NCJ Number
89693
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Pretrial release programs that are suffering from budget cuts can enhance their resources by developing or expanding their use of volunteers.
Abstract
In organizing a volunteer program, the pretrial release agency must consider several factors. It first must examine potential sources of volunteers and decide if sufficient human and fiscal resources exist to initiate a volunteer program. The agency must develop guidelines for screening applicants for volunteer work. Critical factors in retaining volunteers include the successful matching of volunteers' talents with agency needs, effective training programs, and the development of precise job descriptions to reduce chances of conflict between paid and volunteer staff members. Organizationally, volunteers may be in a separate unit headed by an assistant director for volunteer services, or be a special unit working directly under the agency director. The agency also must develop an evaluation plan to measure volunteer as compared to paid staff pretrial services performance. The Court Volunteer Center in Pima County, Ariz., is used to illustrate a successful volunteer pretrial services program. A total of 24 footnotes are given. An appendix lists resources in volunteers in pretrial release.