14B NCAC 09 .0202. ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Only applicants meeting the following criteria will be eligible to receive financial assistance:

(1)           The program must be administered and governed by the board of directors of a non-profit corporation and the board members must be representatives of the district's criminal justice system and the community-at-large.  The board shall consist of not less than 12 members, and shall include, if possible, judges, district attorneys, attorneys, social workers, law enforcement representatives, probation representatives, and other community leaders.

(2)           The program will accept only persons convicted of nonviolent misdemeanors or nonviolent class H, I, or J felons who are facing an imminent and substantial threat of imprisonment.  The board has the option to exclude certain nonviolent H, I, J offenders from eligibility.

(3)           The application must reflect the board's specific criteria for accepting offenders into the program and the criteria must be developed in accordance with the guidelines in this document.  The board will require reports from the program staff on a regular basis to insure compliance with the criteria.

(4)           The application must also reflect that, should the board adopt acceptance criteria which are more stringent than those in the guidelines, the board will review and approve the acceptance of any offender to the program who was convicted of any offense other than those eligible under the board's criteria. However, acceptance to the program is still limited to the offense categories included in Rule .0401 of this Section.

(5)           The application must reflect the board's willingness to accept responsibility for considering the safety of the community in deciding the acceptance of any offender into the program.

(6)           The Chairman of the board of the non-profit agency shall be the authorizing official of all grant applications requesting funds under the terms of this program.

(7)           The applicant agency must demonstrate that a need for this program does exist; in that:

(a)           Target offenders can be identified who require less than extensive custody, but more than regular probation requirements.

(b)           The number of commitments to prison can be reduced from each county served in the judicial district.

(8)           When applicable, the board demonstrates compliance with rules, guidelines and policies of other programs funded by the Department to the board.

(9)           The application must also reflect the following program components:

(a)           goals for the number of offenders to be accepted into the program and goals for the reduction of offenders committed to prison;

(b)           procedures for identifying prison-bound offenders, and a plan for referral of these targeted offenders to the program;

(c)           procedures for preparing and presenting plans to the court which specifically involve probation staff in plan development;

(d)           procedures for submission of the alternative punishment plan to the District Attorney's office prior to sentencing;

(e)           procedures for establishing contacts or consultation with law enforcement agencies, the public defender's office, the local bar, and community service agencies;

(f)            in so far as is possible, procedures for establishing victims' reaction to the proposed alternative punishment plan in cooperation with the office of the District Attorney;

(g)           procedures for obtaining services from existing public or private agencies;

(h)           procedures for monitoring the progress of offenders on community penalty plans; for cooperating with probation personnel; and, for delineating the roles of the probation staff and the program;

(i)            procedures for returning probationers who do not comply with the terms of their plan to court for action;

(j)            procedures for evaluating the program's effect on the numbers of prison commitments for the jurisdiction of the program.

 

History Note:        Authority G.S. 143B-500 through 143B-507;

Eff. February 1, 1988;

Transferred from 14A NCAC 11 .0402 Eff. June 1, 2013.