Revamped County Correctional System Generates Savings, Positive Outcomes

John Wetzel, warden of the Franklin County Jail in Chambersburg, can say something few counties in the United States can boast today: Franklin County has fewer inmates now than it did when he took the job seven years ago. And, just as important, Franklin County has created a new revenue stream by leasing unused jail beds to other agencies.

When Wetzel signed on as Franklin County’s warden in 2002, the county faced two significant problems. For years the local jail suffered from chronic inmate overcrowding. Its jail capacity was rated at 194 beds, but the jail inmate count had surged as high as 400 inmates in 2003. In addition, up to 30 inmates were jailed in neighboring counties at about $2,000 each.

To solve the jail overcrowding issue, Franklin County formed a Criminal Justice Advisory Board—a wide range of stakeholders in the county criminal justice system including judges, commissioners, the warden, district attorney, probation and others—to evaluate alternatives that could both alleviate the jail crowding and address some of the underlying issues contributing to the problem. Franklin County also sought outside advice. A national jail planner estimated Franklin County would need at least 600 beds at a cost of $40 million if current incarceration trends persisted. That price tag was beyond what the county wanted to spend.

Wetzel, who says he likes research and data, said the county needed to examine the root of the problem before arriving at a solution. “It wasn’t a newsflash to us, when we looked at the data, that the offender group driving the overcrowding problem had drug and alcohol problems. They were not coming in as a result of new criminal charges; they were treatment-oriented violators,” Wetzel said. “Root causes fell into three areas: drugs and alcohol, criminal thinking, and inadequate job skills. We decided to develop a program to address these causes.”

Franklin County arrived at a cost-effective compromise to address these problems by:

• Building a new 470 -bed jail, smaller than what the experts called for but necessary to replace the old, unsafe facility.
• Developing and opening a community-based Day Reporting Center to take some of the pressure off the jail and offer cognitive behavioral treatment and training to slow the flow of returning technical violators.

Wetzel says the county developed a policy statement to drive change. “Public safety was absolutely our top priority. If there are doubts about a person’s risk to the community, they are jailed. But if we can ensure the public safety and put them in a community program to save money, that’s what we’ll do,” he explained.

Building a smaller jail—470 beds versus 600—saved the county $10 million in construction fees. Another $650,000 is saved each year by not having to staff a larger facility, and the county no longer has to house 30 inmates elsewhere at high cost to taxpayers.

By adding the Franklin County Day Reporting Center, the county focused on changing the behavior of its chronic technical violators. The center delivers intensive supervision, treatment and training so offenders develop the skills and motivation to live a crime-free life.

Franklin County selected BI Incorporated, a national community corrections firm, to operate the center based on its proven track record. BI operates more than 30 Day Reporting Center programs for states and counties nationwide. “We wanted expertise to get this off the ground,” Wetzel said.

Franklin County diverts lower risk or treatment-resistant offenders away from incarceration to the Day Reporting Center. Participants attend classes to address issues that lead to criminal issues or technical violations. These issues include substance abuse, anger management, life skills, cognitive skills, and employment and educational training. In addition to classes, offenders are screened for drugs and alcohol each time they report to the program, which can last from 90 to 180 days before a person is transitioned to aftercare. Through treatment programs and enrichment classes, the center provides solutions to problems that go unaddressed in jail, such as mental illness, substance abuse and lack of job training.

Critical elements to the center are its cognitive behavioral programs designed to change criminal behavior and, ultimately, keep individuals out of the system. The criminogenic risk for program participants who complete the program dropped significantly. The average risk score, using an objective risk assessment tool used in corrections, dropped from 20.9 to 14.8 for program graduates, a 29% drop in assessed risk which the county hopes will reduce future crime.

These are some of the alternatives Pennsylvania likes to direct funding to, according to James Strader, Deputy Director, Office of Criminal Justice System Improvements, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The commission provided a grant to initiate the Franklin County Day Reporting Center, but the county has invested heavily in its future also, Strader said.

“From a cost standpoint, these alternatives make sense. Counties should look for the most cost-effective options that maintain public safety. The downstream impact of getting people out of the criminal justice system includes substantial cost savings. If you don’t break the cycle of crime, the cost to society can be astronomical,” Strader said.

Three years after implementing the Day Reporting Center, the results for Franklin County have far surpassed county officials’ expectations. About 130 individuals are involved in the Franklin County Day Reporting Center on a daily basis. This diversion of chronic offenders to the Day Reporting Center had an immediate impact on jail crowding that carries forward today. Just four months after the center opened, the jail population dropped from 386 inmates to 286; today the jail population remains stable at about 300 inmates.

The new, $27.5 million jail opened in 2007 as one of the most high-tech institutions in Pennsylvania, according to Wetzel. Because the jail now has extra beds, in 2008 the county earned $709,000 from beds leased to the U.S. Marshals Service and Fulton County.

Additionally, because jail overcrowding problems are now in control, the jail operates more efficiently. In fact, the average length of stay per inmate has declined by 10 days because of the Day Reporting Center and these efficiencies, from 62 to 52 days.

Wetzel says anyone responsible for a budget should be taking a look at more flexible alternatives such as the Day Reporting Center implemented in Franklin County. “Seventy-five percent of county tax dollars are spent on three C’s – crime, courts, and corrections. If you are responsible for a jail budget, I can’t imagine why you would not take a look at this type of program.

“From an outside perspective, this might seem ‘touchy feely,’ or soft on criminals. It is not. In reality, it is very restrictive and demands accountability of participants. It’s like a day jail in the community,” he added.

Franklin County’s Criminal Justice Advisory Board gets credit from both Wetzel and Strader for moving aggressively to tackle the county’s jail crowding issue and addressing the root cause of most technical violations—drug and alcohol offenses. “One of the best things I’ve seen in my 30 years in criminal justice is the formation of county criminal justice advisory boards. We have 57 of them operating throughout Pennsylvania today. I think the criminal justice advisory board in Franklin County was instrumental in helping to get this started,” Strader said.

Growing jail populations—more than 32,000 individuals are incarcerated in Pennsylvania county jails—and dire budget shortfalls are forcing counties to consider criminal justice policy changes across the board. Franklin County’s changed attitude about incarceration over the last several years offers a glimpse of what counties may consider to bring costs in line without compromising public safety. “We believe we have increased public safety by targeting and reducing criminal behavior,” Wetzel said.

“We need to continue to figure out ways to more effectively deal with offender populations. By keeping people in the community and providing the wrap-around services, in the long run we have a real opportunity to break that drug and crime connection and achieve substantial long-term outcomes,” Strader added.

Originally at - Pennsylvania County News