Probation Department

Parole / Probation Officers 
  
The contact information for the APA office for Champaign County is as follows:

Adult Parole Authority for Champaign County
Urbana Unit 1
Champaign County Courthouse
200 North Main Street, Basement
Urbana, Ohio 43078
(937) 484 – 1012
(937) 484 – 1016 (fax)

The APA staff for Champaign County: 
  

Consistent with Ohio Revised Code Sections 2301.27 and 2301.32, the Board of Champaign County Commissioners, at the request of the Court, contracts with the Adult Parole Authority (hereinafter “APA”) to provide for the provision of probationary services and supervisory services for persons placed under community control sanctions.

The APA is responsible for the release and supervision of adult felony inmates returning to local communities from prison, as well as assisting Courts of Common Pleas with supervision duties for felony offenders. It is comprised of the Parole Board and Field Services.

The APA for Champaign County is classified in the Urbana Unit 1 of the Dayton region and is comprised of one (1) Senior Parole / Probation Officer and four (4) Parole / Probation Officers. The Urbana Unit 1 includes both Champaign and Logan counties.


Probationary Program – Community Correctional Residential Treatment 

The West Central Community Correctional Facility (hereinafter “WCCCF”) is an established community based correctional facility located in Marysville, Ohio. It is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections of the American Correctional Association. WCCCF is a 144 bed facility that houses men and women who have been convicted of felony offenses and have been sentenced to community control (i.e., probation).

The Champaign County Common Pleas Court, General Division, is a member of the West Central Community Correctional Facility district, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 2301.51. Eight Ohio counties are served by WCCCF, including Champaign, Clark, Delaware, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow and Union counties.

Champaign County Common Pleas Court Judge Nick A. Selvaggio is a member of the West Central Community Correctional Facility’s Judicial Advisory Board.

WCCCF is a residential community control (i.e., probation) sanctioned program utilized by the Court for individuals who have been convicted of criminal felony offenses. WCCCF is considered a viable alternative to the imposition of a term of imprisonment upon an offender.

WCCCF inmates are generally non-violent or low-violent criminal offenders who have received a score of “moderate” or “high” as determined by the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS).

ORAS is a risk and need assessment tool that has been incorporated into the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction policy and community correctional agencies business rules. ORAS is utilized statewide and assesses the likelihood of future crimes by adult offenders.

Through the use of the ORAS Community Supervision Tool, the ORAS Evaluator will assess the individual’s criminal history, education, employment and financial situation, family and social support, neighborhood problems, substance use, peer associations and criminal attitudes and behavioral patterns and then score the individual accordingly.

The Champaign County Common Pleas Court, General Division, is required to use the ORAS evaluation tool when considering criminal sentences. The results of the ORAS assessment on offenders guide their case planning, supervision level, program referral and placement, and treatment intervention.


Probationary Program – Justice Reinvestment Grant Program

Through the efforts of the WCCCF Executive Director David Ervin and the WCCCF Judicial Advisory Board, the WCCCF obtained a Justice Reinvestment Grant Program (JRIG), as administered by the Ohio Bureau of Community Sanctions, which administers many of Ohio’s community correction programs. The Common Pleas Courts in Champaign, Delaware, Logan and Union counties are member partners in the PIP grant program. The PIP grant provides 100% of the total funding for the program.

JRIG provides performance based funding to Courts of Common Pleas and County Probation Departments to not only adopt evidence-based practices to reduce the number of offenders on community control supervision who violate the conditions of their supervision, but also to decrease the number of offenders convicted of a 4th or 5th degree felony offense that would be committed to terms of imprisonment in Ohio’s prison system.

The non-residential programming provided by the JRIG program is designed to enhance the opportunities for offenders to succeed locally at a reduced cost compared to the cost associated with a term of state correctional imprisonment.

The JRIG program enhances programming services made available to offenders by addressing their criminogenic needs. As an out-of-custody, non-residential program, the PIP program serves to employ case managers that work with criminal offenders who are in need of mental health counseling, substance abuse addiction treatment, alcohol dependency treatment, job readiness training and employment hiring opportunities, stable housing and critical decision-making programming. 

Champaign County’s JRIG Officer is Jessica Manuel and her office is located at: 

Champaign County Courthouse 
200 North Main Street, Basement 
Urbana, Ohio 43078 
(937) 484 – 1615 


Probationary Program – Electronic Monitoring / House Arrest Program

The Champaign County Court of Common Pleas, General Division utilizes an Electronic Ankle Monitor / House Arrest Program (hereinafter “EAM/HA” program) for both pre-trial detention and post-conviction sentencing purposes. The Court funds this program through purchase of thirteen (13) electronic ankle monitors from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services and Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction grant funds and five (5) electronic ankle monitors from the Court’s own budgetary funds. 

The Court uses the EAM/HA program not only as a budgetary method to manage the local jail population, but also as a rehabilitative tool that enables non-violent / low-level violent criminal offenders to maintain employment while restricting the other areas of their lifestyle during periods of community control supervision. 

Better use of the jail space allows the Court to prioritize local jail usage for the most dangerous and high-level violent offenders, while providing those on EAM/HA with the opportunity to keep their job, and in turn stabilize their ability to self-afford housing, contribute to their household and also pay costs, fines and restitution owed in their criminal case. 

Through the combined efforts of this Court and Champaign County Municipal Court Judge Gil S. Weithman, the two courts have been able to relieve the local jail overcrowding problem, eliminating the need for the Tri-County Regional Jail to house inmates at bordering county jails and terminating the drain on the Champaign County’s general fund. 

In terms of dollars saved, the Court began actively using the EAM/HA program in calendar Year 2013. By restricting the movement of non-violent and low-level violent criminal offenders to their homes over lengthy periods of time, the EAM/HA program has saved Champaign County $220,095.00 and $342,370.00 in years 2013 and 2014, respectively, for a total of $562,465.00 during that time period. 

The program is monitored under the command of Tri-County Regional Jail Sgt. Richard Wiskirchen II and his office is located at: 

Tri-County Regional Jail 
4099 St. Rt. 559
Mechanicsburg, Ohio 43044
(937) 834 – 5000 
 

Probationary Program – Treatment and Addiction Services 

Recognizing that no treatment regimen fits every addict, the Court utilizes several in-county local area agencies (i.e., TCN, Mercy Reach, WellSpring to name a few) for non-residential mental health and substance abuse treatment and addiction services. 

The Court also refers individuals to out-of-county agencies based on that offender’s particularized needs or history of prior affiliation with the agency. 

The Court is actively pursuing the establishment of a medication-assisted treatment (“MAT”) program to address the massive heroin dependency problem that is plaguing so many of our Champaign County residents. The MAT program combines cognitive-based behavioral counseling with the daily administration of naltrexone in pill form (initially for a 3 – 10 day period), followed by the administration of the drug vivitrol (a.k.a. “The Vivitrol Shot”) (once a month for up to a two year period.). 

At this time, the Court is referring offenders to local MAT treatment provider TCN and out-of-county MAT treatment providers such as Addiction Angels of America (Columbus) and Access Hospital (Dayton). 


Certificate of Qualification for Employment 

The Certificate of Qualification for Employment was created through enactment of Ohio Revised Code Section 2953.23. 

The Ohio Legislative Service Commission has described the Certification of Qualification for Employment (CQE) as “a mechanism by which an individual who is subject to a ‘collateral sanction’…may obtain a certificate of qualification for employment that will provide relief from certain bars on employment or licensing.” Act Summary, Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Final Analysis, Am. Sub. S.B. 337, 129th General Assembly, September 28, 2012. 

A collateral sanction is “a penalty, disability, or disadvantage that is related to employment or occupational licensing, however denominated, as a result of the individual’s conviction of or plea of guilty to an offense and that applies by operation of law in this state whether or not the penalty, disability, or disadvantage is included in the sentence or judgment.” Ohio Revised Code Section 2953.23(A)(1). 

The CQE petition, instructions on completing the CQE petition and information about the CQE process can be found by accessing www.drccqe.com and Champaign G.D.L.R. 2.7, respectively.