Feb. 15—Boone County Community Corrections saved nearly $10 million in tax money last year, compared to $5.4 million saved in 2021.

A sharp climb in the number of clients supervised by the pre-trial diversion program is credited for most of the increase. BCCC Executive Director Michael Nance presented his department's numbers in his annual report to the Boone County Council on Tuesday.

BCCC served 314 pre-trial clients in 2020, the first year for the program, 624 in 2021, and 902 last year.

BCCC first began supervising persons charged with a crime and awaiting trial in 2020. Indiana in 2016 passed Criminal Rule 26 that allows judges to release offenders who have been charged with a crime but who cannot afford bond. Supervised release allows them to work and maintain family life while they await trail, instead of sitting in jail. BCCC makes sure they attend trial dates and meet other requirements.

"Every pre-trial client would have to be in our jail," Nance said. "They can't go to the Department of Correction because they didn't go to trial yet."

BCCC monitors those charged with a crime or sentenced to serve time in the county jail or with the Indiana Department of Correction when a judge allows them to serve their sentence in the community. The judge may choose from a handful of programs BCCC offers such as electronically monitored home detention, or the work release or felony diversion programs.

The county realizes a savings because it would have cost $9.9 million to confine those who participated in BCCC programs in 2022. Those users instead paid for services they received, participated in programs, and paid for their own food and shelter.

The figure for savings is reached by multiplying the number of BCCC clients who would all have been in jail if not in the program by the number of days they would have been incarcerated and then by the cost per day to hold them. Added to that is the cost of running BCCC, and from the total is subtracted user fees and grants.

Tracking success

BCCC and probation clients must submit to drug screenings. Of 3,846 screenings given last year, 1,534 — or 39% — tested positive. The top three drugs found, in descending order, are marijuana/THC, amphetamine, and methamphetamine. Fentanyl was present in 182 screenings.

Nance said that leaves 61% of negative tests.

"Given that we work with a population of people who are mostly addicted to drugs, to have that many test clean is something to be proud of," Nance said.

Many of the positive tests are believed to have come from people early in the program, Nance said, although he lacks data to back that up. This year he's going to track how far positive testers are in their program, with the belief that their tests become negative as they receive services and participate in mental health and recovery programs.

New program

BCCC is adding another program this spring. Two staff members have taken 40 hours of training, and another is in the process, to become moral reconation therapy facilitators.

"MRT is a cognitive, behavioral approach that leads to enhanced mortal reasoning, better decision making skills, and more appropriate behavior," according to Nance's report. The service will be offered to BCCC and probation clients deemed eligible to participate.