Ohio Code 5149.311 – Establishment and administration of probation improvement grant and probation incentive grant
(A) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall establish and administer the probation improvement grant and the probation incentive grant for common pleas, municipal, and county court probation departments and community-based correctional facilities that supervise offenders sentenced by courts of common pleas, municipal courts, or county courts.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 5149.311
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B)(1) The probation improvement grant shall provide funding to common pleas, municipal, and county court probation departments and community-based correctional facilities to adopt policies and practices based on the latest research on how to reduce the number of offenders on probation supervision who violate the conditions of their supervision.
(2) The department shall adopt rules for the distribution of the probation improvement grant, including both of the following:
(a) The formula for the allocation of the subsidy based on the number of offenders placed on probation annually in each jurisdiction;
(b) The allocation of funds for the purpose of offsetting costs incurred by political subdivisions in relation to offenders who are prohibited from serving the term of imprisonment in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to division (B)(3)(c) of section 2929.34 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) The probation incentive grant shall provide a performance-based level of funding to common pleas, municipal, and county court probation departments and community-based correctional facilities that are successful in reducing the number of offenders on probation supervision whose terms of supervision are revoked.
(2) The department shall calculate annually any cost savings realized by the state from a reduction in the percentage of people who are incarcerated because their terms of supervised probation were revoked. The cost savings estimate shall be calculated for each jurisdiction served by the probation department or community-based correctional facility eligible for a grant under this section and be based on the difference from the average of such commitments from the five calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which application for the grant was made and the fiscal year under examination.
(3) The department shall adopt rules that specify the subsidy amount to be appropriated to common pleas, municipal, and county court probation departments and community-based correctional facilities that successfully reduce the percentage of people on probation who are incarcerated because their terms of supervision are revoked.
(D) The following stipulations apply to both the probation improvement grant and the probation incentive grant:
(1) In order to be eligible for the probation improvement grant and the probation incentive grant, common pleas, municipal, and county courts must satisfy all requirements under sections 2301.27 and 2301.30 of the Revised Code. Except for sentencing decisions made by a court when use of the risk assessment tool is discretionary, in order to be eligible for the probation improvement grant and the probation incentive grant, a court or community-based correctional facility must utilize the single validated risk assessment tool selected by the department of rehabilitation and correction under section 5120.114 of the Revised Code.
(2) The department may deny a subsidy under this section to any applicant if the applicant fails to comply with the terms of any agreement entered into pursuant to any of the provisions of this section.
(3) The department shall evaluate or provide for the evaluation of the policies, practices, and programs the common pleas, municipal, or county court probation departments or community-based correctional facilities utilize with the programs of subsidies established under this section and establish means of measuring their effectiveness.
(4) The department shall specify the policies, practices, and programs for which common pleas, municipal, or county court probation departments or community-based correctional facilities may use the program subsidy and shall establish minimum standards of quality and efficiency that recipients of the subsidy must follow. The department shall give priority to supporting evidence-based policies and practices, as defined by the department.