STAN BAILEY
News staff writer

MONTGOMERY Gov. Bob Riley said Tuesday he is making funds available to two Alabama counties to create new community corrections programs as a way to help ease crowding in state prisons.

Using money from a supplemental appropriation, Riley awarded a $50,000 grant to Lawrence County and a $75,000 grant to Escambia County.

The state now has 18 community corrections programs serving 20 of its 67 counties. In the past year, they have diverted more than 1,400 convicts from state prisons. The grants will bring the number of programs to 20 serving 22 counties.

Riley said that, with state prisons operating at more than 200 percent of capacity, "We must find long-term solutions to reduce overcrowding before the courts step in and force us to release prisoners before their time is served."

Inmates placed in community corrections programs are supervised, employed and in most cases live at home.

Counties with community corrections programs receive a subsidy from the state of $5 to $15 per inmate per day. It costs about $27 per inmate per day to keep an inmate in a major state prison.

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