The Orange County Sheriff’s Department operates one of the ten largest jail systems in the country. With an average daily inmate population of 6,500 throughout five jail facilities, the Orange County community recognizes the need and importance to fulfill a mission of seamlessly transitioning our inmates upon release from custody into community based programs designed to enhance their successful reintegration into the community. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, a firm believer in reentry programs stated, “The Sheriff’s Department is dedicated to identifying collaborative strategies to reverse the trend of criminal recidivism in hope of making a meaningful impact on adult recidivism. We also understand that it is imperative to develop a coordinated effort with other key Orange County stakeholders that promotes community safetyand includes various support services for offenders”.
Recognizing that inmate reentry is of critical importance, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department created the Inmate Reentry Unit to combat the escalating recidivism rates affecting Orange County. The Inmate Reentry Unit has implemented a number of programs all designed with the inmates’ and formerly incarcerated individuals’ needs in mind. In-custody cognitive - based education, risk and needs assessments, individualized pre-release planning sessions, and our post release Resource Center are the core components of inmate rehabilitation and reintegration. By collaborating with other key stakeholders in the community such as the Orange County Probation Department and the Orange County Reentry Partnership (OCREP), the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is working towards a county wide reentry collaborative that includes government agencies, private, non- profit, faith- based, and community- based organizations.
Orange County is honored to be part of the Transition from Jail to Community Initiative. Some of the goals of the TJC grant that have been identified by Orange County and its key stakeholders include assistance in developing initial inmate assessment tools, standardized curriculum, defining agency roles within the reentry partnership, and improving data collection. With assistance from the National Institute of Corrections and the Urban Institute, Orange County is confident that we will be able to improve existing countywide reentry efforts with the end result of an evidence-based collaboration between the Sheriff’s Department and all of its community partners with the goal of properly preparing inmates for a successful reintegration into the community, lowering recidivism rates, reuniting families, reducing jail overcrowding, and making Orange County communities safer.
For further information please contact Dominic Mejico at (714) 647-4513 or dmejico@ocsd.org.
