Clermont to reopen Community Alternative Sentencing Center once a new operator is selected

“We will reopen CASC in a timely manner once a new operator is selected”

BATAVIA, Ohio – Clermont County received two responses to its request for proposals for operation of the Community Alternative Sentencing Center (CASC). Responses were due and opened Feb. 5.

The proposals will be evaluated by a committee that will meet the week of Feb. 9, said Assistant County Administrator Tom Eigel. A decision should be made within the month, he said, and CASC will reopensometime after that.

CASC opened in Clermont County in August 2013, with 100 beds in special quarters at the County Jail, with a mission to provide an alternative to jail for misdemeanor drug and/or alcohol offenders. Services included substance abuse treatment, educational services, workforce services and life skill classes. From December 2013 to November 2014, 362 clients served 9,102 days in CASC.

Talbert House operated CASC for 18 months; its operations will cease on Feb. 11. All current participants in CASC will have completed their sentence and be discharged by that date, said Joe Ellison, Chief Probation Officer, Clermont County Municipal Court.

In January, the county advertised its request for proposals, with new services and outcome requirements. Among other things, the county expects the new operator of CASC to focus intensely on treatment services, given the scope of addiction problems in the county.

“We will reopen CASC in a timely manner once a new operator is selected,” said Eigel. “We’re going through a transition now, and ultimately we will have an even stronger program to help deal with the addiction crisis our county is facing. We are committed to CASC and the difference it can make.”

Separately, the County Jail has added about 50 additional beds, primarily to deal with the impact of an increasing number of female prisoners, also related to heroin and other addictions.