Sedgwick County renews contract with BI Incorporated for Offender Day Reporting Center
Sedgwick County has renewed its contract with BI Incorporated to operate the county Day Reporting Center at 703 East 21st St. North. BI began operating the DRC for the county in 2006 as part of the county’s comprehensive plan to reduce jail overcrowding and incorporate research-based alternatives to detention. The contract renewal could last five years.
DRCs help contribute to safe communities by reducing recidivism when compared to traditional offender programs; target full employment or school enrollment upon program completion; generate savings for taxpayers through lower incarceration costs; and alter the program participants’ attitudes and behavior through treatment and training. Many individuals referred to the Sedgwick County DRC are chronic offenders. Reducing their involvement in the criminal justice system is a priority. The DRC has made good strides in this area. Arrest data shows a 58 percent reduction in arrests among program graduates when comparing a two-year period prior to program graduation and two years after. Additionally, 48 percent of graduates have no arrests two years after program completion.
At the Sedgwick County DRC, offenders go through a multi-phase approach that includes regular reporting to the center, intensive treatment and training, and ongoing testing for drug and alcohol use. BI closely monitors participants with frequent check-ins, drug and alcohol testing and intensive case management. BI may also monitor participants with electronic monitoring or GPS tracking technology if they are not compliant to program rules and curfews. Participants attend group classes developed to reduce criminal risk and prepare them for successful community reentry. Classes include cognitive therapy, substance abuse, anger management, life skills, domestic violence and employment readiness and retention programming. Clients pay to attend some of these classes.
The Sedgwick County DRC is open six days a week, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
About BI Incorporated (www.bi.com)
Established in 1978, BI Incorporated is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO), a global leader in the delivery of correctional, detention, and residential treatment services to federal, state, and local government agencies. BI provides a full continuum of offender monitoring technologies and community reentry services for parolees, probationers, pretrial defendants and illegal aliens involved in the U.S. immigration court process. BI also owns and operates an ISO-certified national monitoring center, providing 24/7 expert support supervision services exclusively to governmental agencies. BI works closely with corrections officials to cost effectively reduce recidivism, promote public safety, and strengthen the communities they serve.
