Skip to content

DA's office announces hiring of reentry coordinator funded by state grant

Reentry Coordinator Deborah Smith "will work to provide the office with up-to-date resources within the county and region for formerly incarcerated individuals that need services."

NEWS RELEASE
BOULDER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
*************************
The District Attorney’s Office for the 20th Judicial District is pleased to announce the hiring of a reentry coordinator. The funds for this innovative position were received through grant funding under the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.

The reentry coordinator will work to provide the office with up-to-date resources within the county and region for formerly incarcerated individuals that need services; will work with individual DAs as requested to offer advice to assist with treatment and program recommendations on specific cases; will develop a resource guide for the office about available resources in the community, and will serve as a liaison for our office to the organizations in the county and state that are working on reentry programs.

Many people think of the criminal justice system as a revolving door where defendants just keep coming back and there are many statistics that support that perception. Our office remains committed to breaking that failed cycle. Through the grant funding the office obtained, we are excited to be at the forefront of DA’s offices nationally that are seeking to reduce recidivism and deliver better outcomes for offenders, victims and the community.

The DA’s office obtained the grant funding to track efforts undertaken in response to the coronavirus pandemic and to expand any efforts that are determined to be successful. These efforts included modifying arrest standards, modifying pretrial release standards and reducing the jail population by approximately 50% to reduce the spread of the virus within the community.

In addition to the reentry coordinator, the grant will fund a data analyst to help obtain, organize and analyze criminal justice data to help determine what policy changes have been successful and should be continued. The goal is to increase service coordination, work to address behavioral health needs, and ensure appropriate support, services and resources are available and utilized to reduce risk to the community by preparing offenders to be in the community.

The DA’s office is proud to have Deborah Smith fill the role of reentry coordinator. Smith comes to us from Criminal Justice Services in Boulder County, where she has been working on reentry initiatives for years. She has worked for both the Jail Education and Transition Program and Jail Based Behavioral Health Services Program in Boulder County and she serves as the facilitator for the Boulder County Reentry Council.

She also worked on reentry initiatives in Missouri before coming to Boulder County. In all, Smith brings to the DA’s office more than a decade of experience working in reentry services.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “In Colorado, roughly 50% of all individuals released from state prison are back in state prison within three years. When compared to other states, that rate of return is a real disservice for offenders, future victims, our communities and the taxpayers. In Boulder, we are working to improve the likelihood of a successful return to the community. This innovative position is a natural extension of those efforts and we are thrilled to have someone with Deb’s experience join the DA’s office.”

*************************