Technical parole violators constitute approximately
30%
of state prison admissions.
Technical parole violations do not involve a
new criminal offense, rather they involve
drug use, breaking curfews, failing to report, and a variety
of other behaviors in need
of reform not necessarily imprisonment.
FACT
Not diverting certain parole violators
from prison costs tax dollars
and diminishes public safety.
Diverting even a small percentage of technical
parole violators from reincarceration
has the potential to save millions of dollars in custodial
expenses related to capital
construction and annual operating costs for prisons. Diversion
programs are more
successful than prisons when it comes to recidivism reduction.
FACT
It costs millions of tax dollars each year to house parole
violators in county jails.
Technical parole violators are held in county
jails for 30 to 90 days, and frequently longer, while awaiting
their initial parole revocation hearing. County jails incur
significant cost for housing parole violators. Even when reimbursed
from state budgets counties are not
generally paid for the first 14 to 21 days. The taxpayers lose
whether it is the county or
the state picking up some of the expense for housing technical
parole violators.
FACT
Not providing municipal courts and county jails with viable
diversionary options can cost millions of dollars.
Municipal courts have limited sentencing options.
If low level criminals are
effectively assessed and treated, they will be less likely
to graduate to the
state prison system. Diverting petty criminals and
misdemeanants to Alternative Sentencing Programs saves money in the short-term, but more
importantly
reduces offender recidivism.
FACT
Approximately 50% of county jail populations are awaiting
a court determination of their guilt or innocence.
Jail inmates who are awaiting court processing
can often be effectively
supervised in pretrial day reporting programs. Such programs
reduce jail
costs and provide effective transitional programs and services
that target
recidivism reduction. Diverting even a small percentage of
jail inmates to
alternative sentencing programs stands to save significant tax dollars.
ONE SOLUTION
As inmate populations grow, states must find
correctional methods that are less
expensive than new prisons and less risky than freeing prisoners
early. The Phoenix Training Center’s Alternative Sentencing
Program
provides intensive service delivery and
monitoring beyond what parole and probation typically offer. While
alternative sentencing programs do not eliminate the need for new prison space, they can
hold down prison
populations when properly used.
Alternative sentencing programs are acknowledged to be
an effective intermediate sanction that:
Enhances public safety
Reduces jail and prison overcrowding
Saves tax dollars.
Programs designed to reduce or limit the growth
of jail populations can be separated into three basic categories:
those that reduce admissions, those that reduce sentenced lengths
of stay and those that reduce pre-trial lengths of stay.
The Phoenix Training Center operates on the presumption that every
program
participant would be incarcerated but for placement in its program.
This presumption leads the center to focus on strict accountability
for adherence to case plans as well as intensive monitoring by
their staff.
The Phoenix Training Center provides a program of individualized
risk and need assessment, supervision, care, and treatment based
on individual case management plans. These plans are designed to
involve the program participant’s family and
significant others.
As a component of pretrial supervision, the Phoenix Training Center
provides a means of assisting defendants who are unable to secure
a bonded release from
jail prior to trial, while working to insure that there is reasonable
assurance of the defendant appearing in court as mandated.
As a transitional program, the Phoenix Training Center can shorten
length of stay for county sentenced and state sentenced inmates.
In this context the Phoenix Training Center is a useful adjunct
to discretionary parole release and/or community release programs
for jail and prison inmates nearing the completion of their sentences.
As a diversionary program for probation or parole violators, the
Phoenix Center serves as a halfway back program designed to provide
services to an offender
population at the highest risk of failure. Diversionary programs
for technical
probation or parole violators have consistently shown positive
results with regard
to enhancing public safety and saving expenses associated with
incarceration.
The Phoenix Training Center (the Center) is cost-effective sentencing
and
correctional option for:
Municipal Courts
Criminal Courts
County Jails
State Prison
Probation
Parole
The Center strives to management maximize value to taxpayers
through
the delivery of services to offenders that enhance public safety
and assure
justice for all. The Center is committed to accountability for
the delivery of
appropriate evidence-based services that target problems that most
likely
lead to offender recidivism.
The Center delivers services that address individual AND social
problems
related to recidivism by developing healthy and stable individuals,
families,
and neighborhoods. Proactive involvement of families and significant
others
in the rehabilitation process facilitates monitoring and sustaining
of
prosocial behavior.
The Center offers a comprehensive array of educational, training,
and counseling services. Each of these includes individualized
assessment of, and case planning. The services are provided by
highly trained and credentialed in-house staff and also through
a network of recognized community-based service providers with
established records of success. Throughout the case management
process there
is coordinated case management and reassessment of short-term risk
and
progress towards long-term behavioral reform.
Through its practical and realistic approach to public safety and
justice services,
the Center is well-positioned to break the cycle of recidivism
through new criminal offenses and/or technical violations. Upon
completion of the program, participants will possess skills that
help them to reason prosocially rather than antisocially,
complete tasks related to acquisition of employment and social
services, seek
help upon relapse into criminal lifestyles and substance abuse,
and use the
educational and vocational skills learned at the Center as a foundation
for future personal development.
If you are seeking to establish a meaningful alternative to incarceration
that
promotes public safety and saves tax dollars, then our one-stop
offender-based training deserves your serious consideration.
Studies
show that inmates and parolees who earn GEDs experience
5% to 10% reductions
in recidivism than inmates who do not. It is not just
the earning of a GED
however, that produces recidivism reduction. Research
indicates that improvements in basic literacy skills also
have significant effects on recidivism reduction.
Because there is such strong evidence linking
educational and literacy improvements with crime and recidivism,
some judges have
taken to
sentencing certain convicted criminals directly to educational
programs
in community settings rather than to jail or prison. Sentencing
criminals
to community-based correctional programs whenever possible makes
sense from a public safety perspective because it is the best way
to break
a cycle crime and recidivism. Elected officials should also take
note that
there is a significant fiscal benefit to be accrued by diverting
convicted
criminals to jail or prison. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
for
example, estimates that improvements in the state’s correctional
education system would reduce recidivism and result in savings
of $28,000 to $35,000
in construction costs and $13,000 in annual operating costs per
inmate– resulting in savings in the tens of millions of dollars.
The
Phoenix Center’s
approach to training is
individualized and practical. The primary focus
is on providing basic skills that serve as a foundation
for future
personal growth and development. These foundational
skills are designed to maximize the possibility of near-term
gainful employment. In addition to specific learning modules,
program objectives also include service delivery and
monitoring in six critical areas:
1. Instructional (attendance, test scores, objectives achieved)
2. Behavioral (decreased violence and disruption, better relations
with others)
3. Post-release (employment rates and success, continuing education)
4. Community service
5. Length of time to arrest-/drug-free
6. Improved social skills
The
Phoenix Center offers a broad range of counseling services
designed to target
an offender’s criminogenic need deficits (i.e.
things that need to be resolved to achieve recidivism
reduction). Counseling is offered
in individual and group modalities by trained and
credentialed in-house staff as well as through a network
of specialized services the are either subcontractors
of the PTC or publicly accessible services available in
the community.
Counseling services include:
Drug/Alcohol: This includes group counseling,
individual counseling, education and referrals to
other treatment agencies.
Relapse Prevention: Designed to help program participants to
understand
themselves and discover ways to help them stay away from drugs,
alcohol
and other high risk factors so they do not return to jail or prison.
Anger Control/Stress Reduction: Teaches program participants how
to
recognize anger, what triggers anger and methods of relaxation.
Domestic Violence Awareness: Topics of discussion include defining
domestic violence, different forms of abuse, myths about battering,
cycle of
violence, effects of domestic violence on children, characteristics
of a healthy
vs. unhealthy relationship, and relapse prevention techniques.
Life Skills: Counseling is provided on a broad range of issues
including but
not limited to self esteem, dealing with stress, family violence,
anger control, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases,
HIV/AIDS, financial
responsibility, employment, and parenting.
