Yakima County Pretrial Program

The FY 2014 Smart Pretrial Demonstration Initiative (SPDI) grant program seeks to build upon analysis-driven, evidence-based pretrial justice by encouraging local and tribal jurisdictions to effectively implement risk assessment and appropriate supervision and/or diversion strategies targeting pretrial outcomes within their jurisdictions. The goal of SPDI is to test the cost savings and public safety enhancements that can be achieved when jurisdictions move to a pretrial model that uses risk assessment to inform decision-making and employs improved risk management strategies (supervision and diversion).

Yakima County will use the funds to implement both Phases 1 and 2 under this initiative. Specifically, they will use the current Pretrial Committee as a starting point for discussions on how to improve outcomes by developing a pretrial model that is data-driven and evidence-based. The major activities will include: establishing a local policy team; selecting a SPDI coordinator; attending site-based and in-person trainings; developing a data collection plan; addressing eligibility and assessment protocols; and conducting a strategic program design. CA/NCF