TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jun 29, 2022

Community Corrections groups across the state are “reeling” after the Tennessee Department of Correction has changed the way it contracts for intensive felony supervision, Tennessee Lookout reports. Michael Walton, president of the Tennessee Community Corrections Association, says the move will force reductions in staff and services Community Corrections programs offer to the courts. Lawmakers last year rejected an attempt by Gov. Bill Lee to eliminate the program. This year, the state’s request for grant proposals changed the services sought to “virtually” eliminate the program, opponents of the change say. Given those changes, some groups, including Madison County Community Corrections and Knox County Community Corrections, opted not to bid on a new contract. Those kinds of decisions could lead to issues with probation services according to some judges, district attorneys and public defenders.