Vanderburgh corrections advisory board approves 2026 DOC grant submissions, program reports and recommends probation officer for at-large seat

The Vanderburgh County Corrections Advisory Board approved quarterly program reports and three separate 2026 grant submissions to the Indiana Department of Corrections and recommended Leslie Jackson, chief probation officer for misdemeanor court, for appointment to a new at-large seat.

Board members said the approvals keep core programs funded and maintain oversight of local corrections services. The meeting included summary reports on electronic home detention, work release, treatment court, community service hours and veterans court, plus a financial update and a discussion about a new state statute requiring live broadcast of meetings on Granicus.

Katie, an Electronic Home Detention staff member, told the board the EHD program served 134 participants in the quarter: 26 completed the program, one was discharged to a new charge and eight were discharged for technical violations. She reported a fourth-quarter collection rate of 84 percent and a year-to-date collection rate of 94 percent for 2024.

James Aiken, representing community corrections, reported 181 participants in work release (40 female, 141 male) and 14 people on the wait list; he said 10 of those on the wait list are female. Treatment court (Tremecourt) currently has 163 participants with an average caseload of 35. Aiken also summarized community service activity: 12,117 hours recorded in 2024 serving 486 participants across 12 agencies, and 1,363 hours so far in the current year serving 51 participants via eight agencies.

Jody Ebelhock, participant advocate for veterans court, reported the program has served 35 veterans historically, with nine graduates, three terminations and 22 veterans currently active on the docket.

Kelly Kercher presented financial figures for January: $87,711.57 collected for work release, with a current work-release account balance of $448,649.98; treatment court collected $32,165.19 in January and has a total of $180,098.66. No new EHD-specific balances were reported during the meeting.

On the 2026 Department of Corrections grant package, staff told the board the three grant proposals mirror last year’s submissions with an approximate 5 percent increase to the overall budgets. Staff said healthcare costs rose faster than that increase, and the grant requests will seek funding to cover full salaries and health-care benefits for work release and treatment court but staff cautioned the state likely will not fund full salaries and that electronic home detention is largely self-sustaining.

Board members approved each of the three grant submissions individually: work release, treatment court and electronic home detention. The board discussion noted that any state funding ultimately depends on the Department of Corrections and the state budget process.

Judge Wayne Trotman proposed creating an additional at-large seat after a recent request from Leslie Jackson, identified at the meeting as chief probation officer for misdemeanor court. The board voted to recommend that the Vanderburgh County Commissioners appoint Jackson to the at-large position; board members noted that the commissioners maintain the formal appointment process and that applicants must complete the county application procedure.

Board members also discussed a new state statute that requires these advisory-board meetings to be broadcast live on Granicus. Staff said Kelly received notice from a state official and that the board had previously posted recordings to Granicus; the statute requires live broadcasting going forward and staff said they planned to begin live broadcasts in advance of the statutory July 1 effective date but did not state a firm start date.

The board discussed user fees briefly. James Aiken said the programs had rebuilt a reserve and prefer to maintain roughly a 10 percent operating cushion; he said staff did not intend to raise fees again in the immediate term and expect current fee levels to be sustainable through 2026.

Votes at a glance: The board recorded voice votes on routine approvals and the grant submissions. Motions were made and seconded on each item; outcomes were unanimous voice approvals unless a dissent was recorded. Specific actions recorded on the transcript include approval of December minutes; approval of the quarterly J-RAC (EHD) report; approval of the 2025 annual community corrections report; approval of the 2026 DOC grant submissions for work release, treatment court and electronic home detention; recommendation that the County Commissioners appoint Leslie Jackson to an at-large seat; and a motion to adjourn.

The board set future meeting dates at 11:30 a.m. in the same room for April 24, Aug. 14 and Dec. 11, 2025. Staff also announced the social work conference at the University of Southern Indiana on March 7 and asked members whether they wanted to be added to routine distribution lists for program reports and waiting-list notifications.

The meeting concluded with no public comments recorded and the board adjourned.