Meet Susan Borovich, St. Clair County's Slave Master

St. Clair County officials hope a new program will free up bed space at the county jail and help some inmates find jobs.

The Jail Alternative Program, which will be overseen by St. Clair County Friend of the Court, will allow certain inmates sentenced for not paying child support to serve their sentences outside jail.

The program will work in conjunction with the St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Department by having some of the inmates work at county parks while on work release from the jail, said Susan Borovich, director of Friend of the Court. While the inmates will not be paid, they will be required to look for a job through Michigan Works while in the program.

Officials hope to start the program in the spring or early summer.

Costs for the program, which would include hiring an on-site supervisor, buying a van to transport the inmates, uniforms, and other items such as a radio or cell phone for the supervisor, would be paid for with federal money through the Friend of the Court division and money from the county parks millage. The cost of the program is not yet known.

To be eligible for the program, an inmate must first make a minimum payment to the custodial parent, the amount of which will be determined by a judge; have no history of violent offenses, sexual assault or personal-protection orders; and be someone who had been making regular payments but stopped because of something such as losing a job.

Officials envision the program working like this:

Participants will meet at 8:30 a.m. daily at the county jail where they will be transported to a park and work until about 2:30 p.m. After that, they will be required to go to Michigan Works where they will try to find a job, work on a résumé or learn job skills.

When the Michigan Works office closes, they would return to their homes.

"I think it's a great initiative," county Administrator Shaun Groden said. "It shows real creativity and acknowledgement that we need to manage our (jail) bed space and look at who is in jail and why."

St. Clair County jail administrator Maj. Tom Torrey said as of Thursday morning, there were 34 people in jail for not paying child support. He said about 20 likely would be eligible to participate in the program.

Torrey anticipates the program will free up bed space that can be used for violent offenders or rented to federal inmates. He hopes to expand the program to other nonviolent offenders.

"I've always taken the stance that we have too many people in jail that are only here because they don't have money," he said. "This would open up beds for people who are a threat or to federal prisoners to bring in money for the general fund."