Throughout California, counties are organizing and developing plans for a significant change in corrections, including the diversion of thousands of probationers from state to local supervision. The change, part of the state’s attempt to meet a U.S. Supreme Court mandate to cut prison crowding dramatically by 2013, is being called prison realignment. Legislators passed AB 109 to fund the shift of low-level probationers from state to local control over the next couple of years.
Steve Buchholz, interim Chief Probation Officer for Lake County, Calif., said AB 109 is the biggest change he has seen in his 30 years in community corrections. He returned from retirement to lead the county’s committee – also known as the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) – in planning for AB 109 realignment changes.
BI Incorporated is working closely with counties such as Lake County to explore options to get started on AB 109 implementation. These options include day reporting centers, core model day reporting programs for smaller counties, electronic monitoring programs, in-custody programs, even residential reentry programs.
In this informative article in the local newspaper, the Record-Bee, Chief Buchholz explains how the CCP is tackling this issue head on.