Enrollment Soars at Reporting Center

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Enrollment at a day reporting center that offers re-entry services to inmates released in Franklin County reached 100 participants less than two months after opening.

Operated by B.I. Incorporated, a provider of offender supervision services, the Franklin County Day Center was established by county officials as a means of rehabilitation for inmates and as an alternative to incarceration for probationers and parolees. The county awarded B.I. the contract to operate the center on Jan. 12, 2006, and the center opened in April.

The center offers a combination of intensive supervision, treatment, and training programs that focus on changing criminal behavior for the long term. Participants advance through three levels of supervision, including intensive treatment and rehabilitation, regular reporting to the center, and ongoing testing for drug and alcohol use.

Treatment and training program courses include substance abuse education, basic education, GED preparation, life skills, anger management, cognitive restructuring, skill building and career counseling.

Center operators use daily check-ins, electronic compliance technology and drug testing to monitor participants when necessary.

As an alternative to incarceration, county officials estimate that the center could generate a savings of more than $126,800 a year. Housing an inmate at the county jail costs about $45 per day, whereas the cost for an offender to report to the day center is $24 per day.