Pinellas County SMART Supervision Project: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities

About the Project

In partnership with University of South Florida, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) was awarded a three-year SMART Supervision grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) totaling $750,000. The project will implement evidence-based supervision strategies and an Alternative Sanctions Program (ASP) in Pinellas County designed to improve probation success rates, improve public safety, reduce prison/jail admissions, and save taxpayer money. High risk offenders who have violated the terms of their probation (VOP) will be offered the opportunity to remain in the community by enrolling in the program, or they can proceed through the local criminal justice system as usual.

Grant funds will be used to hire two Senior Probation Officers who will each oversee a specialized caseload of high risk VOP probationers. Participants will receive a comprehensive needs assessment followed by court orders to attend needed services. The ASP will be designed to implement a swift and certain incentive and sanction system that will be approved through an administrative order of the court. ASP incentives include verbal praise, decreased supervision, fewer drug tests, fewer contacts, early termination, and travel permits. Sanctions largely include alternatives to incarceration such as curfew, public service hours, increased reporting, and assessment for services related to the infraction. Drs. Scott Young (Principal Investigator) and Kathleen Moore (Co-Principal Investigator) received $120,000 to serve as the Research Partners and independently evaluate the program’s effectiveness. This program is being piloted in Pinellas County, and FDOC may expand this model if demonstrated to be effective.

Principal Investigator

M. Scott Young, PhD

Co-PI

Kathleen Moore, PhD

Funding Agency

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), US Department of Justice (DOJ)

Award Amount

$120,000

Dates

10/01/2014 - 09/30/2017