Background
C.R.S. § 18-1.3-507, C.R.S. § 19-2-308, and C.R.S. § 42-4-1301.4 authorize the County, on behalf of the Fourth Judicial District, to enter into contracts with private service providers for UPS for Fourth Judicial District persons who committed an offense. All fees for such services and County oversight are to be paid by the person who committed an offense.
Fourth Judicial District
The District serves El Paso and Teller Counties. The district population exceeds 600,000. Referrals will come from both the County and the District Courts. The County estimates that approximately 4,800 new cases will be referred each year.
Program Principles
The County has established the following principles for this program:
Principle #1: Community well-being and safety is the primary goal.
Principal #2: Offender completion of their Useful Public Service (UPS) sentence is a cost-effective method that holds people who committed an offense accountable through tangible, productive consequences and upholds the credibility of court sanctions.
Principle #3: Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge should not have to supervise the operation of the program and, with the Judge’s approval, the County will assume that role. A Court Order authorizing this agreement will be processed after a proposal has been selected.
Principal #4: Not-for-profit companies and governmental entities in the Fourth Judicial District should be the beneficiaries of this labor source.
Principle #5: Participation in a work crew program for El Paso County government may serve as an intermediate sanction in lieu of initiating revocation proceedings and sentencing people who committed an offense to the jail.
Principle #6: No UPS court orders within El Paso County will be processed by agencies outside of any contract with El Paso County.