This eight-month investigation revealed alarming shortcomings in prison diversion programs that often drive participants into debt or land them in prison or jail anyway. The SPLC’s investigative reporters found that Alabama’s community corrections programs vary greatly by county, charging different fees for supervision, drug testing, ankle monitoring and other services. They operate with little meaningful oversight by the Alabama Department of Corrections, which can lead to participants being charged duplicate fees for the same services. Some operate work release facilities, which one expert likened to “indentured servitude.”
