NORTHEAST OHIO COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM (N.E.O.C.A.P.)
NorthEast Ohio Community Alternative Program (N.E.O.C.A.P.) is located at 411 Pine Avenue, S.E., Warren, Ohio 44483; telephone (330) 675-2669; Fax (330) 675-2670. Its Executive Director is James P. Corfman. It serves the Common Pleas Courts of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage, and Trumbull Counties.
MISSION STATEMENT
The facility will provide its residents opportunities for change. Programs, such as education, chemical dependency, and vocational development will be offered in a supervised environment. This will enable the offender to understand and accept community/social values as their own, with the expected results of successful reintegration into the community.
INTRODUCTION
Montgomery County and the city of Dayton established the first pilot residential program in 1978 called "MonDay," representing the two governmental entities. The MonDay residential program operated from a previously abandoned jail and was successful in diverting non-violent offenders from prison.
This success encouraged the legislature to pass House Bill (HB) 1000 in 1981. This legislation and Ohio Revised Code Sections 2301.51 through 2301.56 established funding and operational guidelines for Community-Based Correctional Facilities. Funding for construction of CBCFs followed the next year.
ADMINISTRATION
Community-Based Correctional Facilities are an alternative to prison incarceration for low-level felons. They are the last step in the continuum of increasing punishment before prison incarceration. The facilities are minimum-security operations housing 50-200 offenders. Each program is highly structured with assessment, treatment, and follow-up services to reduce criminal behavior by offenders. Emphasis is on substance abuse treatment, employment, education, community service, and transitional services to the community.
The purpose of a Community-Based Correctional Facility is to:
Reduce state prison commitments
Reduce the costs of incarceration in Ohio
Provide maximum public safety
Facilitate offender re-entry into the community
Make efficient use of limited prison space for serious offenders.
Community-Based Correctional Facilities have provided safe, secure and effective community based sanction for appropriate felony offenders in partnership with local criminal justice officials, community and state agencies since 1978.
Community-Based Correctional Facilities continued to expand in FY2000. Three (3) district Community-Based Correctional Facilities were opened in Seneca, Union and Wood Counties providing 180 additional beds servicing twenty-two counties.
Eighteen (18) CBCFs provided services to 87 of 88 counties. In FY2000, Ohio courts sentenced 4,448 offenders to CBCFs compared to 3,739 offenders sentenced in FY1999. This is an increase of 709 offenders over the prior year.
FUNDING
SUMMARY OF FY-02 FUNDING
|
Personnel
|
$2,447,003
|
|
General Operating Expenses
|
$526,205
|
|
Program Expenses
|
$132,230
|
|
TOTAL BUDGET
|
$3,105,438
|
FY-02 COST ANALYSIS
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Grant Allocation
|
$3,105,438
|
|
Other Funds - RSAT Grant
|
$34,322
|
|
Total Diversions
|
299
|
|
Total Man-days
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37,960
|
|
Cost Per Diversion
|
$10,386
|
|
Cost Per Diem
|
$81.80
|
|
Total Expenditures
|
$3,105,438
|
|
Daily Bed Occupancy Rate
|
92%
|
|
Number of Full/Part Time Staff Positions
|
71
|
|
Personnel Fringe Benefit
|
27%
|
|
Health Insurance Costs
|
$369,029
|
|
Life Insurance Costs
|
$4,715
|
|
Cost Per Meal
|
$1.41
|
|
Cost Per Drug Screen
|
$1.08
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FY-02 STAFFING
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|
MALE
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FEMALE
|
|
African-American
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11
|
6
|
|
White
|
25
|
23
|
|
TOTALS
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African-American 17 (26%)
|
|
|
White 48 (74%)
|
|
|
Male 36 (55%)
|
|
|
Female 29 (45%)
|
SUMMARY OF FY-01 FUNDING
FY-01 Operating Budget
|
|
$2,220,296
|
|
Supplies (includes food)
|
$279,466
|
|
Contractual Services
|
$123,000
|
|
Communications
|
$35,000
|
|
Transportation
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$50,950
|
|
Printing
|
$8,000
|
|
Utilities
|
$96,395
|
|
Maintenance (Facility)
|
$56,000
|
|
Insurance
|
$37,006
|
|
Staff Training/Development
|
$37,300
|
|
Equipment
|
$75,000
|
|
TOTAL BUDGET
|
$3,018,413
|
FY-01 COST ANALYSIS
|
|
$3,018,413
|
|
Other Funds
|
NONE
|
|
Total Diversions
|
286
|
|
Total Man-days
|
37,230
|
|
Cost Per Diversion
|
$10,553
|
|
Cost Per Diem
|
$81.07
|
|
Total Expenditures
|
$3,018,413
|
|
Daily Bed Occupancy Rate
|
88%
|
|
Personnel Fringe Benefit
|
33%
|
|
Health Insurance Costs
|
$289,467
|
|
Life Insurance Costs
|
$5,260
|
|
Cost Per Meal
|
$1.15
|
|
Cost Per Drug Screen
|
$1.23
|
FY-01 STAFFING
|
|
MALE
|
FEMALE
|
|
African-American
|
9
|
4
|
|
White
|
29
|
24
|
|
TOTALS
|
African-American 13 (20%)
|
|
|
White 53 (80%)
|
|
|
Male 38 (58%)
|
|
|
Female 28 (42%)
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IMPACT OF NEOCAP ON PRISON DIVERSIONS
In FY-02, NEOCAP received 299 offenders into the program. The cost to involve these residents in an intensive criminogenic treatment program was $3,105,438. 92% successfully completed the program and returned to their homes prepared to lead law-abiding and productive lives. These individuals could have been sent to prison -- at a cost of incarceration of $6,619,860. NEOCAP saved the taxpayers $3,514,422.
In FY-01, the cost to incarcerate an offender in an Ohio prison is $22,146 per year. An offender serving a sentence at NEOCAP costs $10,555. In effect, the state saves approximately $11,500 for every offender who successfully completes the NEOCAP program.
NEOCAP not only saves tax dollars, NEOCAP also gets better results. Nearly 90% of those sentenced to NEOCAP successfully complete the program and since our inception in 1997, nearly 80% of those released have remained in the community.
NEOCAP’s 23% recidivism rate represents a tremendous value for the public dollars invested in this program. Thirty-two percent of those released from prison are re-incarcerated within three years.
JUDICIAL CORRECTIONS BOARD
2003
Judge W. Wyatt McKay, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Chairman
Judge Thomas A. Swift, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court
Judge Martin O. Parks, Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Richard L. Collins, Jr., Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Forrest W. Burt, Geauga County Common Pleas Court
Judge Joseph R. Kainrad, Portage County Common Pleas Court
Judge Ronald W. Vettel, Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court
2004
Judge W. Wyatt McKay, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Chairman
Judge Thomas A. Swift, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court
Judge Paul H. Mitrovich, Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Richard L. Collins, Jr., Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Forrest W. Burt, Geauga County Common Pleas Court
Judge Joseph R. Kainrad, Portage County Common Pleas Court
Judge Ronald W. Vettel, Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court
2005
Judge W. Wyatt McKay, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Chairman
Judge Thomas A. Swift, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court
Judge Paul H. Mitrovich, Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Eugene A. Lucci, Lake County Common Pleas Court
Judge Forrest W. Burt, Geauga County Common Pleas Court
Judge Joseph R. Pittman, Portage County Common Pleas Court
Judge Ronald W. Vettel, Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court
CITIZEN’S ADVISORY BOARD
The Judicial Corrections Board appointed a Citizens Advisory Board in 1995. Members of this board have played a significant role, both collectively and individually, in NEOCAP’s development. At various times, each board member has been called upon to help with specific issues germane to their areas of expertise. Their value is immeasurable to our success.
Reverend Edgar Fisher Jr., Pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, Warren, Ohio
John R. Gargano, Esq., Attorney at Law, Warren, Ohio
Dennis R. Griffith, President of Trumbull Business College, Warren Ohio
Kathleen Kinney, Executive Director of Lake Area Recovery Center, Ashtabula, Ohio
Attorney James F. Lewis, Esq., Director of Ohio Public Defenders Office, Trumbull County
Vincent E. Peterson, Officer in Charge of ISP for Trumbull County Adult Probation Department
Barry L. Spring, Chief Probation Officer of Lake County Adult Probation Department
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS NEOCAP?
NEOCAP is a five county community-based corrections facility (CBCF). It is located in Warren, Ohio and opened in October of 1997. It serves as a sentencing option for the common pleas court in Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage, and Trumbull Counties.
WHO RUNS NEOCAP?
NEOCAP is under the direct administration of a Judicial Corrections Board. The Board hired an Executive Director who is responsible for all facets of the business and operations of the facility. The Executive Director, Jim Corfman, reports to the Judicial Corrections Board, which meets regularly to approve budget, policies and procedures, and other matters regarding the operation of the facility.
IS NEOCAP A GOVERNMENTAL FACILITY?
Yes. However, it is a non-traditional one. The members of the staff of NEOCAP are direct employees of the Judicial Corrections Board, not state or county employees. NEOCAP is set up as a Department in the Trumbull County Government structure in a cooperative venture. The Trumbull County Auditor acts as NEOCAP’s fiscal agent and the Trumbull County Commissioners provide support.
HOW ELSE IS NEOCAP’s STRUCTURE UNIQUE?
Besides being a regional facility, a quasi-Trumbull County Department, and a corrections facility operated by judges, NEOCAP is also a partner with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections (DR&C). The DR&C audits our programs annually to assure that we comply with established operating standards.
HOW IS NEOCAP FUNDED?
The Judicial Corrections Board establishes the budget, and it is submitted to the Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections for funding. The Bureau of Community Sanctions (a part of DR&C) administers funding which is provided from General Revenue Funds of the state of Ohio.
For more information, visit the N.E.O.C.A.P. web site at http://www.neocapcbcf.co.trumbull.oh.us.
In FY-01, NEOCAP’s operating budget was $3,018,413. Beginning in July 2000, NEOCAP's capacity increased from 66 to 86 male beds and 30 beds for female offenders were added.
In FY-02, NEOCAP’s operating budget was $3,105,438. NEOCAP's capacity is 25 female and 91 male residents.
One hundred per cent of NEOCAP’s operating budget comes from the Ohio General Assembly’s General Revenue Funds. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections allocates funding based on a budget developed by the Judicial Corrections Board. The NEOCAP fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the next year. Fiscal year 2002 (FY-02) ended on June 30, 2002.
Ohio’s Community-Based Correctional Facilities are a unique partnership between state and local governments. The state benefits by having community corrections options in the counties for non-violent felony offenders. This saves costly prison bed space for more violent offenders. The county benefits by having a residential sentencing option that is controlled locally.
Community-Based Correctional Facilities (CBCFs) developed in Ohio in the late 1970's as a response to prison overcrowding. The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation to grant funds to counties for probation projects. The "Pilot Probation" projects were designed to sanction offenders locally rather than committing them to prison.
The mission of the facility is to provide a viable sentencing alternative to the common pleas courts of the five member counties of the NorthEast Ohio Community Alternative Program. The program will operate a highly structured, treatment oriented, and secure community-based corrections facility, to insure the safety and security of the member communities.