County approves $9.2 million contract for electronic home monitoring; corrections director says program supervises roughly 750 clients

The Law, Safety & Justice Committee authorized an agreement with BI Incorporated for electronic home monitoring (EHM) equipment and services with a not-to-exceed amount of $9,200,000 covering community corrections monitoring needs. Mary Ellen Heng, director of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation, told commissioners the county uses electronic home monitoring as a community-based alternative ordered by courts to allow individuals to remain at home and continue working rather than being held in an adult corrections facility. Heng said the county supervises roughly 750 adults and juveniles on electronic home monitoring and that most juvenile placements are pre-disposition.

Heng said an RFP was issued in January and four vendors responded; the selection team chose BI Incorporated based on equipment quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Commissioner Connolly asked for additional follow-up information about how often monitoring devices are tampered with, removed or otherwise not functioning; community corrections staff agreed to provide the board with follow-up data about violations and how often devices are cut or tampered with.

Motion and outcome: The committee moved and approved the contract authorization and associated agreements (motion passed by voice vote). Commissioners asked staff to supply data on EHM violations and device tampering for later reporting.