Probation director highlights restorative programs and monitoring that saved county placement costs

Terry Faucet, Pine County Probation Director, presented the department's annual outcomes and noted the office's collaboration with the Department of Corrections. Faucet highlighted restorative justice and diversion work that reduced juvenile entries into formal court processes and stressed the county's pre-charge diversion approach. He said the county saved approximately $195,000 in out-of-home placement costs by using electronic monitoring for juveniles while incurring roughly $9,400 in monitoring costs last year.

Faucet credited staff and local judges for intensive involvement in programs such as Yeti, Trail, and Building Bridges; he noted that only 12 participants recidivated within a year post-completion and emphasized low-length-of-stay metrics for out-of-home placements (average 13 days). Faucet said the department will report a full comprehensive-plan update to the board later in the summer in coordination with DOC.

Why it matters: The presentation documented cost savings, lower recidivism and programs that keep juveniles in the community rather than in costly out-of-home placements; commissioners praised staff for outcomes and cross-agency collaboration.