Furlough option on chopping block Furlough option on chopping block (April 22, 2005)

Budget cuts could force participants in MV-based program behind bars

By Jon Wiener

The 149 participants in a Mountain View-based work furlough program could soon find themselves behind bars, victims of a round of budget cuts at the county agency which runs the program.

The county's probation department last week proposed shutting down the program and laying off the 10 full-time counselors and cooks in the program, a move they said would save the county almost $900,000.

But its elimination would mean the men in the program would lose their work privileges and have to serve the duration of their sentences in Elmwood minimum-security prison in Milpitas.

Located at 590 E. Middlefield Road, the furlough program is designed to allow certain non-violent offenders to continue working while they serve their debt to society. Most get referred there after having run-ins with the law involving drugs or alcohol, or after getting caught while driving with a suspended license.

"There's a lot of people that just make mistakes. They're not really criminals," said "Frank," a former participant who requested that his real name not be used.

In his case, he had barely pulled out of the parking lot at his favorite bar last year when a cop stopped him and gave him a Breathalyzer test.

It was his second DUI - the first coming six years earlier - and the judge could have sentenced him to jail. Instead, the judge sent him to Mountain View, allowing him, he said, to keep his job and his dignity.

"A lot of people who read this article will say 'It can't happen to me,'" he said. "But when it does happen, they'll be going through the system and they'll be saying 'I don't deserve this.'"

In exchange for his ability to continue working for the 30 days he spent in the program, Frank paid a portion of his income - $14 per day - to the program.

But he said the real wake-up call was the other restrictions he faced - reporting to the Middlefield Road facility each night for regular bed checks, mandatory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and random drug and alcohol tests. If at any point he was out of line, he would have lost his privileges and been "rolled up" to Elmwood.

Mary Mundon, a volunteer at the center, said the program is a great way to help people like Frank get their lives back on track.

"It's such a positive step for those who've made a turn in life choices," said Mundon. "They're not really a threat to society."

Mundon and Frank aren't the only ones who would be sad to see the program disappear. Liz Kniss, the county supervisor representing Mountain View and other north county cities, said she has her sights set on saving the program.

Kniss, who sits on the county public safety and justice committee that discussed the proposal last week, said it's important to allow people to continue to be productive - for their own benefit as well as that of their families and society at large.

"The most important part of it is that they never lose their place in society," said Kniss. "Many of these people are very valuable workers. They just made a misstep or two along the way."

The county executive will issue a formal budget proposal in early May, and the Board of Supervisors will debate its provisions in June, including the fate of those in work furlough and future violators for whom it would be an option.

Among the potential alternatives to cutting the program, staff members have suggested transferring its management to the corrections department and increasing enrollment to help recover costs through fees paid by inmates. @email:E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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