Nearly $700,000 worth of one-time stimulus grants might find its way into Lancaster County’s correctional and law enforcement systems in 2010. This week, County officials are presenting the commissioners with a number of PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) grant applications that would allow for new programs to be piloted for Juvenile Probation, Adult Probation and Parole, and police departments throughout the county.
The grants, due for application on December 31, will implement funding from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
At the Tuesday, December 22 commissioners meeting, Juvenile Probation Office Director David Mueller explained that his department hopes to recieve a $260,000 competitive grant to implement a day/evening reporting center for qualified juvenile offenders. The program, Mueller said, would serve as an alternative to secure detention or out-of-home placement.
Such a center would provide a part-time, less “restrictive” environment for juveniles who require correctional service but do not warrant full-time detention. Residents would be required to report to the facility after school hours until about 9 p.m., Mueller said, during which time they would be “supervised and exposed to positive pro-social activities.”
“It’s a proven, cost-effective [alternative] to secure detention,” Mueller asserted, noting that, while full-time detention costs about $200 per resident per day, a reporting center would cost about half that much. After the grant expires in 2012, Mueller said, the center’s expenses could be funded (90%) by State-level child welfare dollars.
Adult Probation and Parole Services Director Mark Wilson told the commissioners that his office plans to apply for a $238,923 grant to form a new “re-entry team” to more closely supervise and assist offenders in the first 45 days of their parole. As the process currently stands, Wilson said, released offenders often go two to three weeks before reaching their first appointment. With this PCCD grant, Wilson explained, “a team of officers literally could meet these individuals at the door,” and continue meeting with the offenders no less than once each week until a stable lifestyle has been clearly demonstrated.
When the grant expires in 2012, Wilson said, the funding responsibility will fall to the County; however, he maintained that the team will likely yield budgetary savings by reducing the “revolving door” effect. Additionally, Wilson noted, “The intent would be to cover the cost through administrative and supervision fee money from the court side of things.”
The Adult Probation Office also applied for a $17,659 grant to conduct four “crisis intervention team” training sessions each year, for four years. Once trained, the program would produce volunteer teams of law enforcement personnel specially qualified to answer mental-health related calls. The crisis intervention teams would be equipped to identify the symptoms of mental illness and de-escalate volatile situations.
Commissioner Stuckey commended the effort, not only for its potential to protect unqualified officers, but also for its potential to protect to the psychologically troubled from harmful treatment: “It’s really a tragedy when someone with mental health issues gets involved with the criminal justice system,” Stuckey said.
The County’s Information Technology department is also applying for a $110,000 grant to implement a geographic information system (GIS) with the upcoming Lancaster Countywide Police Records System. The GIS would provide a graphical mapping component that would allow officers to conduct spacial analysis of criminal activity, allow police chiefs to utilize a visual ‘dashboard’ for strategic planning, and facilitate a website where residents could easily review public police records.
If the grant is received, the GIS interface could be developed by January 2011, according to County IT officials.
