Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Trevor Kadlec, executive director of Marquette Regional Community Corrections, talked to the Houghton County Board at length Monday, explaining the benefits and opportunities the tri-county court system would receive in the program.

HOUGHTON — Trevor Kadlec, community corrections director with the Marquette Regional Community Corrections program (MRCC), addressed the Houghton County Board of Commissioners at its Monday work session. Kadlec’s appearance was made at the request of District Court Judge Nicholas Daavettila, Circuit Court Judge Brittany Bulleit and Treatment Court Case Manager Andrea Johnson.

Kadlec was asked to provide details on a recent meeting with officials from Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga counties on the topic of the counties joining the MRCC. Joining, he said, would be at no cost to the counties.

Funding for community corrections comes from state grants, specifically through Public Act 511, administered by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Office of Community Corrections (MOCC), said Kadlec. The funds support local, evidence-based programming for offenders and are supplemented by state-restricted revenue, federal grants, and local, county-level contributions.

Across Michigan, funding currently totals $14.2 million, he said. Historically most, if not all, the grant funding has been distributed in the Lower Peninsula. The governor and the Senate, recently approved another $1 million, which will bring the total amount available to $15.2 million.

“(The funding) is up for grabs for any county, or as they’re called, CCABs, which is Community Corrections Advisory Boards, which can be a conglomeration of multiple counties together,” Kadlec said. “The CCAB can write the grant every year and go through the submission process and try to get the funding for their CCAB.”

Counties that apply for funding must utilize what they request or they lose it. Last year, Marquette County Community Corrections became regional when it was joined by Alger and Dickinson counties.

“Our funding went from $90,000 to $450,000,” Kadlec said. “We’re getting another $70,000 from Wayne County this year. “That’s what happens if you don’t use your (grant) money: They’re going to send it someone who will. And, we’re definitely utilizing those funds up here, because we’ve been starving for so long for any sort of programming.”

The money from Wayne County is funding Iron County’s involvement in the regional program, which will be finalized in October. Kadlec said the goal is for the program to eventually encompass the entire U.P., when its name would be changed to the Upper Peninsula Community Corrections.

Kadlec said that this is the annual grant-writing period, which is why he is meeting with Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw county officials. Because the court system in the three counties is organized into a tri-county system, he said, it just makes sense to add all three. If the counties agree, they would become active in October.

Kadlec then explained the programs offered that could benefit the three counties, beginning with pretrial assessments. Pretrial risk assessment is used by courts to estimate a defendant’s likelihood of failing to appear in court or committing a new crime if released pending trial. The program assists judges in making fair, evidence-based release or detention decisions, often used alongside money bail systems.

Kadlec said the service would allow those awaiting trial to be released safely while being subject to appropriate monitoring, for example: regular drug testing, electronic monitoring through devices, or regular check-ins with the program officers.

Currently, electronic monitoring is not frequently used in the three counties, because defendants are required to pay a fee of $10 per day for that.

“If you’re going to use electronic monitoring, every victim case is eligible for electronic monitoring,” he said. “The nice thing is, we would be paying for that.” The defendant’s not paying for that, you’re not paying for that.”

A companion program, Pretrial Supervision, allows defendants to be released from jail while awaiting trial, while ensuring they appear in court and comply with bond conditions while remaining in the community.

A third program, also funded by the MDOCC grants is not readily available to the three counties, TRICAP. TRICAP is a Probation Residential Center (PRC) located in Saginaw, offering an alternative placement option to jail or prison for non-violent/non-assaultive male or female individuals in the state of Michigan.

Individuals in need of intensive substance abuse counseling in a supervised residential setting, those that have not been successful in a community setting while on probation/parole and need a structured environment, and others who need a last chance before jail or prison are commonly referred to TRICAP. Kadlec said it is not a prison; people can leave.

“It’s a very long impatient treatment,” he said. “There was a hole in the U.P. for that up until we had TRI-CAP.”

It is a 150-day program, Kadlec said, followed by a Standard, or Plus programming.

“TRICAP has a lot of different programming. Their top-tier, hardest program to go through, is the Opiate-Methamphetamine-Specific program,” Kadlec said. “It’s double the classroom work, double the therapy sessions.”

There is also domestic violence programming, he said, along with any sort of substance abuse standard or plus programming. Judges can send some one down for 150 days down to 90. Ninety to 150 days is typically what we see; 90, 120, 0r 150. Those are the three, he said.