Fund Cuts Handcuff Kane Probation System
This report from the Courier News.
Jennifer Gullang sometimes has to cover a lot of ground in the course of a day’s work. “Every day is completely different,” she said. “Some days I can drive 120 miles; some days I can only drive 50. It just depends on the area I’m in and how many people I have to see.” As an electronic monitoring officer with Kane County IL Probation Department, she supervises about 65 cases, making an average of 20 to 25 home visits each day to defendants out on bond awaiting trial. “Everything with this job is time management,” Gullang said. “You only have 7.5 hours to do everything that you need to get done, and it’s really about prioritizing what is the most important.”
She is one of 14 officers assigned to keep tabs on the more than 2,700 adults currently serving probation in the county, according to Kane County Director of Probation Mary Hyatt. She said those numbers already reflect more than what would be considered ideal. “We are actually under what we need now,” Hyatt said of the department’s staffing. “Our adult probation officers have an average of about 197 adult offenders per officer, and you really shouldn’t have more than 100 to 125.” A similar problem can be found in the county’s supervision of juvenile offenders, as a staff of 14 monitors more than 1,400, or an average of about 102 cases per officer. “That’s way high,” Hyatt said. “Best practice is about 40 to 45 juveniles (per officer).”
The problem is compounded, according to Hyatt, with a projected shortfall of about $2.5 million in funding from the Illinois Supreme Court. That could mean significant cuts to some of the department’s more specialized programs and services. Hyatt said the department’s overall budget saw a decrease of more than $545,000 in 2009 compared to 2008. The represents about a 6 percent reduction, with even deeper cuts expected for 2010.In anticipation of a funding decline, Hyatt said her department already had been directed by the county to reduce its budget, with no expectation of receiving increases for 2010. “Our officers have more (cases) than they should have right now,” she said. “If, with budget cuts, we end up having to cut back on staff, we’ll have to focus all of our resources on the most severe cases we have and the basic services.”
Cuts would be made to programs such as electronic home monitoring, which allows the county to monitor offenders through the use of electronic tracking equipment. Also in jeopardy of being cut is the department’s pretrial release program, which conducts background investigations on recently jailed offenders to determine which ones are least likely to commit a crime if allowed to be released until they appear in court. “We’re going to have to take a look at every program that we have,” Hyatt said. Other specialized programs possibly affected include the county’s sex offender unit, which currently monitors about 213 people; and the domestic violence unit, which supervises offenders and works with victims to ensure their safety and help provide access to services.
Hyatt said cuts to, or the elimination of, these types of programs would result in most cases being reviewed within the standard probation system, which Hyatt said would make it difficult to meet state standards involving the amount of time spent reviewing and monitoring an individual case. “We are required (by the state) to do specific assessments on people and that we see them at a certain level,” she said. “And when you’re talking about raising caseloads to a totally untenable level, those kinds of mandates can’t be met.”
The effects of reductions in probation services can be far-reaching, according David E. Olson, chairman of the Loyola University Criminal Justice Department, who said the long-term costs will most likely outweigh short-term budget savings.”Having probation in place reduces crime,” he said. “So having less probation would likely lead to more crime.” Olson said cuts to specialized programs in which offenders have access to treatment for drug abuse, sex abuse or domestic violence almost ensures the likelihood of repeat offenses, inevitably leading to an increase in the level of incarceration. “It’s an unfortunate situation because probation is a very inexpensive way to try to stave off what could be an individual who imposes an extremely enormous financial burden to society if they continue with criminal activity,” he said.
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