🔴 JP COGER'S SPECIAL REPORT: WASHINGTON COUNTY HAS APPLIED FOR $2.5 MILLION DOLLARS TO EXPAND THE COMMUNITY REBUILDING INITIATIVE — IF CRI IS ACTUALLY SO GREAT, WHY TRY TO EXPAND IN SECRECY?

Former Crisis Stabilization Unit Building

I have prepared this “Special Report” separate from my regular newsletter because what I am covering here warrants focused attention. The community—and particularly those with expertise in criminal justice reform—should be aware of what the county has applied for and evidently plans to do. That includes incarcerated and previously incarcerated individuals.

What is the Community Rebuilding Initiative? a/k/a CRI: The CRI is a jail-based program within the jurisdiction of the Washington County Sheriff, located inside the former Crisis Stabilization Unit building that provides structured programming for individuals while they are incarcerated in the Washington County Detention Center, low level, non-violent offenders who cannot afford to buy their freedom. Participants remain in custody and receive services such as counseling, behavioral programming, education, and reentry preparation. While sometimes discussed alongside pretrial services, CRI is fundamentally different--its services are delivered while people are locked in jail, rather than focusing on safely releasing individuals into the community and providing them with support and resources they need.

I discovered last week that Washington County has submitted this application to the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP (the 2nd one) requesting $2,535,001.81 to expand the Community Rebuilding Initiative (CRI).  This matter has not been discussed in any Washington County Quorum Court meetings.  I did not know anything about it.  I do not know if other JPs were notified or consulted. 

👉 Accountability starts in the beginning—when policy decisions are first being considered.

I understand this is just an application. The funding may never be awarded, and the expansion may never happen.

But that’s not the point.

The point is whether our county leaders are making decisions based on clear data, complete information, and full transparency—or moving forward with unanswered questions and no transparency. Are we doing what is best for Washington County people, especially those involved in our justice system? I do not believe we are and I am troubled, again, by how this seems to be playing out behind closed doors.

This proposal is significant—not just because of the dollar amount, but because it represents a huge major policy decision (evidently made by very few people) about how our county responds to addiction, incarceration, and public safety.  It has not been vetted to the public.  

I also learned that this is not the county’s first attempt at secretly expanding a very expensive program where we have little information as to its actual performance. The CRI was presented to us in early 2025 as "pilot program."

Last year Washington County applied for another ARORP award in the amount of $8,471,042.08!! (see application HERE) (the first one) to expand the CRI from 30 to 60 beds for men and add 30 beds for women (the current program excludes women).  The men’s program would have been moved to the former women’s prison and the women would be moved into the current men’s facility (the former Crisis Stabilization Unit). 

That was denied by ARORP HERE.  

Starting on Page 66 of the Application, County Judge Deakins, Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn, Springdale Mayor Doug Spouse, Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn and several other local elected officials signed off on this proposal, but no one brought this proposal forward for a public discussion.

I have prepared below what I think is a clear breakdown, to the best of my ability, of what the current $2.5M application actually does or seeks to do—and the key questions that must be answered.

🟠 BIG PICTURE:  Read the New Application HERE

The proposal would:

• Expand the CRI program

• Add a women’s program 

• Increase capacity 

• Renovate additional space connected to the detention system (former women’s prison - which was a model for the nation)

  
  

👉 While described as a treatment initiative, the application shows this is largely a facility expansion project inside the jail system.  It is a jail expansion.

💰 WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Total Request: $2.5 million

• 🏗️ Construction & Renovation: ~$1.45 million

• 🎥 Security system: ~$311,000

• ⚙️ Only One Year operations: ~$767,000

👉 Key takeaway: This is not just funding for services—it is primarily funding to build and expand infrastructure, expand jail beds.

🔴 1. Where Is Evidence-Based Treatment?

The application does mention Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)—the nationally recognized gold standard for opioid addiction, but only briefly that I could find. Per the county's 2025 RSAT Grant Application, CRI did not provide MAT at that time.

Instead, the focus is on:

• behavioral programming

• Religious partners and programming

• expanding our current CRI program

👉 It is unclear whether the program as proposed will fully meet evidence-based standards required by ARORP.

🔴 2. CRI Is Not Pretrial Services

Washington County officials sometimes describe CRI as a form of pretrial services—but that is not accurate.

👉 True pretrial services are designed to safely release individuals from jail as quickly as possible under the least restrictive conditions.

CRI, by contrast:

• operates inside the jail - keeps people in jail

• provides services during incarceration

➡️ This is a jail-based program. It is not a diversion strategy.

See HERE a presentation with much more detail on real pretrial services that Sarah Moore and I prepared in 2022. Read HERE what the American Bar Association says about real pretrial services. Their definition does not include the CRI program.

🔴 3. What Are the Long-Term Expansion Costs? Those should be considered from the start!

The application outlines:

• construction

• equipment

• one year of operations

  
  

But it does not clearly define:

• long-term funding

• staffing costs

• supervision (including deputies)

• ongoing operational expenses (It will actually be a jail addition and could cost millions yearly to operate - I say that based on our current jail expenses of over $27 Million Dollars for 2026

👉 The sustainability plan relies on “shared resources and partnerships”—but does not identify a dedicated funding source.

🔴 4. Blurring the Lines

The application relies heavily on the credibility of:

• Drug Court

• Mental Health Court

While those programs are great and evidence-based, they are being used here to support a separate program (CRI).

👉 Referencing them does not automatically make CRI equivalent.

🔎 WHY THIS MATTERS

This proposal is not just about funding—it is about direction.

• Are we investing in evidence-based, community-based treatment?

• Or are we expanding programs inside the jail system?

• Are we making decisions with clear financial understanding?

• Or committing to programs with uncertain long-term costs?

👉 These are important questions that deserve clear answers. Remember that Washington County just spent over $20 Million Dollars of American Rescue Plan Act money on jail expansion.

🔴 PRETRIAL SERVICES vs. CRI EXPANSION: A COST COMPARISON

💰 PRETRIAL SERVICES (ANNUAL COST)

• Supervisor: $78,000

• 4 Officers: $249,600

• Data Specialist: $70,000

• Benefits: $120,000

• Supplies & Services: $35,000

👉 TOTAL COST: ~$552,600

💸 ESTIMATED SAVINGS

• Jail population: ~700

• Pretrial detainees: ~80% (~560 people)

• If just 25% (140 people) are safely released:

👉 Savings: ~$5.1 million per year

(140 people × $100/day × 365 days)

🏗️ CRI (PROPOSED EXPANSION COST)

• Expansion request: $2,535,001.81

• Already spent: $481,478.47 (verified renovations to date at old jail)

👉 TOTAL INVESTMENT: Over $3 million

⚖️ SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON

	PRETRIAL SERVICES	CRI EXPANSION
Primary Goal	Reduce jail population by providing services & resources	Expand jail-based programming
Approach	Release eligible individuals	Keep individuals incarcerated
Annual Cost	~$552,600	$2.5M+ (plus prior $481K)
Financial Impact	Saves ~$5M/year	Adds cost
Model Type	Community-based - Release on least restrictive conditions possible	Jail-based
Alignment with Best Practices	✔️ Strong	❓ Unclear (MAT gap)

⚖️ BOTTOM LINE

Before moving forward, we should have clarity on:

• Will the program include Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)?

• What are the true long-term costs to the County?

• Who is responsible for staffing and operations?

• How does this align with best practices for diversion and treatment? (I say it does not align with best practices)

• Why are we doing this instead of investing in data-based and proven pretrial services programs? Programs that would actually keep people out of jail while providing them with resources to succeed.

Regarding long-term funding, the County’s application states: “This one year of operating expenses will also allow us time to seek future funding for subsequent years.” This raises legitimate concerns about sustainability—particularly given that long-term viability is a central expectation of ARORP funding.

It is also important to note that Washington County has already spent at least $481,478.47 on renovations and updates to the old jail facility (the former women’s prison) in hopes of expanding CRI. I can document that amount HERE. That is nearly half a million dollars already invested - there may be more.

The County is requesting an additional $2.5 million for further renovations and expansion through the CRI ARORP application. When viewed together, this raises an important question: how much total investment are we making in this approach, and what are we getting in return? Before moving forward, we should have a clear understanding of the full scope of costs and how this aligns with evidence-based strategies for addressing addiction and reducing incarceration.

In early 2020, Washington County invested $70,000 in a comprehensive Criminal Justice Assessment Study conducted by the National Center for State Courts. The report provided clear, data-driven recommendations for improving our justice system, with real pretrial services identified as a top priority. It is reasonable to ask why these recommendations have not been implemented or incorporated into current policy decisions—and whether we are making full use of the expert guidance we have already paid for. I believe we are not, and that gap carries real costs—both financially and in human impact.

This is a significant proposal with long-term implications for Washington County. Before any decisions are made, the public deserves clear answers. I encourage you to stay informed, ask questions, and speak up. Attend meetings, reach out to your representatives, and be part of holding our government accountable. Contact information for county officials.