Expanding ACES (Alabama's Certain Enforcement Supervision)

The Swift, Certain, and Fair Sanctions Program (SCF): Replicating the Concepts Behind Project HOPE Program provides funding to states, units of local government, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) in an effort to enhance public safety, foster collaboration, and to improve the outcomes of individuals under the supervision of community corrections.

The goals of this program, funded by the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub. L. No. 113-235, 128 Stat. 2130, 2194, are to develop and enhance SCF initiatives and implement the SCF model with fidelity, resulting in reduced recidivism and better outcomes for program participants. SCF approaches are intended to: (a) improve supervision strategies that reduce recidivism; (b) promote and increase collaboration among agencies and officials who work in community corrections and related fields to enhance swift and certain sanctions; (c) enhance the offenders’ perception that the supervision decisions are fair, consistently applied, and consequences are transparent; and (d) improve the outcomes of individuals participating in these initiatives.

The grantee plans to utilize funds to implement Alabama Certain Enforcement Supervision (ACES), a program of immediate sanctions for probationers who do not comply with the terms of their supervision in four pilot counties. The recipient seeks to expand its outreach into four additional counties in FY 2015. The program will target up to 1,000 medium to high risk offenders, identified through use of the ORAS-CST assessment tool, who have been convicted of drug and/or property crimes. The following participant outcomes are expected: 50 percent less likely to be arrested for new crimes; 50 percent less likely to have their probation revoked; 60 percent less likely to miss appointments with their supervisory officer; and 70 percent less likely to test positive for drug use.

CA/NCF