Luzerne County’s contract with a day reporting center that reduced prison overcrowding would be locked in for three more years under a proposal before the county council.
The privately operated center on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard in Wilkes-Barre allows nonviolent offenders to avoid incarceration if they check in for drug testing and participate in programs designed to change their criminal thinking and behavior.
A total 109 offenders currently participate in the program, which will mark its seventh anniversary in July, said county Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich.
Under this fourth contract extension with BI Inc., the county would continue paying $26.90 per offender daily for two more years if the number of participants ranges from 101 to 125. The payment would increase 1.5 percent to $27.30 in 2019.
The daily rate would remain at $23.80 if there are 126 to 150 county participants, increasing to $24.16 in 2019.
The county has been paying the company around $1.1 million annually. The county manager must obtain council approval for purchases costing the county $25,000 in a future year or $75,000 in two or more years, the home rule charter says.
Without the center, the county would be forced to house these inmates at an estimated daily cost of $110 per inmate or pay to lodge them in outside prisons if space is unavailable at the county’s Water Street prison due to overcrowding, Rockovich said.
“It’s also a matter of recidivism. If BI can teach them skills, get them possibly a job, set them on the right path, hopefully the goal is that they will not return to a criminal life or incarceration,” Rockovich recently told the council.
Rockovich said he wants a three-year contract to control costs and aid future planning. BI has not increased its fee since 2013 and has been “sensitive” to county budget issues, the administration said.
County Councilman Stephen A. Urban, who pushed for creation of the day reporting center as a prior county commissioner, told Rockovich all 150 available contracted slots should be filled.
“How do you let judges know there are 41 spaces available so maybe they could put more who would benefit in the center?” Urban asked.
Participants are out on bail, approved by a judge for early release from prison or given a last chance to stay out of prison on a parole violation.
Rockovich said the prison treatment coordinator has reached out to court officials to discuss the program’s additional availability, resulting in increased use.
Around 80 participated in the day reporting center before Rockovich was promoted to the prison leadership position in July, he said.
“Maybe we can do a better job letting judges know they can put people there on bail or directly as an alternative sentence,” Rockovich said.
A three-year contract extension for BI to provide drug and alcohol counseling to county incarcerated offenders also was proposed. BI was retained to perform individual and group therapy in 2013, and three contract extensions were awarded to date.
The company would continue charging $65,000 annually for the next two years and increase the price 1.5 percent to $65,975 in 2019, the proposal says.
Council members plan to vote on the contracts in February.
County Manager C. David Pedri told the council the day reporting center has been a “major success” for the county and held up as a model example by counties throughout the state.
When offenders start the center program, actuarial assessments indicate they have an 86 percent chance of committing another crime. By the time they leave, that likelihood is reduced by 42.2 percent, statistics show.
