Grant funds program to lower repeat offenses in Hamilton County

MGN

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) —  Hamilton County’s Alternative Sentencing Department was granted $844,294 to fund a new program focused on lowering repeat offenses.

The U.S. Department of Justice provided this grant for the Recidivism Reduction Initiative (RRI)

The RRI is a three-year initiative beginning in January 2025.

This program is focused on supporting people in the county’s misdemeanor programs by helping them stay out of jail and successfully reintegrate into society.

These funds, also approved by the Hamilton County Commission, will allow the department to hire two new staff members.

The funds will also create a fund to help participants with treatment and transportation costs.

“Our office has made recidivism reduction a priority by expanding the jail’s reentry program with new vocational opportunities and launching a Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program to improve mental health outcomes for inmates.  This new investment will further streamline the county’s efforts in making sure our low-level offenders have a second chance to reintegrate successfully into society and reduce the likelihood of returning to jail,” said Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp.

Researchers and professors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) will collect and analyze data from the RRI.

This data will help measure the program’s effectiveness.

“Getting a federal grant like this is an incredible opportunity.  We’re going to help Hamilton County construct a new database from the ground up, and we’ll be assessing the program along the way to ensure it is working as intended, using baseline date to measure the program’s growth and impact on recidivism,” said Dr. Andrew Denney, UTC Assistant Professor of Social, Cultural and Justice Studies.