MONTICELLO, NY — The annual Sullivan County Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) Advisory Board Meeting was held at the Sullivan County Probation Department on January 27, 2016. The ATI program provides alternatives to incarcerating defendants and supervision of community service work that may be ordered for defendants as a condition of sentencing or probation by the various courts in Sullivan County.

During 2015, 57 defendants were ordered to perform a total of 8,265 hours of community service work in Sullivan County. ATI has used various sites for such community work, including Caring Hands Food Pantry, Rock Hill Business Association, Swan Lake Renaissance, Monticello Fire Department, North Branch Fire Department, United Way, SPCA, Liberty Elks Lodge, Rape Intervention Services and Education (RISE), Veterans’ Transitional Home, Achieve Nursing and Rehab Facility, Literacy Volunteers of Sullivan County, CACHE, Action Towards Independence, Community United Methodist Church (Kauneonga Lake), Town of Tusten, and many others. These programs allow sentenced defendants to give back to the community and provide needed services that benefit all in the county.

The ATI program also saves considerable tax dollars, since it costs on average a total of $160/day to incarcerate someone in the Sullivan County Jail. Additionally, the State of New York reimburses Sullivan County $242.79 for up to 70 defendants that are released to ATI, for a total of $16,995.00. Judge LaBuda said, “It makes sense. Not only does it save money, but it also provides meaningful and worthwhile alternatives to incarcerating defendants who otherwise sit in jail and play basketball.”