HISTORY OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS

The Office of Community Corrections (OCC) within the MDOC administers Public Act 511 passed in 1988 to reduce prison commitments through a state grants program for community-based sanctions and services.

OCC works in cooperation with offices of Field Operations Administration and local government to reduce admissions to prison, modernize use of local jail facilities, improve rehabilitative services to offenders and strengthen offender accountability.By supporting appropriate use of non-prison sanctions for offenders who might otherwise come to prison, the department has helped reduce the state prison commitment rate from 32.1 in 1991 to about 26 percent.

Local governments apply for grants by establishing community corrections advisory boards that develop comprehensive corrections plans. The plans identify local policies and practices as well as programs and services that will help achieve their goals.

OCC requires each community corrections advisory board to identify linkages with Michigan Works! agencies, the local Substance Abuse Coordinating Agency, the local community health departments, local school districts and other agencies to help provide cost-effective and non-duplicated services to offenders.

The State Community Corrections Board reviews the grant applications and makes recommendations to the director of the MDOC on which awards to make. The director then makes the final decision.

Grants are awarded to help support services such as substance-abuse treatment and to provide residential programs for certain types of offenders such as probationers. OCC has also awarded grants to help local communities expand jail beds.Practically every county in Michigan has participated in the process and received funding.

Most of the offenders enrolled in treatment-type programs are sentenced felons. Offenders with higher sentencing guideline scores, probation violators and those who have convictions for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol account for increasing proportions of new enrollees in residential programs. Misdemeanants account for the majority of enrollments in community service programs.

Cognitive restructuring is frequently a part of treatment programming in the community, and there is an emphasis on educational programming that has been enhanced through use of computer-assisted instruction.