Posted on July 30, 2018
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The process of merging Starke County Community Corrections with the County Probation Department has been a smooth one, so far. That’s according to Shawn Mattraw. He’s the director of the new entity, known as Starke County Court Services. “Some of the concern some folks have shared is they felt maybe the Probation side might be swallowed up by Community Corrections, that we just want to take over everything, and that’s not the intent,” he says. “The intent is we want to make sure that we can provide our probation officers more resources to do their job more effectively.”
He says the recent hire of a full-time corrections field officer will help with that effort. “Part of his responsibilities, of course, he’ll check on individuals sentenced to probation, community corrections, pretrial release monitoring,” Mattraw explains, “and that gives our probation officers somebody in the field that can assist with compliance checks and take some of the load off their plate, as well.”
Mattraw adds that the merger has led to more evidence-based sentencing recommendations, especially the use of risk assessments for criminal defendants. He says additional employees have been trained in the system, and Court Services is working with defense attorneys and the Prosecutor’s Office to streamline that process. “So that way, you have a defendant that comes over here, gets evaluated,” Mattraw says. “We can let everybody in the judicial system know, ‘Here’s his risk level. Here’s what we recommend in terms of supervision, and here’s what we recommend in terms of treatment.’ It’s not a crapshoot. It’s not a guess. It’s a more precise and scientific evaluation, specifically based on the risk score of that defendant.”
Over the long term, Mattraw believes the changes will help Starke County focus its resources on the high- and moderate-risk offenders who need it most.
He credits the county’s Probation and Community Corrections staff with making the merger a smooth process.
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Showing posts with label Starke County Probation Department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starke County Probation Department. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2018
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Starke County Probation Department, Community Corrections Merge
Posted on July 5, 2018
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The recent merger of Starke County Community Corrections with the County Probation Department will result in better services, as well as cost savings. That’s according to Shawn Mattraw. He’s the director of the new entity, known as Starke County Court Services. “Well, the big difference is that it’s going to [be] a cost savings,” he says, “The past structure, when we were separate entities, we had a director in Community Corrections and a chief probation officer. Those positions were funded pretty nicely. Now, those positions have been eliminated, and it’s just me.”
Starke County Court Services is made up of three divisions: Probation, Community Corrections, and Pretrial. Along with Mattraw, the senior leadership team includes two supervisors, one for Probation and one for Community Corrections.
Mattraw says one of the main goals is to give probation officers a more manageable caseload. “A big thing is, by merging both divisions, increased accountability, and we’re going to be able to provide greater levels of supervision to the community for probationers, folks on Community Corrections, folks on pretrial release services because, traditionally, probation officers have had pretty high caseloads in Starke County.”
To help alleviate that problem, Mattraw says Corrections case managers will now become certified probation officers. “When they have an offender start supervision, generally, they serve six months to a year on home detention, and then they’ve got a year or two on probation to follow,” he explains. “So what this will do, this will allow that same case manager that started with that individual on home detention to be his or her supervising probation officer now, throughout their term of probation.” The restructuring will also allow the county to provide more group programs and other services, including some new resources to assist Knox City Court, according to Mattraw.
He says Starke County is the 18th in Indiana to complete such a merger. “Former Chief Probation Officer John Thorstad and myself have been looking at the possibility of a merger for about the last year now,” he says. “We had looked at other smaller counties similar to Starke County that had completed the merger and had success with it, and kind of used that as our stepping stone.” Mattraw thanks the judges, county commissioners, and Community Corrections Advisory Board for their support with the process.
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The recent merger of Starke County Community Corrections with the County Probation Department will result in better services, as well as cost savings. That’s according to Shawn Mattraw. He’s the director of the new entity, known as Starke County Court Services. “Well, the big difference is that it’s going to [be] a cost savings,” he says, “The past structure, when we were separate entities, we had a director in Community Corrections and a chief probation officer. Those positions were funded pretty nicely. Now, those positions have been eliminated, and it’s just me.”
Starke County Court Services is made up of three divisions: Probation, Community Corrections, and Pretrial. Along with Mattraw, the senior leadership team includes two supervisors, one for Probation and one for Community Corrections.
Mattraw says one of the main goals is to give probation officers a more manageable caseload. “A big thing is, by merging both divisions, increased accountability, and we’re going to be able to provide greater levels of supervision to the community for probationers, folks on Community Corrections, folks on pretrial release services because, traditionally, probation officers have had pretty high caseloads in Starke County.”
To help alleviate that problem, Mattraw says Corrections case managers will now become certified probation officers. “When they have an offender start supervision, generally, they serve six months to a year on home detention, and then they’ve got a year or two on probation to follow,” he explains. “So what this will do, this will allow that same case manager that started with that individual on home detention to be his or her supervising probation officer now, throughout their term of probation.” The restructuring will also allow the county to provide more group programs and other services, including some new resources to assist Knox City Court, according to Mattraw.
He says Starke County is the 18th in Indiana to complete such a merger. “Former Chief Probation Officer John Thorstad and myself have been looking at the possibility of a merger for about the last year now,” he says. “We had looked at other smaller counties similar to Starke County that had completed the merger and had success with it, and kind of used that as our stepping stone.” Mattraw thanks the judges, county commissioners, and Community Corrections Advisory Board for their support with the process.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Starke County Court Services to Help Fund CAD System
Posted on July 3, 2018
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
The combined offices of the Starke County Probation Department and Starke County Community Corrections are helping to fund a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system for the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
Starke County Court Services Director Shawn Mattraw made the announcement during the Starke County Commissioners meeting on Monday night.
“Commissioners, I’m pleased to announce that Starke County Court Services will be making a one-time monetary donation in the amount of $45,000 to go to the Starke County Sheriff’s Department to be used to defray the cost of the CAD system,” said Mattraw. “I’d like to publicly acknowledge Probation Supervisor Chuck Phillips and Community Corrections Office Manager Jennifer Strickland for their respective roles in allocating these funds to assist the Sheriff’s Department.”
A portion of that allocation is from grant money while the other is coming from the CTP fund within the Starke County Community Corrections budget.
Sheriff Bill Dulin and IT Director Richard Franks are still working out the details to secure the program and more work is being done to gather the funds to purchase the Caliber CAD system. The quote is around $250,000 and that quote has been extended from the end of June.
Dulin said he will talk to the company this week to let them know that financing is still in the works. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier added that she’s also submitted a grant to help fund the purchase, but the award notification may not be for another 60-90 days.
A fund will be included in the budget as money comes in for the CAD system.
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
The combined offices of the Starke County Probation Department and Starke County Community Corrections are helping to fund a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system for the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
Starke County Court Services Director Shawn Mattraw made the announcement during the Starke County Commissioners meeting on Monday night.
“Commissioners, I’m pleased to announce that Starke County Court Services will be making a one-time monetary donation in the amount of $45,000 to go to the Starke County Sheriff’s Department to be used to defray the cost of the CAD system,” said Mattraw. “I’d like to publicly acknowledge Probation Supervisor Chuck Phillips and Community Corrections Office Manager Jennifer Strickland for their respective roles in allocating these funds to assist the Sheriff’s Department.”
A portion of that allocation is from grant money while the other is coming from the CTP fund within the Starke County Community Corrections budget.
Sheriff Bill Dulin and IT Director Richard Franks are still working out the details to secure the program and more work is being done to gather the funds to purchase the Caliber CAD system. The quote is around $250,000 and that quote has been extended from the end of June.
Dulin said he will talk to the company this week to let them know that financing is still in the works. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier added that she’s also submitted a grant to help fund the purchase, but the award notification may not be for another 60-90 days.
A fund will be included in the budget as money comes in for the CAD system.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Starke County Community Corrections, Probation, Sheriff Asks for Letter of Support
Posted on January 18, 2018
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
The Starke County Community Corrections, in partnership with the Starke County Probation Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, are working to submit a grant request for programs and funding.
Community Corrections Director Robert Hinojosa said this is the ninth year of requesting funding for community corrections and the second year for jail treatment programs and pretrial funding.
Pretial Officer Chuck Phillips said there are no increases in funding for his salary and benefits of $63,000. User fees would be used to cover any increases should they be necessary.
Sheriff Bill Dulin said his portion of the grant application would include funding for the Intensive Outpatient Program facilitated by Porter-Starke Services.
“Our portion of the grant is the IOP programs – the in-custody substance abuse programs,” said Sheriff Dulin. “I’ll give you some round numbers. In the nine months that we’ve had, I believe we’ve had 126 inmates have gone through and nine have been re-arrested. The recidivism rate is right around 15 percent while the national average is 67 percent. This is a huge component of what we do and what we’re trying to do with the heroin problem and the methamphetamine problem. It also addresses our GED program and our Alcoholic Anonymous program.”
The Starke County Sheriff’s Office is asking for $75,763 which is the same amount requested as last year.
Hinojosa said the community corrections program has grown in Starke County. However, they are asking for the same amount for operating costs which is $324,401.
“We are going to continue to target high risk offenders,” commented Hinojosa. “We won’t spend a lot of resources with low risk offenders. Those are people who have pretty much lived a good life and got into trouble. If you kind of leave them alone, they’ll do okay. So you focus on high risk offenders and that’s one of the things that the DOC really liked about our proposal which is why we’ve received funding for years.”
The total amount of funding requested is $463,064.
Hinojosa mentioned that the state recognizes several important factors in that all three entities are working together to reduce redundancy in programs and collaborating for efficiency.
The commissioners voted unanimously to sign a letter of support that will go along with the application. The application will be electronically filed at the end of the month and notification of funds will be announced in March or April. The funds will be available July 1.
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
The Starke County Community Corrections, in partnership with the Starke County Probation Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, are working to submit a grant request for programs and funding.
Community Corrections Director Robert Hinojosa said this is the ninth year of requesting funding for community corrections and the second year for jail treatment programs and pretrial funding.
Pretial Officer Chuck Phillips said there are no increases in funding for his salary and benefits of $63,000. User fees would be used to cover any increases should they be necessary.
Sheriff Bill Dulin said his portion of the grant application would include funding for the Intensive Outpatient Program facilitated by Porter-Starke Services.
“Our portion of the grant is the IOP programs – the in-custody substance abuse programs,” said Sheriff Dulin. “I’ll give you some round numbers. In the nine months that we’ve had, I believe we’ve had 126 inmates have gone through and nine have been re-arrested. The recidivism rate is right around 15 percent while the national average is 67 percent. This is a huge component of what we do and what we’re trying to do with the heroin problem and the methamphetamine problem. It also addresses our GED program and our Alcoholic Anonymous program.”
The Starke County Sheriff’s Office is asking for $75,763 which is the same amount requested as last year.
Hinojosa said the community corrections program has grown in Starke County. However, they are asking for the same amount for operating costs which is $324,401.
“We are going to continue to target high risk offenders,” commented Hinojosa. “We won’t spend a lot of resources with low risk offenders. Those are people who have pretty much lived a good life and got into trouble. If you kind of leave them alone, they’ll do okay. So you focus on high risk offenders and that’s one of the things that the DOC really liked about our proposal which is why we’ve received funding for years.”
The total amount of funding requested is $463,064.
Hinojosa mentioned that the state recognizes several important factors in that all three entities are working together to reduce redundancy in programs and collaborating for efficiency.
The commissioners voted unanimously to sign a letter of support that will go along with the application. The application will be electronically filed at the end of the month and notification of funds will be announced in March or April. The funds will be available July 1.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Courthouse and Jail Renovations to Restrict Downtown Knox Parking
Posted on August 19, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The old jail in downtown Knox will soon be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections, Purdue Extension and the Starke County Probation Department.
The Starke County Commissioners took action this week to prepare for the renovation of the old jail and courthouse. Work will be starting soon, and the contractors will need a place to park their construction trailers and equipment. Commissioner Kathy Norem says the county-owned lot across from the courthouse next to the Moose is the best option, but the entire thing will need to be used. Right now there are semis parked there. The commissioners agreed to notify the drivers they will not be able to park there while the work is going on. Signs will be posted, and notices will be placed on their windshields.
The commissioners also authorized county maintenance director Jim Coad to contact scrap dealers regarding the purchase of items removed from the old jail during the renovation project since the county does not have room to store them.
Author Mary Perren, WKVI
The old jail in downtown Knox will soon be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections, Purdue Extension and the Starke County Probation Department.
The Starke County Commissioners took action this week to prepare for the renovation of the old jail and courthouse. Work will be starting soon, and the contractors will need a place to park their construction trailers and equipment. Commissioner Kathy Norem says the county-owned lot across from the courthouse next to the Moose is the best option, but the entire thing will need to be used. Right now there are semis parked there. The commissioners agreed to notify the drivers they will not be able to park there while the work is going on. Signs will be posted, and notices will be placed on their windshields.
The commissioners also authorized county maintenance director Jim Coad to contact scrap dealers regarding the purchase of items removed from the old jail during the renovation project since the county does not have room to store them.
Friday, January 22, 2016
N.J.-S.P. Joins Fight Against Truancy in Starke County
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board has agreed to take part in a program that they hope will reduce the likelihood of truancy among students.
During this week’s Board of Education meeting, “Project Attend” was discussed. The program is being operated between the Starke County Prosecutor’s office and Probation Department, along with the local school corporations.
Interim N.J.-S.P. Superintendent Bob Boyd says it’s designed to enhance the attendance of certain segments of their student body.
“So it kicks in a process after 10 days of absence during the course of the school year that involves the parents, the student, the school personnel as well as the county people in terms of the prosecutor’s office and so forth,” says Boyd.
According to statements made by Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff earlier this month, a step process will be involved that hopes to intervene with students missing class for an extended period.
Certain cases of truancy are remedied simply by providing an alarm clock to families in need. Other cases are referred to phone calls for unexcused absences with an intervention by the Juvenile Probation Department in Starke County.
Boyd says North Judson – San Pierre would partake in the plan if a student has unexcused absences.
“Then a meeting would be called to bring together the school people, the parent, the child, the folks in the probation office and work out a plan for how to get the child back in school,” says Boyd.
The Knox School Corporation agreed to the plan earlier this week.
The N.J.-S.P. School Board approved participation in Project Attend, unanimously.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Coroner Space Scrapped from Old Jail Renovatoins
The extensive renovations of the old Starke County Jail in downtown Knox will not include space for the coroner. The county council and commissioners made that decision Monday night when they formally agreed to proceed with reconfiguring that building for the probation department and Starke County Community Corrections.
Money left over from building the new jail will be used for the project, along with $100,000 from community corrections. Those funds were offered on the condition that the existing sally port space will be turned into a conference room. That area was being eyed as a permanent location for the coroner.
County officials had discussed enclosing the recreation area at the jail for use by the coroner, but scrapped that idea due to the expense. No final decisions have been made about where to put an office and body storage and viewing area, but the possibility of building a pole barn-type structure on the 22-acre jail site east of Knox was discussed. County officials agreed that could be done fairly quickly and inexpensively by a local contractor or contractors.
Work on the old jail renovations is expected to start in the spring. The commissioners told coroner Dannie Hoffer the sally port upgrades can be done closer to the end in hopes they won’t have to relocate his department.
Historically one of the county’s funeral directors has served as the coroner and used his own facilities, so the need for morgue space only became an issue recently.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Local Probation Officer Receives Order of Augustus Award
Published: May 9, 2015
By: Anita Goodan, WKVI
The Chief Probation Officer of the Starke County Probation Department recently received a prestigious state award.
John Thorstad is this year’s recipient of the Order of Augustus Award in the memory of John Augustus, who is known as the “Father of Probation.” Augustus started the rehabilitation movement in corrections.
Thorstad was nominated by his staff. His nomination was then voted on by the Probation Officers Advisory Board, which is a branch of the Indiana Supreme Court. The award is given to one probation officer in the state each year.
Thorstad has worked as a probation officer for 25 years, an achievement that was recognized earlier this year. He has been a probation officer in Starke County for just over six years.
Thorstad says about 400 Starke County residents are on probation through his department that is less than what he has seen in the last few years.
“We’ve seen a downward trend in felony filings and those coming on probation,” said Thorstad. “With the change in the criminal law last year from four levels of felonies to six, some of the lower level drug offenses were switched to misdemeanors. Theft cases were lowered as well, and there were several of those cases. We saw a big shift of some of those lower felony cases now going to city court.”
Thorstad notes that his recognition shows what kind of work he and his staff are doing and a positive accomplishment for the county.
By: Anita Goodan, WKVI
The Chief Probation Officer of the Starke County Probation Department recently received a prestigious state award.
John Thorstad is this year’s recipient of the Order of Augustus Award in the memory of John Augustus, who is known as the “Father of Probation.” Augustus started the rehabilitation movement in corrections.
Thorstad was nominated by his staff. His nomination was then voted on by the Probation Officers Advisory Board, which is a branch of the Indiana Supreme Court. The award is given to one probation officer in the state each year.
Thorstad has worked as a probation officer for 25 years, an achievement that was recognized earlier this year. He has been a probation officer in Starke County for just over six years.
Thorstad says about 400 Starke County residents are on probation through his department that is less than what he has seen in the last few years.
“We’ve seen a downward trend in felony filings and those coming on probation,” said Thorstad. “With the change in the criminal law last year from four levels of felonies to six, some of the lower level drug offenses were switched to misdemeanors. Theft cases were lowered as well, and there were several of those cases. We saw a big shift of some of those lower felony cases now going to city court.”
Thorstad notes that his recognition shows what kind of work he and his staff are doing and a positive accomplishment for the county.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall, Starke County Chief Probation Officer John Thorstad and Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush
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