Published: October 08, 2008 11:34 pm         

County considers work release center

State would defray portion of costs for the facility.

With the Howard County jail in a constant state of overcrowding, county officials are moving forward with plans to open a work release center to lower the inmate population.

County officials are looking at two possible options for a work release center, a new building on property adjacent to the jail or an existing building in the downtown area.

Commissioner Brad Bagwell said the facility would be designed to house up to 80 male and female people sentenced to the work release center by the law courts.

Bagwell said if approved by the Indiana Department of Corrections the state would pay 100 percent of the costs the first year, 75 percent the second year and then 50 percent in subsequent years.

The state would incorporate the cost of purchasing and renovating an existing building or the expense of constructing a new facility, he said. The county would purchase the existing building and then lease it to Howard County Community Corrections.

Inmates sentenced to the work release center would be charged a per diem rate that Bagwell hopes will make the operation break even and not rely on tax dollars.

“It is the best opportunity,” Bagwell said. “The people sentenced to the work release center would pay to be housed there.”

The local court system would like to have the option of sentencing people to a work release center, he said. Typically a work release center serves as a halfway house between state prison and being released.

Steve Maus, director of Howard County Community Corrections, said the number of beds would depend on the final design.

“The biggest expense would be staffing,” he said. “We would be looking at nine or 10 additional employees.”

The per diem fee would range between $15 and $20 and would be set by the Community Corrections Advisory Board, according to Maus. If 80 people are housed at the center it would generate $1,600 per day or $584,000 on an annual basis.

Maus said Community Corrections currently offers some programs to modify behavior, including a “Thinking for a Change” which is designed to stop the revolving door for some people at the jail. A second program just starting “Prime for Life” will target being with an alcohol addiction.

Maus said a grant application has been submitted to the DOC for $2 million for the construction of a new building and an operating budget.

“If we get the funding, we can make a go of it,” he said. “There would be no out-of-pocket money for the taxpayers.”

Ann Roberts, director of Madison County Community Corrections, said they have had a work release center since 1996.

“We started with 24 beds,” she said. “We now have 92 beds which is full all the time.”

Roberts said Madison County has twice attempted to start a work release program for women but was unsuccessful because of low participation.

Madison County charges 25 percent of a person’s net income or $95 per week. She called the proposed Howard County per diem is more realistic. Roberts said there are five full-time and seven part-time officers working at the center.

Roberts said Madison County started the work release program before DOC funds were made available and receives $152,000 from the state. The total budget is $765,000 with the inmates providing $564,000.

“More counties are looking at work release center because there are more state dollars available,” she said.

     

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