Franklin County adopts PIVOT pretrial pilot to provide intensive services to select felony defendants

Franklin County on Sept. 30 approved a $150,000 subgrant to launch PIVOT, a pilot pretrial program intended to provide intensive services to certain nonviolent felony defendants to reduce recidivism and improve court compliance.

Melissa Pearson, interim director of the Franklin County Office of Justice Policy and Programs, introduced the proposal as a pilot to bolster pretrial supervision and connect individuals to housing, employment, mental-health and other supports. She said the county will test whether providing more intensive services before case disposition reduces repeated arrests and jail stays.

A court representative who spoke about the program described a case study of an 18-year-old charged with improperly handling a firearm. The presentation said PIVOT will focus on lower-level felony offenders (F4 and F5) who do not face mandatory prison terms, and will enroll small cohorts: one program manager overseeing up to 12 participants at a time. Program participation will include court-ordered pretrial supervision, urine screening, curriculum-based interventions (including a nationally used “thinking errors” program), and individualized meetings with a program manager. The presenter emphasized PIVOT is not a diversion program: participants’ cases will continue through the normal adult felony process and participation does not guarantee reduced sentences or dismissal.

Joy Bivens, deputy county administrator of health and human services, endorsed the model and provided outcome data from the county’s related wraparound efforts: she said a cohort model’s recidivism was about 3% at six months and about 6% at 12 months, and cited a state comparison figure discussed in briefing materials. Bivens suggested the county’s One Door and mobile-unit service delivery models would complement PIVOT by improving access to needed supports.

Representatives of a community violence-intervention organization also spoke in support and offered to be a local partner in implementation. Commissioners on the dais described program elements they viewed as important — crisis-center linkage, family stabilization unit support, early intervention and gun-safety resources — and said the program is designed to target underlying needs that can drive reoffending.

The board moved and adopted Resolution 66825 by roll call. The clerk recorded votes: Commissioner O'Grady — Yes; Commissioner Boyce — Yes; Commissioner Crawley — Yes. The resolution authorizes a subgrant award through the FY2026–27 Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison grant to support the PIVOT pilot at $150,000. Next steps described at the meeting included program staffing (one program manager), participant assessment at initial trial dates, and coordination with probation and community providers for service delivery.

Provenance: The resolution and program presentation were introduced at the start of the regular agenda and discussed in detail before the board voted to adopt Resolution 66825 on Sept. 30.

Speakers quoted or relied on in this article (first appearance in transcript): - Joy Bivens, Deputy County Administrator, Health and Human Services (first referenced SEG 028) - Melissa Pearson, Interim Director, Franklin County Office of Justice Policy and Programs (first referenced SEG 168) - Atiba Jones, court representative (introduced with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas) (first referenced SEG 177)

Authorities: []

Actions: [{"kind":"motion","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"Resolution 66825"},"motion":"Approval of Resolution 66825 authorizing a subgrant award to support pretrial supervision programming (PIVOT)","mover":"Unidentified Speaker 2","second":"Unidentified Speaker 6","vote_record":[{"member":"Commissioner O'Grady","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Commissioner Boyce","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Commissioner Crawley","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":3,"no":0,"abstain":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Authorizes $150,000 subgrant for FY2026-27 Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison grant; program is not a diversion; cases proceed through normal process."}]

Clarifying details: [{"category":"program_capacity","detail":"One program manager overseeing up to 12 participants at a time","source_speaker":"Atiba Jones"},{"category":"target_population","detail":"Nonviolent low-level felony offenders (F4 and F5) not subject to mandatory prison","source_speaker":"Atiba Jones"},{"category":"funding","detail":"$150,000 subgrant through FY2026–27 Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison grant","source_speaker":"Unidentified Speaker 1"},{"category":"recidivism_statistics","detail":"Program-model recidivism cited as approximately 3% at 6 months and 6% at 12 months; comparison state figure referenced in briefing","source_speaker":"Joy Bivens"}],

Proper_names:[{"name":"Franklin County","type":"agency"}],

Searchable_tags:["pretrial","recidivism","PIVOT","One Door","criminal_justice","Franklin County"]