Probation proposes pre-trial home detention to cut out-of-county housing costs

Melissa Stevenson, director of Grant County Probation, outlined a pre-trial home detention program during the March council meeting intended to reduce out-of-county housing and increase timely access to substance-use services.

"This program targets some non-violent pre-trial population," Stevenson said, describing eligibility, 90-day review hearings and electronic monitoring paired with treatment referrals. She told the council that housing 30 inmates out of county at about $42 per day would cost roughly $459,000 a year, while running the local pre-trial detention program was estimated at about $198,131, a figure the packet and presenters characterized as budget-neutral if out-of-county placement funds are redirected.

Stevenson and probation partners said the program would prioritize defendants whose highest charges are nonviolent and who could be monitored electronically while receiving quicker access to substance-use treatment. The proposal calls for two staff positions to launch the program and leased monitoring equipment; program leaders said leasing allows capacity to scale and that a 90-day judicial review would provide oversight and information to defense and prosecution teams.

Sheriff Garcia and other stakeholders attended the presentation and answered council questions about who is eligible, how violations would be handled and whether the county could reliably reduce out-of-county placements. Garcia said the program "could help," but he emphasized it would not eliminate the need for out-of-county beds in all circumstances and that the sheriff's office cannot promise a fixed reduction in placements because of unpredictable demand.

The council voted to permit posting the two positions immediately so recruitment can begin but required that the appropriation be advertised and returned for a formal vote at a subsequent meeting before funds are transferred.

What to watch: the county will advertise the appropriation reduction/transfer tied to redirected out-of-county housing funds; the council must approve that appropriation before the program begins.