MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FELONY ......The Felony Pretrial Intervention Program (FPIP) at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) is a diversion program for first-time

2017 NACo Nomination: Felony Pretrial Intervention Program (FPIP) Category: Criminal Justice & Public Safety Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County Attorney’s Office P a g e | 1

MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FELONY PRETRIAL INTERVENTION PROGRAM

1. Abstract

The Felony Pretrial Intervention Program (FPIP) at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) is a diversion program for first-time felony offenders. FPIP is an alternative to traditional court prosecution. It aims to reduce recidivism by requiring eligible defendants to complete treatment programs targeted to their individual needs. FPIP is “user funded” which means the defendant typically bears the costs of the initial assessment and the assigned treatment. If the FPIP participant successfully completes the program a felony conviction is avoided. Using evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy strategies, FPIP’s mission is to deter repetitive criminal conduct. The primary mission of the FPIP is to: “reduce recidivism among the first-time felony offender population through the use of programs and services centered on “cognitive behavioral therapy” (short-term, goal-oriented treatment) as an alternative to the use of criminal conviction and probation terms and conditions, for deterring repetitive criminal conduct.” After a complete review of a possible FPIP case and consultation with victims, the MCAO prosecutor determines if a diversion program is appropriate. The prosecutor then offers the diversion program to the offender who, if he agrees to participate, has the prosecution of his case suspended for one year. Many types of offenses are eligible including crimes ranging from forgery, aggravated assault, burglary, shoplifting and possession of marijuana to fraudulent schemes. As long as the defendant meets the program criteria, agrees to admit to criminal conduct and agrees to make full restitution to the victims, he can enroll. If the defendant successfully completes the assigned diversion program, the criminal offense is stricken from his record. The program is challenging and offenders are required to apply themselves and fully embrace this unique opportunity in order for it to be successful. FPIP’s goals are to reduce recidivism, reduce court and jail resources for non-violent offenders, get restitution paid faster and keep the public safe. Successful participation in FPIP can produce better outcomes for our community while also managing taxpayer funds more efficiently and producing an offender who can be a contributing member of our community.


2. Problem/Need Criminal justice research tells us that offender treatment must be individually tailored to address an offender’s criminogenic needs.1 Treatment and diversion should address cognitive issues and recognize that over-treating low risk offenders can increase recidivism in some populations and that the longer low risk offenders spend incarcerated, the higher their risk to re-offend. The MCAO initially identified a group of first-time offenders who may be better served through a diversion program, as opposed to traditional prosecution. These were first-time offenders charged with low-level felonies (class 4, 5 or 6) who also owed less than $2,000 to victims. The FPIP was created with this group of offenders in mind, as an alternative to traditional court prosecution for those who do not pose a substantial risk to the community and who may be amenable to participating in quality diversion programs. When creating FPIP, the main goal was to reduce recidivism by requiring that qualifying defendants complete treatment programs targeted to their individual needs. The program was also created as a way to eliminate lengthy criminal justice delays, at the MCAO and in the Maricopa County Courts, when providing restitution to victims; thus reducing the taxpayer burden. If an offender accepts enrollment in the FPIP they must pay restitution to their victims just as they would if the offender was convicted - 50% of which is due at the beginning of the program, making restitution more immediate. The FPIP reduces the need for court and jail resources and if successful the offender does not have a felony charge on their record. The FPIP helped check a number of boxes that were identified as issues at the MCAO: extensive resources being spent taking cases to court; serving victims faster and more completely; and eliminating the need to create a criminal record for a low-level, first-time offender. 3. Description The FPIP aims to reduce recidivism by requiring that qualifying defendants complete treatment programs targeted to their individual needs. Participation in this program can produce better outcomes for our community while also managing taxpayer funds more efficiently. In early 2015, MCAO initiated a pilot program to assess first-time offenders and determine a treatment plan. MCAO prosecutors reviewed eligible cases and offered a tailored diversion option, courtesy of a working partnership between the MCAO and Sage Counseling, Inc., to offenders in lieu of prosecution. Although the concept was 1 “Risks and Needs Assessment in the Criminal Justice System” by Nathan James, Congressional Research Service, October 13, 2015. And “Implementing Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Community Corrections’ by US Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, October 2009.


well-received, many eligible offenders couldn’t afford the initial financial obligations. FPIP was designed to be “user funded” which means the offender bears the costs of the initial assessment and the assigned treatment program, in addition to making complete restitution payments to the victim. So MCAO went back to the drawing board, secured a grant to cover some of these monetary requirements and officially launched FPIP in July 2015. Cases come into the MCAO and prosecutors identify those that may qualify for FPIP. Eligibility criteria includes:

- Case must present a reasonable likelihood of conviction. - Offender has no prior convictions for a serious offense. - Offender has no prior felony convictions within the last five years and has no

historical prior felony convictions. - Offender has not been convicted three or more times of personal possession of

drug paraphernalia. - Offender has no pending felony charges. - Offender is not facing any charges except those eligible for diversion. - If the offender is charged with multiple counts, those offenses must have occurred

on the same occasion. - Offender is not on felony probation. - Offender has not completed any felony diversion program within the last five

years. - Offender’s recidivism risk score is four or lower. - Offender is not charged with any offenses that involved domestic violence. - Offender is not a gang member. - Offender has no holds or detainers.

After a thorough and complete review of the case along with consultation with victims, the MCAO prosecutor determines if FPIP is appropriate for the offender. The prosecutor offers the program to the offender who agrees to participate -- thus suspending criminal prosecution for one year. Many types of offenses are eligible including, forgery, aggravated assault, burglary, shoplifting, possession of marijuana and fraudulent schemes. As long as the defendant meets the program criteria and agrees to admit to their criminal conduct in addition to making full restitution to the victims, the defendant can enroll. The program is challenging and offenders are required to apply themselves and fully embrace this unique opportunity. Sage Counseling Inc., licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services, offers a variety of treatment programs to eligible offenders. Sage offers individual, couples, family, and group counseling. Sage services include, Substance Abuse Treatment and Education; Screening/Evaluation Services; Domestic Violence Offender Treatment; Anger Management Treatment; DUI Services; Cognitive Skills/Recidivism Reduction; Motivational Enhancement; Delinquency Prevention for Juveniles; Parenting Skills; Truancy Prevention; Community Service Project Supervision and Job Skills Training.


During a “traditional” prosecution, offenders are required to pay full restitution to the victim(s) of the crime after they are convicted. Given the time it takes for a case to move through the criminal justice system and the time it takes an offender to make restitution payments (usually on a monthly basis), it can take a long time for a victim to be made whole. If an offender accepts enrollment in the FPIP they must pay restitution to their victims just as they would if the offender was convicted, including a mandatory 50% payment up front before diversion can begin. The FPIP reduces the need for court and jail resources and if successful the offender does not have felony charges on their record. The program is intended to be 100% user-funded, which means that individuals who will get the most benefit from the treatment program will bear the costs of the program. Defendants are selected based on several factors, including their current charges, overall criminal history, amount of loss caused in the current crime, the input and views of the crime victims and evidence-based assessment tools. The MCAO uses Proxy Tool, a standardized risk assessment tool that has been validated and normalized for the Maricopa County population. The tool provides information about a person’s risk to reoffend, but not information regarding an individual offender’s treatment needs. The tool analyzes three issues: age, age at first arrest, and total number of arrests – and produces a result from 0 (low risk to reoffend) to 6 (high risk to reoffend). This is just one piece of information that is considered in determining eligibility for FPIP. Deputy County Attorneys, MCAO bureau chiefs and probation staff also review the scores and reports to determine eligibility. Public safety is paramount. For that reason violent offenders and others who pose a substantial risk to reoffend will not be allowed to participate. The offenders who then successfully enroll, complete the program and meet all the requirements, have the criminal offense stricken from their record. And what happens if an offender is not successful? The service provider monitors each defendant’s progress in the program and if an individual is not actively participating in their treatment plan, prosecution will be resumed. If convicted, the defendant faces the full range of consequences provided by the law for their crime which can include probation, jail or prison time and fines. If defendants can’t pay back 50% of the restitution owed within the first month, won’t admit responsibility and can’t complete the program in one year or less, then they also aren’t eligible. Finally deputy county attorneys determine related plea offers if the offender elects not to participate in the program. Defendants must get the same plea offer regardless of a decision to participate in the program. The charging deputy county attorney must assess the cases charged and decide if the program is appropriate.


4. Technology The collection of all our FPIP statistical data is done in our new case management system, Prosecutor by Karpel (PBK). Data input for each eligible case/defendant is done by diversion staff and includes the number of referrals, gender, age, qualifying offenses, race and successful/unsuccessful completion rates. As a result of this detailed data entry, diversion staff can generate regular reports and statistics. Several FPIP-specific reports have been created by our in-house IT staff and these can be generated at any time by the diversion staff. Standard forms have also been created by our IT staff that include a notification form for the defendant/defense attorney, victim notification letters and suspension of prosecution letters. These can be generated and uploaded into the case management system. In addition, an MCAO-specific electronic restitution ledger has been created in our case management system and is used once the diversion portion begins. Diversion staff has also created a slideshow presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint. The Diversion staff use this presentation during “lunch education meetings” with County Attorneys (internal) and police departments (external) in an effort to inform new attorneys to the Office about the program, answer questions and get feedback from others on the referral process. 5. Cost The program was originally created so that the costs of the treatment sessions would be paid by the individual defendant on a “pay as you go” basis and the MCAO would work with the service provider to ensure that willing participants were not refused due to a genuine inability to pay. In 2015, FPIP received a one-time legislative appropriation allowing the MCAO to waive the assessment fees for all FPIP participants and to also partially cover treatment costs if a participant is eligible using the sliding fee scale. The MCAO is committed to offsetting some of these costs, making the offenders more receptive to participation. Prior to receiving this money, many offenders were declining participation in FPIP because of the financial requirements. This money was a one-time appropriation and likely won’t be available each year going forward, meaning the MCAO will eventually fall back into the payment model that was created at the outset, mandating the offenders pay 100% of costs. All participants must pay a $140 assessment fee for the initial assessment and development of a treatment plan. Because this program is designed to target the needs of an individual offender, the nature, length, and costs of an individual’s program vary. For example, some offenders will need drug testing which is a separate fee from other counseling services; counseling services are provided at a contracted rate which can be reduced based on financial need. The MCAO has agreed to work with the service provider, currently Sage, on a case-by-case basis to find ways to help cover other costs for individuals who are completely unable to pay. Without any funding assistance, for


successful participants, the total costs range from $900 - $1,300. And successful completion of the treatment program results in a dismissal of the criminal case. To participate in the program, a defendant must agree to pay full restitution to all victims. To ensure that full restitution can be paid before the program is completed, restitution must be easy to determine and cannot exceed certain amounts. Participants in the program must agree to pay at least 50% of the total restitution within their first month in the program. Victims will receive restitution much faster under this program than they would with traditional court prosecution. Together the legislative appropriation and the sliding scale take care of the majority of administrative costs the offender would have to pay. The offender is still responsible for all restitution costs. Results/Success The Felony Pretrial Intervention Program was created in July 2015. In FY 2015-16, there were 151 individuals who accepted entry into the program. 27 of these individuals unsuccessfully completed the program and 49 successfully completed the program. 75 offenders remain in the program and have not yet completed. The average time to successful completion is 150 days and $9,080.71 in victim restitution was collected. Performance measures have since been created to gauge the success of the program.

- Reduce recidivism by measuring the number of new submittals to the MCAO within 12, 24 and 36 months following the participants’ successful completion of FPIP.

- Ensure offender accountability by measuring the number of participants’ who successfully complete FPIP.

- Reduce prosecutorial costs by calculating costs associated with FPIP processing and non-FPIP case processing.

The attached Fact Sheets illustrate the number of successful vs. unsuccessful completions of FPIP. More than 32% of our FPIP participants have successfully completed the program with another 49% of our participants currently enrolled in the program. FPIP continues to receive kudos and recognition from around the state; so much so that the current Arizona legislature has a bill under consideration (SB 1298) which would provide funding for other counties in Arizona who would like to create this type of diversion program. Maricopa County is not included as a recipient of this money; however smaller counties in Arizona who are facing similar funding and prosecution struggles would benefit.


FPIP is assessed and evaluated on a regular basis by the MCAO diversion staff to ensure that the primary goal of reducing recidivism is being achieved and that justice is being done in individual cases. Sage Counseling, Inc. submits regular progress reports to the MCAO Diversion Manager and in some instances extensions will be considered if needed. Please see attached “Fact Sheets” for additional program results. Worthiness of award The FPIP is a cost-effective, alternative to traditional court prosecution. Promoting and ensuring recidivism saves our community and our Office time and money. This innovative and outstanding county program combines evidence-based research techniques and recidivism tools, along with prosecutorial experience and education in order to achieve the best result for the offender and the community. FPIP fills a gap in service to the community and provides solid evidence-based information to facilitate effective public policy making. Making the community safer while simultaneously advancing our criminal justice mission is what the MCAO works towards. For these reasons MCAO’s Felony Pretrial Intervention program is worthy of a NACo Achievement Award.

Documents

MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FELONY ......The Felony Pretrial Intervention Program (FPIP) at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) is a diversion program for first-time