Georgia Department of Corrections
James E. Donald, Commissioner
Director of Public Information
Susan Phillips
Contact: Office of Public Affairs (404) 656-9772
For Immediate Release
RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY FOR ATHENS DAY REPORTING CENTER SCHEDULED FOR Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Athens – Tuesday, February 26, 2008, Georgia Corrections Commissioner James E. Donald and Chief Judge Lawton Evans Stephens will host the grand opening ceremony of the new Athens Day Reporting Center located at 171 Old Epps Bridge Road.
Day Reporting Centers (DRCs) address restitution, restoration, and rehabilitation of offenders who are on probation or parole. The nine-month program targets probationers in the community who are failing to abide by the conditions of their probation due to illegal drug use, unemployment and lack of an education.
“Day Reporting Centers operate at the low cost of $15 per day, compared to prison costs of $47 per day,” stated Commissioner James E. Donald. “The Department of Corrections is dedicated to being good stewards of public funds and we will continue in our efforts to assist offenders with restoration, restitution and rehabilitation. The Day Reporting Centers will aide in those efforts.”
Without the DRCs, these probationers would
otherwise be prison-bound. Probationers
are allowed to continue living with their
families, but required to spend all day
at the center receiving drug treatment,
cognitive skills counseling and job skills
training. After one month, they are required
to work during the day and report to the
center after work. Offenders are drug-tested
three times each week.
Budget projections indicate that Georgia
could add 34 Day Reporting Centers for
the same cost of adding one new prison.
By opening DRCs, 5,000 offenders per
year could be supervised and receive
needed services.
There are presently five DRCs operating
in Macon, Morrow, Tifton, Rome and Griffin.
The Department of Corrections is the fifth largest prison system in the United States and is responsible for supervising nearly 60,000 state prisoners and over 140,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with nearly 15,000 employees.
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