Cleveland County Community Sentencing Planning Council Regular Meeting - April 14, 2026
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Cleveland County Community Sentencing Planning Council Regular Meeting - April 14, 2026
The Cleveland County Community Sentencing Planning Council held its regular meeting on April 14, 2026, at 8:30 AM in Norman, Oklahoma. The council discussed the FY2027 Plan and Budget, reviewed bills and fiscal reports, heard updates from the District Attorney's office and probation, and explored expanding program utilization for homeless populations.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved the minutes of the January 13, 2026 regular meeting.
- Approved payment for FY2027 services using 210 administrative fees for: Heritage therapeutic services (domestic abuse assessments), Innovative Court Solutions (drug testing), Team (hair follicle testing), CARTA (transportation), Attenti (remote alcohol monitors), and South Central Industries (drug testing supplies).
Discussion Items
- FY2027 Plan and Budget Request: Staff presented the budget based on current trends, noting only 52 participants in the program (down from a typical 75-85). The budget is lower due to reduced numbers. Discussion focused on low enrollment despite 22 LSI orders in the last quarter and 28 eligible LSIs awaiting plea. A new 30-day turnaround process was proposed, similar to Comanche County's successful model.
- Review of Bills (Jan-Mar 2026): Staff reported that not all March bills were received. The council reviewed the bills list provided in the packet.
- Fiscal Year Report: The council reviewed current budget ($50,000), expenditures ($20,892), and balance ($29,000). The admin fee fund balance is $65,827. Staff expressed desire to increase participation to over 100.
- ADA Presentation: New Assistant District Attorney Hannah Whitefield (started March 1) reported on Jan-Mar 2026 activity: 52 participants, 22 LSIs ordered, 8 pled into program, 3 graduations in March, 17 sanctions across 13 participants, 8 incentives across 8 participants. She outlined efforts to improve collaboration with original ADAs and streamline LSI orders.
- Probation Officer Report: Officer Michael Ramsbacher (DOC) reported 1 absconder and 1 incarcerated participant (Michael Taylor to IRF). Highlighted success stories including Tommy Richardson, who benefited from BA resources. Emphasized trauma-based criminality and program effectiveness.
- New Business – Homeless Population: A board member suggested using the program to help the homeless population. Discussion noted that most homeless offenses are misdemeanors (trespassing) which may not meet program criteria. The board decided to agendize a presentation from Norman's PACE team at the next meeting to explore overlap and potential collaboration.
Key Outcomes
- The council approved the FY2027 Plan and Budget Request.
- Approved the payment list for FY2027 services.
- Approved the review of bills for January-February-March 2026 (though March bills incomplete).
- Received and accepted the fiscal year report and ADA presentation.
- Agreed to invite the City of Norman's PACE team to present at the next regular meeting to discuss homeless population interactions.
- No additional board statements or new business were introduced; meeting adjourned.
Note: The transcript did not include explicit vote tallies; all actions appeared to pass by consensus or motion without dissent.
Meeting Transcript
So I gave you a whole packet. Um I also sent it out earlier in the month so you guys could review it to see if there's any changes or any comments you had about it. I didn't receive any, so um we're presenting it as sent. Um the last page has not the very last page of the packet, but the after the plan there is the budget request, and I kind of based that on what we've been trending uh for this fiscal year, and then um added extra in for inpatient treatment. So um our numbers are really low right now. We only have fifty-two in the program, so that's why the budget is less than it usually is how many uh over average. We've always strived to be over a hundred. Uh we used to run usually between I'm gonna say seventy-five and eighty-five. Um, but we've just it's just been in the fifties for a while now, would you all say? And what's what the problem is with that is we have the benefit of having an officer that just has a community sensing caseload, but because our numbers are getting so low, they're starting to give him generic, which takes away from his time for community sensing. So we helped to correct that. We're getting lots of LSI orders, so I mean, there's definitely potential there to increase. I think I had 10 for one month, so and most of them come back eligible. So it's just if they get pledged to the program or not. So next item is the discussion of possible action regarding review of the bills for the months of January, February, and March of 2026. And the second to last page of your packet I gave you has all the bills listed. Um I haven't received all of the bills for March yet. So and then the last page actually shows you what services we pay for for the whole year and what your fiscal year trend is. Oh, sorry, did I just do? Yeah, sorry, discussion of possible action regarding the report on current five disclosures. So we can use information object. Yeah, a little ahead of myself. So basically, as I said, yeah, you've got a budget of 50,000. We've spent 20,892, and we have a balance of 29,000, which that'll get us, you know, well into the fiscal, well into the end of the fiscal year. In your admin fee fund, which you don't have a copy of this, you have 65,827. And that's what we use to pay for drug tests. We use it to pay for um drug testing supplies, we use it for transportation to uh inpatients, so you have a good fund there. Um I think Hannah's gonna go over some of the sentencing, but like I said, we have 52 in the program right now. I'd like to see us over a hundred, so we definitely have the funding to do that, and I can request more funding as the numbers go up if we need it. Well, why don't we have more like what is it that we're not getting participants or is it a recommendation from the DA's office on do we need more people be recommended or what is going on? I mean, I feel like we're getting enough LSI orders. I mean, like I said, this past let's see, I think for April or for March, there was 10 LSI orders, like 22 in the last quarter. So I mean, and most of them come back eligible, and most of the people show up for their assessment. So I'm not sure. I mean, sometimes people get sentenced to prison, or maybe they go to another supervision source like OCS or drug court or something, but they screen them for community sensing, we just don't get all of them, or sentencing is just set off forever. So I had actually talked to Jared about trying to do an LSI order and try to get people into the program within a 30-day turnaround. That's what we did in Comanche County, and it worked really well. And we had probably 150 down there in our program. So yes, from our standpoint, it's the um participants aren't fled in. The participants aren't fled in to community sentencing until or it aren't on my radar at least until they are fled in. And so right now we do have an eligible list um of 28 people that have eligible LSIs. Essentially, those cases are just with the original ADA and they are waiting to see whether they blind plea um and just or blind plea into the program or are just sentenced regularly, and so it's just kind of a waiting game, and because judges can sentence people into community sentencing, or it's done with the original ADA. I feel like it just is not on our radar as much. Um, but Debbie and I have spoken about trying to institute um a new order where um as soon as an LSI order is filled out is gone through me, and so then I can have a list to keep track of what eligible LSIs, who the ADA was, when the LSI order was given, um, just so that we can keep track of of how long it's going so we can shoot for that 30-day mark, like Debbie said, um, and try and plea more people into the program. Um, because like she said, with 28 eligibles out there, we should be at our you know, 75, 80 uh limit if we successfully plea all of those participants into the program. So we are trying to get that going. I'm uh for those of you who don't know me. I'm Hannah Whitefield, I'm the new ADA. Um, I just took over March 1st, and so we're kind of throughout the transition, we're trying to get that new program set up. Welcome.
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