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From YouTube: Reducing Recidivism in Buncombe County
Description
Recidivism is repeated or habitual relapse, as into crime. In Buncombe County, recidivism is both costly and it does nothing to help those repeat offenders if their crime is something that a traditional jail isn't equipped to help. If someone who is addicted to drugs, or has a mental disorder gets arrested, then they go to jail, serve their time costing taxpayers money, only to be released no better than before. Because help wasn't received to combat the root of the problem, those individuals tend to get arrested again and again.
Buncombe County has come up with many jail diversion programs to break this pattern of repeat offenders. In this video you'll learn about SOAR Court, the JUST Program, The Sheriff's Office CIT Training, Pre-Trial, and Drug Court. You'll also hear personal stories from individuals who have gone through these programs, to those who work first-hand with them, and even from the judges on their successes.
Jail diversion programs are a win win situation. Buncombe County not only helps these non-violent offenders, but you also save the tax payer's money by keeping them out of jail because getting them help is a fraction of the cost of incarcerating them. The goal is to keep people out of jail and have them become active members of society.
A
A
So
it
started
then,
and
every
year,
it's
kind
of
evolved
in
something
that's
a
little
bigger
a
little
better
and
involves
really
the
whole
system.
At
this
point
from
the
point
of
the
law
enforcement
office
are
interacting
on
the
street.
With
someone
all
the
way
up
through
the
whole
court
process
and
then
to
the
release
and
then
the
work
that
we
do
making
sure
that
people
get
linked
to
services
in
the
community,
so
it's
kind
of
touches
really
every
part
of
the
system.
A
B
Some
of
the
things
that
we
do
in
the
detention
center
to
control
our
jail
population
is
use
of
jail,
diversionary
programs
and
one
of
those
things
would
be
drug
court
where
you
take
low-level
offenders
that
have
no
history
of
violence
and
you
put
them
in
a
treatment
program
that
holds
them
very
accountable
to
a
specific
behavior
patterns.
In
other
words,
they
have
to
meet
certain
criteria
to
stay
in
the
program.
Buncombe.
C
County
adult
drug
treatment
court
literally
saves
lives,
families,
communities
and
taxpayer
dollars.
We
screen
certain
nonviolent
offenders
who
have
been
diagnosed
with
a
chemical
addiction
and
we
give
them
a
second
chance
by
participating
in
drug
court
as
their
probation.
Now,
if
they
cannot
meet
our
demands,
their
prison
sentence
is
generally
activated.
Our
participants
must
remain
in
the
program
for
a
minimum
of
one
year
under
the
oversight
of
a
probation
officer,
a
drug
treatment
court
coordinator
and
the
court.
C
D
Before
I
got
good
court,
everything
was
chaos
and
I
should
have
been
not
here,
but
I
wanted
to
get
clean
from
drugs,
but
I
didn't
know
how
and
I
found
it
for
so
long
when
I.
Finally,
when
I
got
locked
up
at
last
time,
I
just
changed
my
mind
and
wanted
to
get
clean
and
when
I
did
get
clean
normal
come
into
my
life
and
help
me
see
a
better
path
and
without
drug
court
I
don't
think
I'd
be
alive.
Today,
drug.
E
Treatment
court
is
a
long-term
program
for
felony
offenders,
who
have
nonviolent
offenses.
They
are
convicted
of
those
offenses,
but
it
rather
than
going
to
prison
they're
placed
in
a
drug
court
program.
Everyone
in
drug
court
is
addicted
either
to
alcohol
or
another
drug,
and
most
of
their
crimes
are
committed
while
they
were
intoxicated
or
high
on
drugs
or
their
crimes
are
committed
to
get
their
own
supply
of
drugs
to
support
their
habit.
E
The
program
has
close
supervision,
a
lot
of
accountability,
close
monitoring,
there's
an
advisory
board
that
oversees
drug
court
and
that
advisory
board
is
made
up
of
local
officials
in
the
county
and
then
there's
a
drug
court
team,
a
very
supportive
team
of
professionals
who
operate
drug
court.
We.
D
Had
to
submit
to
drug
screens
three
times
a
week
in
the
beginning,
but
it
eases
up
on
you,
you
know,
and
once
you
get
that
freedom
back,
that
it
shows
you
that
you
can
live
better
and
you
know
I
always
knew
I
was
a
good
person.
I
just
needed.
Somebody
to
show
me
again
want
how
to
be
that
person.
The.
E
Program
is
15
to
18
months
long.
We
have
about
30
participants
average
in
the
program
most
of
the
time.
Those
participants
are
required
to
give
multiple
drug
screens
every
week
to
go
to
intensive
treatment.
Stay
drug-free
to
have
bi-weekly
progress,
review
sessions
before
a
Superior
Court
judge.
If
they
are
doing
well
in
the
program
they're
rewarded
in
court,
if
they're
violating
the
conditions
of
drug
court,
then
they
have
swift
sanctions,
the
judge
will
sanction
them
either
to
jail
time
or
some
other
sanction.
That
would
be
appropriate.
Now.
C
I
am
NOT
a
substance
abuse
counselor.
The
judge
simply
holds
participants
accountable
for
their
actions.
Now
they
regularly
report
to
me
in
a
formal
court
setting
where
I
monitor
their
progress
and
provide
incentives
and,
if
need
be,
imposed,
sanctions
I,
don't
just
refer
them
to
counseling
and
wash
my
hands
of
these
men
and
women.
I
lead
them
through
the
recovery
process,
and
this
has
been
proven
to
work
now.
C
E
Amazes
me
to
see
the
positive
changes
in
participants
as
they
go
through
the
program
how
their
quality
of
life
improves.
We
see
drug-free
babies
being
born.
We
see
participants
graduated
from
college.
We
have
people
in
drug
court
who
have
most
of
whom
have
haven't
been
clean
in
10,
sometimes
15
years
and
for
the
first
time
in
their
lives,
they're
clean
they're,
mending
family
relationships,
they're
becoming
law
abiding
citizens.
This
is
a
very
cost
effective
program.
It
costs
to
be
in
drug
court.
E
C
D
B
Crisis
intervention,
training
or
critical
incident
training
involves
dealing
with
the
consumers
of
mental
health
services.
Somebody
may
be
having
a
behavioral
crisis
a
melt
down
period
and
basically
our
officers
are
trained
to
come
in
and
intervene
and
try
to
eliminate
the
criminal
justice
piece
of
the
equation
to
get
those
folks
assimilated
back
into
to
daily
living.
B
So,
basically,
the
officers
are
trained
in
coming
in
and
talking
with
these
people
and
being
able
to
de-escalate,
what's
going
on
talk
with
them
about
options
to
try
to
get
them
into
a
stabilization
phase
of
treatment
and
get
them
back
into
daily
living
without
having
to
bring
them
to
jail
for
a
very
minor
charge
or
something
that
may
have
occurred
during
that
behavioral
crisis.
Buncombe.
A
County
and
then
a
collaboration
with
the
sheriff's
office,
with
with
all
of
the
stakeholders
getting
together
and
getting
you
know,
law
enforcement
trained
and
CIT,
and
the
crisis
intervention
training
that
that
has
been
paramount
by
the
time
in
office
or
interacts
on
the
street
with
an
individual
that
might
have
them
appears
to
have
a
mental
health
issue.
They
can
bring
officers
in
there
especially
trained
to
recognize
and
deal
with
mental
illness.
So
I
think
a
really
diversion
starts
there,
because
those
officers
now
know
you
know.
A
B
We
have
found
is
when
people
come
into
the
criminal
justice
system
when
they're
having
one
of
these
behavioral
crisis.
Usually
it's
on
a
very
minor
charge.
They
stay
a
extended
period
of
time
in
the
jail
because
they
have
they're,
not
real
good
at
navigating
that
system
and
the
jail
is
really
not
equipped
to
deal
with
folks
who
have
mental
illness
issues.
So
what
we
try
to
do
is
we
try
to
control
that
jail
population?
A
Know
the
signs
to
look
for
the
behaviors
to
look
for
that
might
be
related
to
men,
illness
rather
than
just
behaviors,
and
so
then,
when
they
see
those
signs
that
someone
might
have
a
mental
health
issue,
they
they
change
their
tactics.
You
know
they're
going
to
interact
that
person
in
a
different
way
than
they
would
for
someone
who
was
clearly
just
acting
in
a
criminal
manner.
They
see
things
that
make
them
think
you
know
something's
going
on
here.
There
may
change
the
way
they
interview
a
person
or
how
they
interact.
B
Other
one
of
the
things
that
we
do
in
detention
is
we
also
target
that
population
that
has
substance,
abuse
issues
and
once
they're
ready
to
be
released.
We
engage
in
some
case
management
with
them.
That's
probably
when
they're
the
most
receptive
to
go
into
a
a
or
another
counseling
based
program,
and
we
kind
of
help
walk
them
through
that
process.
So
when
they
leave
out,
they
know
where
they
can
immediately
go
to
engage
in
that
counseling
and
programming.
That
will
help
them
not
come
back
into
our
detention
center
and
it's
got
our
recidivism
right.
F
So
record
is
success,
overcome
an
addiction
through
recovery
and
it's
a
Buncombe
County
Family
treatment.
Court
we've
been
operational
for
approximately
six
years
now
and
what
we
do
is
we
work
with
individuals
who
have
had
their
children
removed
as
a
result
of
a
primary
concern
of
substance,
abuse
addiction,
and
we
have
those
individuals
go
through
an
intensive
court
program.
F
Is
we
try
an
intensive
program
where
and
we
meet
with
these
individuals
twice
per
month
for
that
one
year,
and
what
that
does
is
that
allows
immediate
accountability
and
an
effort
to
modify
behaviors
that
have
posed
an
obstacle
and
having
their
children
removed
and
an
obstacle
continuing
in
order
for
them
to
have
reunification
with
their
children?
Just.
G
Went
to
the
county,
jail
and
I
found
out,
it
was
gonna,
be
a
father
for
my
first
child,
which
is
Riley,
and
that
was
tough.
You
know,
like
every
other
weekend,
I'd
get
to
see
her
and
just
watching
her
grow
up
like
that
was
pretty
tough.
You
know
and
I
kind
of
made,
like
a
you
know,
I
wanted
to
be
there
for
when
I
got
out
and
I
kind
of
made
that
affect
to
myself
that
I
would
and
when
I
came
out
of
prison.
G
I
already
had
a
lawyer,
and
so
the
first
thing
I
did
was
I
called
her,
and
she
put
me
on
just
this
path
and,
like
the
first,
the
first
stop
on
the
path
was
sore
quarter
and
from
there
it
was
just
mean
the
work
wasn't
no
easier,
but
as
far
as
like
which
way
to
go
and
what
to
do
in
this
situation,
cuz
I've
never
been
involved
in
any
of
this
kind
of
stuff.
You
know
they
as
long
as
you
were
willing
to
do
the
work
they
let
you
down
that
road
people.
F
Who
go
through
our
court
program
get
into
treatment
a
lot
quicker?
There's
a
study
that
says
the
quicker
you
get
into
treatment
the
longer
you
are
more
likely
to
stay
in
treatment.
There's
statistics
that
show
the
longer
that
you
are
in
treatment,
the
greater
chance
of
your
success
of
sobriety,
and
so
with
that
intensive
dynamic,
we
hope
to
be
able
to
address
that
person's
addiction
sooner
in
a
more
significant
time
frame.
That
would
allow
that
child
in
that
parent
to
be
reunited
and
to
provide
a
safe,
permanent
plan
for
the
child.
As.
G
Far
as
coming
out
of
prison
sorc
or
put
me
on
the
on
a
road
alike
which
way
to
go
almost
like
you're,
a
blind
dog,
you
don't
know
where
to
go
so
that
they
set
me
on
these
paths
of
drug
treatment.
I
was
taking
classes,
learn
how
to
be
a
father.
Did
children
in
the
middle
I
did
to
fill
my
parenting
classes?
I
did
the
matrix
program
at
AARP
Phoenix,
and
will
we
worked
with
the
community?
So
there
was
a
whole.
G
F
Has
been
a
very
collaborative
effort
with
community
agencies
across
the
board,
including
our
buncombe
county
commissioners,
and
working
together
to
develop
this
program.
We
have
been
operational
since
2006.
We've
had
I
think
proximately
25
graduates,
we've
had
13
drug-free
babies
born
in
this
community
as
a
result
of
our
participants
who
have
successfully
completed
sort
court,
I.
G
H
I
J
Morning
we
come
in
there
a
list
of
people
who
have
been
detained
overnight,
who,
for
whatever
reason,
can't
afford
to
post
a
bond?
All
those
individuals
are
interviewed.
We
use
a
screening
tool,
a
risk
assessment
to
get
a
clear
picture
for
the
court.
What
this
person
looks
like
what
the
risk
is,
the
community
that
this
person
be
released
and
and
hopefully
catch
any
potential
problems
that
might
keep
them
from
coming
to
court.
After
the
initial
interview,
all
that
information
is
compiled,
we
do
national
record
checks,
local
record
checks,
call
references,
call
their.
H
Family,
we
get
all
the
information
about
them
that
we
can
before
that
sent
in
for
their
first
appearance
in
court,
so
that
the
judge
will
have
all
of
that
information
at
their
first
appearance,
and
that
also
is
to
speed
up
the
process
and
hopefully
not
hold
them.
Anyone
in
jail
any
longer
than
is
necessary.
Once.
I
The
judges
make
those
release
decisions
they
can
assign
them
to
our
program
for
supervision
and
for
those
defendants
were
supervising
than
we
try
to
figure
out.
What
are
the
underlying
issues
that
are
driving
their
involvement
with
the
criminal
justice
system?
Is
it
substance,
abuse
or
mental
health?
I
J
H
J
You
have
the
individual
that
it
has
a
very
hard
time
being
compliant,
and
in
that
case
our
job
is
to
you
know,
kind
of
ensure
Public
Safety
and
at
that
point,
go
back
to
court
and
say
this
person
is
not
a
good
risk.
This
person
is
not
a
compliance
and
we
bring
them
back
to
jail
and
but
that
never
means
that
we
won't
supervise
them
again.
We
really
try
very
hard
to
give
everybody
the
opportunity
to
be
out
in
the
community
and
become
productive
citizens
through.
I
Leveraging
some
programs
that
the
county
or
some
contracts
that
the
county
had
with
different
mental
health
agencies
and
leveraging
some
of
our
mental
health
funds.
We
were
able
to
develop
linkages
between
several
different
programs
in
the
county,
so
that
we
could
get
these
people
linked
to
the
treatment
that
they
need,
and
we
did
that
really
without
investing
additional
money.
But
just
looking
at
the
money,
we
were
already
spending
and
trying
to
look
at
programs
that
had
supportive
data
to
show
that
they
were
working
and
to
develop
cooperative
efforts.
Among
those
programs
will.
J
Have
dual
supervisions
with
sore
court
or
with
drug
court
or
we'll
have
somebody
into
the
just
program
which
opens
up
all
kinds
of
services
for
a
client
and
when
I'm
stuck
with
something
I
can
always
call
the
case
manager
and
the
other
program
and
say
I
need
some
ideas.
X,
y&z
has
happened
and
I'm
stuck
in
this
person
really
needs
help
being
able
to
access
all
those
services,
and
these
programs
working
together,
really
has
a
great
outcome
for
the
participant
we
work.
A
Very
closely
with
the
buncombe
county,
pretrial
services,
and
so
that
kind
of
gives
us
the
the
stick
that,
if
someone
isn't
compliant
is
that
you
know
it
gives
that
little
extra
push
to
really
encourage
compliance
and
they're,
not
all
just
a
stick,
though,
because
I
mean
really
the
the
staff
at
the
pre-trial
Services
really
works
in
the
cellar.
You
know
helps
us
and
celebrating
when
people
are
successful
and
are
able
to
you
know
kind
of
get
their
life
back
on
track.
So
it's
a
pretty
pretty
exciting
process,
really
I
think
across
the
board
had.
J
An
elderly
woman
who
was
in
a
really
bad
situation
and
turns
out
she
needed
support
with
because
she
couldn't
make
her
monthly
bills,
didn't
have
any
food
in
the
house
and
had
six
dogs
that
needed
to
be
taken
care
of.
So
we
linked
her
with
social
services.
We
leaked
her
with
an
agency
in
her
community
that
could
help
her
with
her
monthly
grocery
bill.
F
The
just
program
is
a
resource
that
is
available
to
our
court
system,
and
the
effort
in
the
just
program
is
similar
in
that.
What
we
try
to
do
is
develop
a
linkage
plan
for
individuals
who
have
a
known
mental
illness
or
defect
that
have
had
criminal
behavior
in
our
in
our
detention
facility
and
as
a
result
of
that
criminal
intervention.
Those
individuals
are
incarcerated
and
they're
not
receiving
their
mental
health
services.
We.
K
Are
accepting
a
lot
of
referrals
from
pretrial
for
people
who
are
ultimately
in
jail
because
of
a
crime
committed
secondary
to
an
untreated
mental
health
problem?
So
so
the
best
of
our
ability
were
identifying
people
who,
if
they
were
being
treated
successfully
in
the
community,
would
not
be
in
a
situation
where
they
were
arrested
and
transitioning
them
back
out
into
the
services
they
need
to
prevent
them
from
being
rehearsed.
'add
I
got
tired.
L
Of
going
back
and
forth
to
jail
living
the
lifestyle
that
I
was
living
when
I
could
became
homeless
in
2004,
I
was
doing
some
things
that
I
should
not
have
been.
Do
I
was
being
out
there
prostituting
smoking
crack
and
just
got
really
bad
out
there
on
it
and
I
started
going
back
and
forth
to
jail
and
I
had
smoked
and
thought.
I
could
go
out.
There
make
some
money
and
everything's
going
to
be
fine
and
go
get
her
all
night,
and
it
didn't
happen
that
way.
L
H
They
will
do
the
screening
in
the
jail
to
see.
If
someone
is
appropriate
for
the
program
you
have
to
meet
certain
criteria.
You
have
to
have
a
SP
mi,
which
is
seriously
persistent.
Mental
illness
can
may
or
may
not
have
a
substance
abuse
issue
also,
but
we're
working
with
them
and
where
the
supervising
agency,
with
four
for
the
just
program
in
order
to
hopefully
lower
that
recidivism
with.
L
L
Clean
off
of
everything,
I
did
room
in
the
end.
I
did
my
mental
health
with
rha
I
was
seeing
my
workers
twice
a
week.
I
was
doing
groups
twice
a
week
at
rha.
I
had
got
myself
into
the
women
at
risk
program
completed
the
substance
abuse
treatment.
If
the
program
is
there
to
try
to
help
somebody,
then
they
need
to
keep
it
open
and
keep
it
on
going
to
be
able
to
help
these
people
succeed.
A
The
goal
is
to
reduce
the
population
at
the
jail
and
manage
people
that
can
be
managed
in
the
community
safely
and
better
in
the
community,
rather
than
managing
them
in
jail,
but
the
bigger
kind
of
more
human
benefit
of
it
is
that
individuals
who
may
be
jails
the
worst
place
for
them
to
be
the
worst
place
for
their
mental
illness.
You
know
where
their
symptoms
were
most
exacerbated.
They
get
to
kinda
had
get
a
second
chance
when.
B
K
I
think
the
thing
we're
doing
the
best
right
now
is
maximizing
all
the
resources
that
are
there.
There's
a
lot
of
mental
health
services
and
Asheville.
There's
a
lot
of
substance
abuse
services,
there's
a
lot
of
support
in
the
legal
system.
We
have
job
training
programs
in
our
community
and
lots
of
re-entry
opportunities
for
folks,
but
sometimes
it
can
get
kind
of
scattered
and
I.
K
Think
one
of
the
things
that
pretrial
and
the
jail
diversion
program
do
so
well
is
really
knowing
we
learn
what's
available,
and
then
we
pull
all
those
resources
together
so
that
we
can
get
the
most
out
of
them
and
ultimately,
that's
saving
everybody
a
lot
of
money
because
we're
getting
more
out
of
it.
You're.
Looking
at
someone.
J
Across
the
table
and
saying
I
really
don't
know
where
to
send
you
I,
don't
know
how
to
help
you,
and
that
was
very
difficult,
and
what
kind
of
prompted
this
drive
to
start?
Putting
all
this
in
place,
get
in
touch
with
other
programs
start
having
meetings.
What
what
can
these
other
programs
offer?
How
can
we
work
together?
How
can
we
get
past
some
of
these
hurdles
that
we
encounter
too
early
on,
so
that
we
can
all
be
on
the
same
page
and
help
these
individuals
and.
F
The
idea
that
these
individuals,
who
now
participate
and
successfully
complete
these
programs,
become
productive
members
of
the
society.
It's
an
increase
in
employment.
It
allows
individuals
to
have
a
stable
home
environment
to
provide
that
stability
to
their
children
to
reduce
the
number
of
foster
care
placements.
At
one
point,
there
was
258
individuals
who
were
placed
in
foster
care
in
one
year.
116
of
those
were
as
a
result
of
substance
abuse
addiction
and
to
remove
that
need,
because
we're
able
to
provide
stability
in
a
home
again.
That
cost
is
immeasurable.