attributing calls for ASAP to be fined or dropped and cited reporting that ASAP did not timely report alleged violations.
Powers asked the council to consider a tiered version of the $12-per-day oversight fee under review, in which companies with more recent complaints and violations would be charged higher fees. "Companies with more violations and complaints, especially recent ones, are more of a liability to the public and should be charged more," he said, adding that the proposal is not intended to limit individuals’ access to home monitoring but to align county oversight fees with providers' compliance histories.
What was not decided: The testimony recorded suggestions and requested policy changes; the transcript does not record council action or a vote on altering the oversight fee or adopting a tiered system.
Context cited by the speaker: Powers referenced news stories and the Commission on Correctional Standards' limited enforcement mechanisms, and asked the county to consider stronger local accountability in procurement or fee-setting to address program noncompliance reported in the press.
