Marion County Community Corrections reports 2024 caseload and 76% completion rate; board approves minutes

Scott Hole, director of Marion County Community Corrections, told the Marion County Community Corrections Advisory Board on April 17 that the agency served just over 7,000 clients in 2024 and recorded a 76% successful completion rate for those sentenced to two-year community corrections placements.

"That 76 percent rate ... is if an individual is sentenced to 2 years of community corrections, at the end of those 2 years, they are still on the program, and then have either transitioned to home or moved on to probation," Hole said. He added the agency does not track recidivism comprehensively because it cannot obtain arrest records from other counties or states.

The annual review highlighted program volume and staffing pressures. Hole said the agency processed just over 9,000 intakes or releases in 2024, handled more than 53,000 automated alerts, and received about 94,000 calls to its single call-center phone line. The agencyreported an average case load of roughly 59 clients per case manager (66:1 for pretrial teams) and about 7,000 field home visits in 2024.

Hole noted electronic monitoring remains a major service line. "We're at just over 3,000" people on electronic monitoring as an individual program, he said, and the agency recorded eight critical incidents in 2024, a reduction from the previous year. He described the Department of Corrections definition of a "critical incident" as events that could make the news (for example, an escape that leads to a warrant or an arrest on a particularly violent charge).

On residential operations, Hole said the county-run Duvall facility served a little more than 600 residents in 2024. He reported two critical incidents there, 18 drug incidents requiring medical attention, and six use-of-force incidents, a total Hole described as "a pretty low bar" for use-of-force reporting because the agency counts any physical contact used to move someone as use of force.

Hole credited staff training and external engagement for operational outcomes: 52 staff attended statewide or national conferences, the agency logged about 11,000 training hours, and a newly strengthened quality assurance team completed 52 peer reviews in 2024. He also noted individual staff recognitions: an employee was named IACAC Residential Employee of the Year and others completed statewide leadership programs.

Board members pressed Hole on staffing and program pressures. Hole told the board the agency currently has 12 case-manager vacancies and that a fully staffed target for the unit would be 68 case managers. He said vacancies have ranged from 8 to 13 in recent months and that turnover reasons vary (family moves, health issues, etc.).

Board members also asked about fee collections and call-center responsiveness. Hole said the agencycollection rate remains "in the high 20s to 30% range" despite lowering fees; the director said he could provide more detailed call metrics but confirmed the agency does experience a noticeable drop rate because average call resolution can run seven to eight minutes and one line can route to up to six staff at once.

Hole described several initiatives planned for 2025: a nearly finalized contract with Dove House to provide female work-release placements; continued emphasis on staff training and a planned field training officer (FTO) program for corrections officers; a searchable, GIS-based service-provider map developed with ISA (expected to be rolled out first to Community Corrections staff and later made public); and a renewed HUMS data project and dashboard with ISA and KPMG to help cross-reference clients across agencies for targeted interventions.

On coordination, Hole said the JREC working group is reviewing consultant recommendations for the Assessment and Intervention Center and prioritizing items that are feasible in Marion County, noting funding and licensure as likely constraints. He also said the agency will host presentations from people with lived experience, beginning with Lester Young of Path to Redemption, to inform staff and clients.

Procedural business: the advisory board approved the minutes for the March meeting as amended. The motion to adopt the minutes with the stated edits carried on an "Aye" vote recorded in the transcript; no named roll-call votes were recorded.

The board scheduled its next meeting for May 15 and adjourned.