MISSION:
The Ohio Community Corrections
Association (OCCA) offers to member
community correction service providers
the opportunity for advocacy and
professional development, which enhances
the ability to reduce repeat criminal
offending.
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OHIO
Community Corrections Association
2100 Stella Court
Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone:
(614) 252-8417 |
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- Leadership and Management Trainings
OCCA offered a unique opportunity for Leadership and Management Development training to employees of community corrections partners between October 2007 and May 2008. Forty employees were in Leadership Development and fifty were in Management Development. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and a grant from the National Institute of Corrections funded both tracks.
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- Crime and Corrections at an Important Crossroads
By Mary Spottswood, Talbert House
The state of corrections in Ohio is at a crossroads. Our prison population is at an all time high while we have one of the most highly respected and utilized community corrections systems in the country. This is a golden opportunity for community corrections to impact both our prison population and the needs of our offenders. The challenge is to apply evidence based practices that work in reducing recidivism while facing increasingly tight budget constraints. While this is a time of tremendous opportunity, it is also a time of challenge for our industry as we meet increasingly critical outcomes and rise to higher levels of accountability.
As you may know, the Ohio Community Corrections Association represents 23 halfway house providers and 3 Community Based Correctional Facilities who provide residential programming and services to those in Ohio’s diverse communities. This past year halfway houses alone housed and provided services to 7,593 offenders at a cost of $4,947 per offender with an average stay of 81 days. More importantly, these clients paid approximately $73,000 in court costs and fines, $22,000 in restitution, over $100,000 in restitution and almost $700,000 in taxes on the $7 million earned while in our programs. Not only did offenders work, pay taxes, and practice positive social behaviors, they were learning to make better decisions, participating in treatment programs and gave back through community service.
As you will read in this edition of our newsletter, providers in our field are being held to increasingly high expectations from our funding partners, those who use our programs and the community at large. Although I firmly believe that this is a positive direction, it comes with inherent difficulties. Member agencies are all too aware of the struggles implied by “doing more with less.” I am truly proud of our member organizations for taking on this challenge and finding new and innovative ways to meet the needs of our offender population. OCCA members are in a position to continue to grow and expand our services should additional funding become available.
OCCA is working in collaboration with other community corrections providers, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and a number of dedicated volunteers to seek solutions to address our current situation. I am confident that our current challenges will bring us a stronger and more outcome focused system that can positively impact the lives of offenders in all Ohio communities.
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