Evaluation of the Fairfax Day Reporting Center (FDRC), Final Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia

• NCJ Number: 174079
• Author(s): S Orchowsky; J Lucas; T Bogle
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Virginia Dept of Criminal Justice Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In 1993, the Virginia General Assembly authorized funding for the development of a day reporting program in Fairfax County for probation and parole technical violators; the purpose of this program was to provide nonresidential punishment based on high public safety standards.

Abstract

The Fairfax Day Reporting Center (FDRC) began accepting offenders in August 1993. While the FDRC program was originally conceptualized to target the population of probationers and parolees who technically violated community supervision programs, the scope of the FDRC program was expanded to include offenders directly sentenced to the program by Fairfax County circuit court judges and inmates released directly to the program by the Virginia Parole Board. The FDRC is operated by Virginia Department of Corrections staff who supervise and monitor offenders and provide educational, drug treatment, and life skills assistance. The FDRC program incorporates three levels of treatment and supervision, with each level providing less stringent supervision requirements than the preceding one. In addition, offenders are sanctioned to discourage negative behaviors. Results of an evaluation of the FDRC suggest the program is achieving its goals of ensuring public safety and providing individualized treatment and rehabilitation services to many clients. Five recommendations are offered to improve program effectiveness even further: (1) develop empirically-based criteria for program admission to identify offenders who will most benefit from the program; (2) ensure appropriate sanctions are applied to unsuccessful program participants; (3) expand resources for substance abuse services; (4) increase emphasis on employment and educational needs of offenders; and (5) address potential benefits received by unsuccessful participants and conduct additional research to examine outcomes for offenders who complete the program, are terminated from the program, or do not participate in the program. 3 tables