Montrose to lose community corrections programs

MONTROSE — Options for offenders will decrease and the workload at probation will increase come March 13.

Community Corrections, Inc. is terminating its day-reporting program in Montrose that day. Carrol Warner, chief probation officer for the Seventh Judicial District, said CCI’s grant funding for the program fell to state budget cuts and its non-residential community corrections component has only five current cases.

“That is not going to pay the bill,” Warner said.

Community corrections is a sentence in lieu of prison, but more stringent than just probation. People sentenced to commcorr must successfully complete a residential phase before they can be transferred to the non-residential program, which includes intensive supervision.

Community Corrections, Inc. is a nonprofit that accepts commcorr clients. It has been a presence in Montrose for 11 years and its local office oversees day-reporting, electronic monitoring and non-residential supervision.

It can also provide private probation supervision for low-risk cases, which, Warner said, is “extremely helpful.”

“Community Corrections Inc. came in when no one else would help us with that process. Since that time, though, they’ve maintained that office at a loss,” Warner said. “They have been very good to work with, but they just can’t sustain that effort in these times.”

The closure will impact Montrose-based commcorr clients who have progressed to the non-residential phase of their sentence, as well as CCI’s local case manager who could be out of work. The probation department will bear the additional workload. Warner hopes another provider can be found.

“One strategy is to ask the court to reconsider their sentences and put them back on probation so they can be supervised out of probation,” Warner said.

But if a client violates probation, he or she would have to be re-sentenced to commcorr, instead of simply being regressed to residential, then back to non-residential.

“We don’t have that flexibility when they’re under probation supervision. That’s why it would be nice to find another provider and just transfer them to that provider,” Warner said.

“We’re hoping to find alternatives.”

CCI’s Front Range representative could not be reached for comment before deadline.

CCI’s situation does not affect plans to build a residential community corrections facility in Montrose, for the Seventh Judicial District.

The six-county district is working with another company, Intervention Community Correction Services, and has been hashing out logistics for the past few years, including an aborted attempt to open office in a Montrose neighborhood. That idea fell to strong public opposition.

Warner said the building of an ICCS facility could solve Montrose’s looming problem with day-reporting and non-residential commcorr clients.

In terms of the facility project, the judicial district is considering a Department of Local Affairs grant of $4 million and Montrose, Delta, Ouray, San Miguel, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties were communicating with the governor’s office about the need.

All six counties have pledged support, even if it means a financial contribution, Warner said. “There’s a lot of support from a lot of different sources about our project. We’re not just sitting on our thumbs waiting for something to happen.”

The commcorr facility project was also listed in the federal stimulus package signed into law in Denver yesterday, but Warner did not know the project’s ultimate fate under that legislation.