Polk County officials say staffing and funding shortfalls are straining community corrections and juvenile services

Polk County officials told the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 11 that shortages of probation officers and limited juvenile mental-health resources are stretching local community corrections and that county leaders are pushing the state for higher per-person funding.

A department presenter identified in the meeting as a staff member in community corrections said the adult parole and probation unit is "not fully staffed. We are down 1 PO position, and we have 1 PO that is just on the tail end of his training." She said the office is building a caseload for that officer and expects to reach full capacity only after six to eight months of training and monitoring.

"Our caseload sizes are up in the 60s," she said. "Ideally, we would like those in the 40s." She told commissioners the higher caseloads have forced the office to adopt condition-based supervision and prioritize measurable contacts that respond to higher-risk behaviors.

The presenter described a funding shortfall that county corrections are taking to the 2025 legislative session. She said the associationconducting the cost study has proposed $18.18 per person, contrasted with the current biennial funding level of $13.83; the Department of Corrections agency-recommended budget increases that figure to about $15.09, and the governors budget references the cost study and would move funding closer to…