A defendant is referred to court referral by order of the court. Court Referral Officers or Monitoring Specialists are present in court to retrieve demographic and case information on each defendant referred to the program. Therefore, officers are encouraged to develop good work relationships with court clerks, as the two will spend a great deal of time working together.
Intake & Evaluation Process
Upon entry into the program, a defendant meets with a Court Referral Officer (CRO) for intake and an evaluation. Intake involves collecting personal and criminal background information on the defendant. The evaluation consists of the use of an AOC approved testing instrument, computer generated, which yields a test score, coupled with other factors, that directs the CRO of which class level to refer the defendant to. An appropriate class level can not be made without an evaluation. Therefore, CROs are encouraged to perform thorough and conclusive evaluations on a defendant to ensure an adequate referral and placement.
Defendant Fees
Defendants are assessed the following state mandated fees:
Evaluation: $75.00
Monitoring: $30.00 per month
Other agency fees include:
--Drug Test: $25.00 per test (6-panel test)
--Reschedule: $5.00 each occurrence
--Reschedule: $10.00 initial appointment
Defendants also pay for the education classes and those fees are determined by the education agency.