WCJC reviews semiannual Justice Reinvestment Initiative report and outlines program metrics

County staff presented a semiannual progress update on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) formula grant and described how the county intends to capture program outputs and outcomes.

Joel (Speaker 10) told the council that the JRI’s mission is to reduce recidivism and state Department of Corrections (DOC) imprisonment while maintaining public safety and holding people accountable. The county must now produce semiannual reports (four per year under the new process) that focus on infrastructure, outputs and measurable outcomes, which will be used in later biennia to compute harder performance numbers.

Joel listed the target populations identified in the reporting guidance: people convicted of drug offenses (ORS chapters cited in the packet), property crimes and driving/DUI offenses. He described two county programs supported by JRI funds: a supportive/transitional housing program for people released from DOC or specialty-court participants and a cognitive behavioral therapy program known locally as Thinking for a Change. Joel said the jail is using funds to support pretrial programs; Captain Pickard and jail staff will provide more detail on pretrial reporting and compliance metrics in future quarters.

Joel and others noted a major challenge: building the data collection “machine” to tie activities to outcomes such as reduced prison days. Joel described a method used elsewhere that calculates months not spent in DOC for downward departure cases and multiplies those months by a DOC per-day cost (he cited $229 per day from DOC) to produce a dollar figure for avoided incarceration days. The county intends to focus scope narrowly to produce credible numbers.

Speakers asked clarifying questions about what constitutes a compliance report and how weekly check-ins, GPS monitoring, and referrals to housing will be captured as outputs. Joel deferred some compliance-specific questions to Captain DeVaney, who handles pretrial reporting. Members suggested staff provide future briefings with clearer metrics and an explanation of how the local Public Safety Coordinating Council will be involved in planning these objectives.

The council did not take formal action on the JRI report at the meeting but asked for follow-up reporting and clearer metrics for future semiannual submissions.