A new probation program in Westmoreland County designed to divert inmates from the county jail is set to begin Sept. 1.
County commissioners on Thursday approved the hiring of one probation officer who will staff a newly created day reporting center in Greensburg that will cater to probation violators and other offenders rather than have them sit in jail.
The county will open the center with a $300,000 state grant, which will pay for administrative costs and services offered at the facility on South Maple Avenue.
The center will function as a probation office and a service headquarters where an offender can receive drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, job training and other counseling.
Earlier this year, the county contracted SPHS Behavioral Health in Greensburg for $150,000 to run the center for two years.
County officials aren't sure the program costs can be covered beyond the first two years, when the state grant expires.
The probation office had asked for two officers to staff the facility, but commissioners approved only one hire yesterday.
"This has got to pay for itself," said Commissioner Charles Anderson.
To that end, the county's four criminal court judges this week increased fees assessed to those who serve on house arrest with electronic monitoring devices.
Fees were doubled, from $50 to $100 to connect service, and increased by an average of $3 a day for monitoring expenses.
Those higher fees are expected to raise more than $200,000 annually. A portion of those funds will be used to pay for additional costs to operate the day reporting center, according to Andrew Urban, director of the county's adult probation department.
"The extra money is expected to help pay for employees and costs at the day reporting center," Urban said.
The additional fees also will pay for the rental of a more advanced electronic monitoring system.
Commissioners yesterday approved the leasing of new units that will conduct around-the-clock tests on probationers to determine if they have been drinking alcohol.
Ankle bracelets on the units will be able to test a person's blood-alcohol level through the skin. It will replace the existing units that require probationers to blow into a secondary unit at random intervals.
"We'll be able to test more people, and it may encourage people to stop drinking. It's going to be hard to beat the system," Urban said.
