Community Manatee Supervised Release Becomes Seventh Florida Government to Obtain State Accreditation

Manatee County Supervised Release today became the seventh local government to achieve accreditation through the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission.

Manatee’s efforts were recognized during a special presentation ceremony in Orlando today. Jennifer Burgh, Probation Services Manager, said the distinction caps a two-year pursuit for Manatee’s Supervised Release unit. The group of 10 County employees screen and supervise an average of 400 clients a month, keeping them out of jail when they cannot afford to post bond. Across Florida 27 counties offer pretrial release services to lower the inmate population in county jails.

“We have reached a true standard of excellence and I’m super proud of my staff,” Burgh said. “We’re fair and consistent with our clients. I have a great staff who work really hard and care about doing a great job for Manatee County.”

With public safety in mind, judges evaluate a number of factors identified during the screening process as they consider whether defendants should be assigned to supervised release as low-cost alternative to jail. Manatee’s Supervised Release program has great value for Manatee taxpayers: The daily cost of incarceration for a Manatee County jail is $74.04 per inmate. The daily cost of supervised release is $1.81 per defendant. Manatee County Supervised Release clients appear for their court dates 98 percent of the time.

“I am proud of the efforts of the Supervised Release Team and Supervised Release Chief (April) Heuss for the work done to achieve this accreditation,” said Brenda Rogers, Community Services Department Director. “They have worked incredibly hard over the past two years to achieve the levels of competency necessary to earn this credential. It is truly a reflection of the professionalism and determination of the staff in the unit working together to reach this goal.”

Heuss is pictured in the attachment holding the accreditation certificate with the Supervised Release team at yesterday’s presentation ceremony. A list of the accreditation requirements can be found on the Accreditation agency’s website.

For more information on Manatee County Government, visit online at www.mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501. You can also follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/manatee.county.fl and on Twitter, @ManateeGov.