Published Thursday, December 19, 2002
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Herald Staff Writer
Mercer County's Day Reporting Center can be serving more nonviolent offenders than it does, said Donald D. Fedorczyk, coordinator of the county's Intermediate Punishment Program.
The center at UPMC Horizon, Farrell, rehabilitates and educates nonviolent offenders with known drug and alcohol problems. They are counseled and treated for their addictions, are tested regularly and receive help in getting their high school diplomas or general education development certificates. It also offers a vocational program which includes job training and teaches skills such as resume writing.
Fedorczyk outlined plans to open the program to anyone who is eligible for IPP. Currently, the center, which is funded through state grants, treats levels 3 and 4 offenders, who commit crimes such as forging a prescription to obtain a narcotic, he said.
He wants to expand the program to include levels 1 and 2 offenders -- those who are nonviolent and have not committed any of a list of 20 crimes, including homicide, robbery, rape, aggravated or sexual assault, arson, burglary and drug trafficking.
"We see these people coming through the office every day. We're trying to break the cycle, get people off drugs and make them employable."
Also, he said, "Think if an offender has children at home. If that person completes the program, gets an education and gets a job, the message will be sent to those children that the cycle of criminality is broken."
Besides breaking the cycle, Fedorczyk said, expanding the program won't cost the county anything.
Through October, the center had spent almost $400,000 in grant money to rehabilitate prisoners, with two successful completions; 10 people are enrolled.
The county can expand the program by piggybacking the cost onto the state grant, he said. The county pays a flat rate for the services of the four subcontractors, regardless of how many people are treated each month, Fedorczyk said.
He plans to include the additional offenders in group sessions, which can be done at no additional cost. One-on-one sessions, he said, will be billed directly to the offender by UPMC Horizon, which provides the main treatment services.
Fedorczyk said he contacted the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which awarded the grant, and the state has no problem with the plan. The only thing the county must do, he said, is keep separate accounting of the levels 1 and 2 offenders.
How many additional people will enroll is hard to predict, Fedorczyk said, because each offender's case is handled on its own merit. Also, judges must refer prisoners to the program, "and that comes down to a question of philosophy," he said.
The program should save money over time, Fedorczyk said, because the offenders would otherwise be housed in the Mercer County Jail. Also, he said, the program should lead to a reduction in repeat offenders.
Judge Thomas R. Dobson said judges like to have as many options as possible in sentencing.
The center "provides us with the ability to make sure they are taking any medications they need, make sure they are taking the required GED classes, and allows us to monitor their daily use of illicit drugs," he said.
Dobson said he has supported the center since its creation and is still "much in favor" of the program. "It is a tool that can help us in many occasions."
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com