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Washoe County updates board on pretrial services transition and STAR program expansion
Summary
County staff said functions from the dissolved Department of Alternative Sentencing were transferred to the Sheriff's Office, Human Services Agency and Second Judicial District Court; pretrial caseloads have roughly doubled and the STAR diversion program has three participants now with plans to scale.
County staff updated the Board of County Commissioners on the dissolution of the Department of Alternative Sentencing and the transfer of its functions into three agencies.
Abby Yacoban (chief financial officer) and Angie Winke (pretrial services manager) described a rapid onboarding that merged approximately 400 defendants from DAS into the pretrial caseload and said the county has seen caseloads roughly double since the transition. Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Jason Phillips said the sheriff's office absorbed seven DAS commission personnel (two sergeants, five officers) and is planning hires — including a funded case‑manager position in FY27 — to rebalance workloads.
Staff reported approximate workload numbers: the team described an average of about 267 probationaries overall and noted a working figure of about 66 individuals per probation officer for the officers currently assigned, and the board asked how that compares to other jurisdictions. Phillips said counterparts in the Las Vegas area operate at about 24–26 probationaries per officer, which commissioners used as a comparison point.
The STAR diversion program (Supported Treatment, Accountability and Recovery) now has three participants and staff said they are intentionally bringing new clients in slowly while standard operating procedures and partnering contracts are finalized. Drug-testing operations previously done in‑house will be outsourced to a vendor (Avera/AberHealth) to ensure regulatory testing and reduce field safety risks for officers.
Commissioners commended staff for the transition work, asked for more data on caseloads and outcomes, and were told staff will continue refining processes and present additional performance metrics as the program matures.
