Dodge & Olmsted (D&O) Community Corrections receives Lead Innovator Award
The Dodge & Olmsted (D&O) Community Corrections department has been honored with the Lead Innovator Award from the Minnesota Association of Community Corrections Act Counties. The award recognizes D&O’s efforts to implement the Dosage Discharge program, and its commitment to evidence-based practices in probation services.
The Dosage Discharge program focuses on ensuring offenders receive interventions and services proven effective in reducing rates of reoffending, incentivizing their engagement in risk-reducing activities, and providing the opportunity for early termination from supervision upon meeting risk reduction goals.
Following several years of preparation, D&O Community Corrections officially launched the program in January 2023, becoming the first agency in the nation to have a fully implemented dosage policy. Currently, D&O Community Corrections has 15 groups that meet in-person and virtually with D&O staff, to work on ways to prepare them for discharge.
“These groups help clients understand how they made the decisions that led to criminal involvement and assist them in learning better ways to handle life stress, make decisions, and problem solve while also practicing new skills they have learned,” said D&O Community Corrections Associate Director Alex Bunger.
Two to three groups also exist in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center. Nearly 250 individuals are participating in the Dosage Discharge program.
“This program is empowering the people we serve to achieve their rehabilitation goals,” said D&O Community Corrections Director Nikki Niles. “The work our department is doing is helping to lead the way for a new era in probationary practices that focuses on fostering lasting positive outcomes for both individuals and communities.”
More about D&O Community Corrections
D&O Community Corrections is a joint effort of Dodge and Olmsted counties. Services include probation supervision of juvenile and adult clients, pretrial services, intake services, some behavioral health services, intensive supervised release, and victim services.
More information on services, including contact information, can be found on Olmsted County’s website.