After the passage of AB 109 California Public Safety Realignment in 2011, Tuolumne County was determined to cope with an influx of probationers, as did other counties throughout California. AB 109 transferred responsibility for nonviolent, non-serious and non-sex offenders from the state to the county, posing a challenge to Tuolumne’s 152-bed jail system.
With $600,000 in state funds to help with AB 109 implementation, Tuolumne County hired new probation officers and expanded alternatives to county jail like GPS tracking systems and work-release programs. In addition, the county contracted with BI Incorporated to implement and manage the center piece of its community corrections strategy—a day reporting program. This DRC program, co-located with two county probation officers and a sheriff’s deputy, is housed in the county’s Alternatives to Detention Center in Sonora. Intended to handle up to 50 medium-to-high risk offenders at a time, the program opened Jan. 16, 2012.
Considered what BI calls a “Core” Day reporting model, the program offers Moral Reconation Therapy® and individual cognitive behavioral therapy, both designed to change criminal thinking. The program’s case managers maintain a detailed list of local service providers, and refer probationers to these services based on risks and needs. To date, the program has helped the county reduce pressure on the jail and deliver evidence-based programing to offenders in an attempt to reduce recidivism. Importantly, during the first 11 months of operation, only two DRC participants have recidivated for misdemeanors.
To read more about Tuolumne County’s collaboration with BI, read the case study.