BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVES UPDATE TO YCSO REACH OUT PROGRAM
Published on January 23, 2025
The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved money from the Arizona Attorney General's Office be allocated for a critical update of the hugely successful YCSO Reach Out program. The Board okayed nearly $2 million from the AG's Opioid Settlement Agreement to improve the database of Reach Out, which is a program that has seen a major cut in recidivism in Yavapai County in recent years.
Sheriff David Rhodes told the Board at the January 22nd meeting in Cottonwood that his agency is seen as a leader in how to reduce the number of people who are released from jail, only to commit a new crime and be incarcerated once again. The Sheriff said since the program began in 2018, recidivism dropped from 50% (one out of two going back to jail for a new crime) to 18% (less than one out of five) in Yavapai County. The program identifies inmates who have substance abuse issues, are dealing with mental illness, or who come from extremely difficult childhood and family backgrounds and connects them with local agencies that can offer treatment. The Sheriff said simply putting someone back in jail is not the answer in many cases, and the significant reduction in repeat offenders in this county is evidence of that.
With this new funding from the AG's office, a vendor will build a Recidivism Tracking Database cross-system available to many treatment providers, law enforcement/jail personnel, and community providers in and also beyond Yavapai County, so that they can then populate it with valuable information about those who come into the criminal justice system and are dealing with issues like mental illness. This data will allow program officials to see what is working, and also what is not working to cut recidivism, and to make even more improvements to the already-successful program, which now includes five counties (Yavapai, Navajo, Mohave, Pinal, and Coconino) and hopefully will soon expand to include Maricopa County.
Sheriff Rhodes told the Supervisors, "This is another step in a very long process of building the Reach Out program, which is highly sought after statewide. We are seen as a leader in this area, and we need this update so we can keep moving forward."