Community Corrections to seek extra state funding

There's close to $1 million in unexpended funds in state coffers — funds that were budgeted but weren't spent by state agencies — and the Community Corrections Department of the 11th Judicial District is hoping to acquire a portion of those funds to reinstate some programs lost or drastically reduced through budget cuts.
That was the word Tuesday from Tracy Harris, Community Corrections director for the Judicial District, which serves Crawford, Cherokee and Labette counties in southeast Kansas. Harris approached the Crawford County Board of Supervisors for approval to make application for funding from the state totaling $21,573.
"Normally, these are things we have funding for in our budget," Harris said. "But, because of budget cuts, we had to eliminate some of those areas.
The department will apply to add back funding for travel and training expenses for Harris and administrator Mac Young. The request also included funding for materials and services for clientele that had to be cut or curtailed with the mandated budget reduction that came down from the state, Harris said.
Those programs include alcohol and drug services, education programs to help pay testing costs for clients earning a GED and emergency funding for short-term assistance to clients getting back on their feet, she said.
The request also includes funding for a supervisory officer to oversee staff interactions with clients at the agencies three offices in Pittsburg, Parsons and Columbus. A third request would add funding for a contractual employee to seek out clients as part of the agencies re-engagement program.
Harris said the plan would be to have a person available to make contact with individuals who would otherwise have the probation revoked, usually for not reporting in at specified times. The goal would be to get the clients back into the probationary program, rather than have to issue warrants, violate their probation and incarcerate them.
"With our case load, our officers don't always have time to go out and track these people down," she said.
The final request seeks funding to allow for global positioning system (GPS) tracking of sex offenders currently under the agencies supervision. Community Corrections currently supervises 24 sex offenders, with seven who aren't meeting all the requirements of their supervision and in danger of having their probation revoked.
The violations include failure to register their status on time, suspension from treatment for inability to pay and moving without prior supervisory approval. Any "major violations" by a client result in revocation of probation and incarceration, she said.
The GPS tracking would allow the agency to keep better track of exactly what the clients are doing, Harris said.
"We realize next fiscal year is going to be even more difficult," she said. "It might be a situation where some of these programs, we may only have them for six months. For now, we want to see how they work out for our clients and gather some data to be able to present to the Department of Corrections to show these are viable programs for our clients."
On a motion by Commissioner Tom Moody, seconded by Commissioner Ralph McGeorge, the board unanimously approved Harris request and signed off on the application for funding.
In other business:
• The board received a report on the annual motor vehicle fund budget from Joe Grisolano, Crawford County Treasurer.
The motor vehicle fund finances vehicle registration and licensing expenses. Registration is a state function, Grisolano said, which is administered by county treasurers across the state. As such, there's no county money used to fund that portion of his office's function, he said.
The current year's budget totals $286,232, Grisolano told the commissioners. He didn't foresee an increase in that amount over the coming two budget years, through 2010, he said.
Starting Jan. 1, new license plates will be issued to all vehicle owners as they renew their registrations, Grisolano said. Some people have already received the redesigned license plates, he said.
Grisolano also reported on the success of the satellite treasurer's office located in Pittsburg. About 26 percent of all the transactions people have with his office are now being handled at that Pittsburg office.
"The public is using it," Grisolano said. "They seem grateful to have it there."
Also beginning Jan. 1, his office will begin issuing license plates through the Pittsburg office, something that's only been done in the past at the main office in the county courthouse in Girard. One reason it wasn't done previously was a lack of space in the Pittsburg office to store license plates, he said.
"We'll have to stack the plates high and tight, but we'll make it work," Grisolano said. "We feel it's something we need to do, rather than make people drive her to Girard to get a new license plate."
• The board approved a request to appoint Marilyn Von Soosten of rural Girard to the interim post of treasurer for the Sherman Township Board of Trustees. Von Soosten, a republican, was elected to the treasurers position over democrat Roz Mosier of Farlington in the Nov. 4 election.
The position has been vacant since the death of former township treasurer William Mattlock in June. Trustees had requested appointment of an interim treasurer in July, but the board declined to take action at that time for fear of the appearance of favoritism in the pending elections.