Community Corrections - History

Historical Overview

In 1977 the Oregon Legislature enacted the Community Corrections Act. Yamhill County became the second county in the state (a few months after Washington County) to participate in the community corrections program. The establishment of a consolidated corrections program brought together:

The pre-trial release program , formerly operated by the circuit and district courts and the misdemeanant probation officer, The work release program, operated out of a corner of the Sheriff's Office, and felony probation and parole services, which had been operated by the state corrections division out of the Salem regional office. Following the adoption of the community corrections concept, the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners appointed a 15 member local advisory committee. The committee was staffed by representatives from the criminal justice system. In May 1977, the Advisory Committee recommended Yamhill County assume total control of the community corrections program. On July 1,1978, Yamhill County became an Option I program.

SB 1145 - Local Control - Supervisory Authority

The legislature in 1993 shifted the management of some felony cases from the state to the counties. The enactment of SB1145 identified certain felony offenders, those serving a term of 12 months or less, to be housed in the county correctional facilities. The shift relieved some pressure on an increasing state prison population. The legislation moved all parole and probation officers to the employment and control of the county. The bill provided capital construction monies to the counties to provide additional bed space with operational dollars as well as impact funds to provide for the management of the offenders at the local level.

Yamhill County piloted a project in the fall of 1995 to house 'state-turned local control' inmates at the county level. The pilot included prisoners from adjoining counties housed in the Yamhill County Correctional Facility for structured intermediate sanctions. In November of 1997, the county opened a restitution/work center addition built with SB1145 capital construction funds.