Wayne County community corrections staff reduced to two as board pushes for vendor outreach and data dashboards

Wayne County’s community corrections office is operating with just two staff members, and advisory board members pressed county staff for expanded outreach and clearer success measures at the board’s May 21 meeting.

Lester Thomas, administrator of adult community corrections, told the board that because of FY26 budget reductions community corrections staff are down to two people — himself and Lucille Battle — and that he will be spending more time at the Community Justice Center (CJC) and in courtrooms to increase visibility and referrals. “As of this, I believe Monday, our community corrections staff is down to two people because of funding,” Thomas said.

Board members and staff discussed multiple operational responses: a May 21 stakeholder/referral meeting to engage vendors and prosecutors, a revised program guide with vendor contact information and referral requirements, and a planned website update and KPI dashboard to make referral steps and program performance more accessible to judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Ebony McCann, vision director for transition services, said the county recognizes website and literature upgrades are needed and that IT and transition services are evaluating options, including a KPI dashboard so board members and the public can see program outputs. “Our charge or task for this current fiscal year is to rethink community corrections,” McCann said during public comment, urging the board to ensure funded services match current needs.

Members emphasized that improving utilization requires both awareness and persuasion — getting judges, probation officers and prosecutors to make referrals and ensuring participants can move across a continuum of care (jail‑based entry then community continuation). Dr. Kesha Allen stressed that program language and referral forms should be carefully written and reviewed by vendors and judges before finalization.

Thomas said his office is working with the county’s qualitative analysis team to assemble a dashboard using vendor data (enrollments, completions, success metrics) and will distribute dashboard outputs to the CCAB when available. The combined operational steps follow the board’s approval of the FY2027 MDOC grant application earlier in the meeting.

The board heard public comment encouraging a strategic, data‑driven approach to programming and an aim to demonstrate full expenditure of funds to the Michigan Department of Corrections in future years.

The meeting moved to adjournment following the discussion.