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Adult Basic Skills
Adult Basic Skills is a GED preparatory course modeled after a cooperative learning program currently in existence at The Safer Foundation of Chicago. Participants will interactively support and teach each other in a non-traditional learning environment aimed to foster self-esteem. The pilot program began July 26, 2004 with participants from various divisions of ACCC. We are currently looking for magazines, books, and other forms of interesting reading material; if you or your organization can donate any of these materials please contact .

Attorney General John Ashcroft’s remarks about Allen County at the SVORI Conference Read about Release of 6.7 Million in the same speech http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/September/04_ojp_630.htm

Community Fathers Project
A partnership with Community Corrections, Allen County Adult Probation, Allen County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Stop Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN), and Community Action Northeast Indiana (CANI) is enforcing a new philosophy to Child Support Collections. Instead of men being sanctioned for consistent nonpayment and placed on Electronic Monitoring or in Prison, which usually puts them much further back financially, they have an opportunity to get job training, job development, parenting classes, and motivational-based training and case management (FOR a Change training) while increasing their support payments. Everyone wins, especially the non-custodial parent. This was made possible through a grant from the Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA) Fathers with Families Division. Sixty to eighty men are expected to participate in the pilot year.  This program is no longer available at Community Corrections.
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Forensic Diversion Indiana House Bill 1437

View Judge Thomas Felt’s presentation to the Community Corrections Advisory Board in July, 2004 detailing the proposed project: Allen County Forensic Diversion

Community corrections and the mentally ill. Requires the department of correction to evaluate an offender for mental or addiction disorders and to arrange for treatment of an offender with a mental or addiction disorder. Establishes a forensic collaboration program to provide services to adults with a mental illness through collaboration with criminal justice, mental health, and other service systems. Establishes a forensic diversion program to permit an adult with mental or addictive disorders who has been charged or convicted of a crime to receive treatment instead of incarceration. Creates the forensic transition fund out of money appropriated to the department of correction for incarceration of individuals with a mental illness and permits counties to receive funds from the forensic transition fund to operate a forensic diversion and forensic collaboration program. Requires the county executive to establish an advisory committee to assist the county in creating and operating the forensic diversion and collaboration programs. Requires jail and department of correction physicians to administer appropriate drugs for the treatment of mental illness or addictive disorders if these drugs are available to Medicaid recipients. Requires the department of correction to take steps to ensure that released offenders may receive Medicaid and other federal benefits as soon as possible following their release from incarceration. Makes other changes.
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Journal Gazette article
May 11, 2003, Tracy Warner, chief editorial writer, wrote that the ReEntry Court Program finds success and reduces crime without costing the county money.
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Judge John Surbeck and Sheila Hudson present in Cincinnati, Ohio at the (International Community Corrections Association) ICCA Conference. View the PowerPoint Presentation

Judge Surbeck / Anthony Hudson to speak to Good Morning Fort Wayne at the Chamber of Commerce
The Criminal Justice System and Business: The Risks and Rewards is the topic of discussion on July 17 at 7:30 AM that Judge Surbeck and Anthony Hudson will reveal at this informational forum. It will educate to the ex-offender workforce system, the criminal justice system and how to benefit from motivated good employees convicted of a felony. Cost is $5 to attend.
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Mentoring of Children of Incarcerated Parents Information posted November, 2004

Motivational Intervention
Through research and training provided by certified trainers of Miller and Rollnick’s Motivational Interviewing and Prochaska and Diclimenti’s Transtheoretical Model; Community Corrections’ staff realized that those wanting to change their behavior will only change if they so desire and are at a point of contemplating ways to do so.  Otherwise, mandating programs or sentences to those not aware, or even care, about the specific behavior that got them into trouble, will not accept nor absorb treatment and programming and will end up in the criminal justice system more often than not.

Read Anthony Hudson’s article in the National HIRE Network’s Newsletter in April, 2004. Motivational Intervention, Embracing Effective Intervention
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New Legislation
Food Stamps and TANF assistance will be available to a pilot population of drug offenders who would not be eligible otherwise. Senate Bill 528. The Governor signed the bill to become effective July 1, 2003, to participants who are active in ReEntry Court program.
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Program Identification and Placement (PIP) Referral Service
In November 2004, Allen County Community Corrections proposed to the Superior Court Magistrates, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Lead Defense Attorney that a new mechanism for assessing and referring Misdemeanants be created to deter the high attrition and low completion rates for referrals.  More important, Community Corrections staff wanted to provide alternatives to those traditionally referred to the Community Service Division who may need another form of remediation  as work crews offer little rehabilitative affect on those with resistive and often recalcitrant social patterns with the criminal justice system. 

The Program Identification and Placement (PIP) was created to provide the offender with an opportunity to choose a program by which to participate.  Once chosen it becomes their sentence and endorsed by the Magistrates, Prosecutor, Defense and Community Corrections as recommended treatment.
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ReEntry Court 2-Year Pilot Study

ReEntry Project Evaluation
The ReEntry Project evaluation is currently in its second year. Alan R. Brown, Ph.D, Principal Investigator with the Arizona Prevention Resource Center, is on contract with Allen County Community Corrections. The two year research and evaluation grant will be working with a logic model design, under a grant awarded by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
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ReEntry Team to Speak at Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) Conference on September 20 and 21, 2004. View the ReEntry PowerPoint Presentation. :: View the Mental Health Presentation also download Mental Health Process Chart and Vendors

Sex Offender Task Force Information will be posted October, 2004.

Home Detention for Sex Offenders
Senate Bill 225, will make sex offenders sentenced to a suspended sentence eligible for home detention, as long as there is 24 hour supervision with electronic monitoring.
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Sex Offender Management Task Force
Members of the community task force will be attending a technical assistance workshop in Washington D.C. The workshop is sponsored by the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM). The CSOM document entitled Managing Sex Offenders in the Community: A Handbook to Guide Policymakers and Practitioners through a Planning and Implementation Process, is located on the CSOM web page.
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Sheila Hudson appointed to Sentencing Policy Study Commission Visit theindianalawyer.com to read more.

While other study committees and commissions have made recommendations concerning enhancement of penalties, Indiana’s sentencing laws and policies have not been reviewed in total since 1976. Commission members will focus on the fairness and uniformity of today’s sentencing laws and whether incarceration or alternative sanctions are appropriate for various categories of criminal offenses. The availability of sentencing options and associated costs also will be considered.

The commission, made up of 15 members including judges, legislators, corrections officials, and representatives of the law enforcement and legal communities, held its inaugural meeting Sept. 12 in Indianapolis. The commission is required to report to the legislative council by Nov. 1, 2004. The Sentencing Policy Study Commission is made up of 15 members including judges, legislators, corrections officials, and representatives of the law enforcement and legal communities

Or visit HB 1145 detailing what the Commission will review: http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2003/HE/HE1145.1.html
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Weed and Seed Official Recognition
Allen County Community Corrections will be the fiscal agent for the city of Fort Wayne, IN, first Weed and Seed federal grant. The Executive Office of Weed and Seed, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, awarded the grant. (visit the Weed and Seed webpage)
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