The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors has recently given the green light for nearly $2 million in funding to enhance the YCSO Reach Out program, which aims to lower reoffenses among former inmates. This injection of funds, sourced from the Arizona Attorney General's Office as part of the Opioid Settlement Agreement, is set to bolster the program's existing database infrastructure. Since its inception in 2018, the Reach Out initiative has been credited with significantly reducing recidivism rates in Yavapai County from 50% to 18%.
According to a report from the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff David Rhodes highlighted the program's success at a January 22 board meeting in Cottonwood. Rhodes emphasized that the program connects inmates battling substance abuse, mental illness, or stemming from challenging backgrounds with treatment agencies to prevent future crime. "Simply putting someone back in jail is not the answer in many cases," Sheriff Rhodes remarked, signaling the effectiveness of a rehabilitative approach over purely punitive measures.
The financial boost will enable a vendor to create a comprehensive Recidivism Tracking Database, which will be accessible to a multitude of treatment providers, law enforcement, and community organizations both within and expanding beyond Yavapai County, as detailed by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. The goal of the enhanced database is not only to facilitate information sharing but also to track the progress and efficacy of interventions. This system is envisioned to aid program officials in pinpointing productive strategies and identifying those that are lacking.
The Reach Out program's expansion has been swift and broad, now encompassing five Arizona counties: Yavapai, Navajo, Mohave, Pinal, and Coconino, with the potential inclusion of Maricopa County on the horizon. Sheriff Rhodes expressed enthusiasm for the program's statewide recognition and the necessity of this update to maintain momentum. "This is another step in a very long process of building the Reach Out program, which is highly sought after statewide," Rhodes said in his address to the Supervisors, as reported by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.
