The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners has decided to switch to a new correctional delivery system by January 31, 2025. The probation department will transition from the current County Probation Officers (CPO) model to the Community Corrections Act (CCA) model. This decision was made after a thorough review of probation services in the county. The probation department expects this change to allow for the hiring of additional agents, the reduction of caseload sizes, the integration of services, and the enhancement of public safety, all without any extra cost to taxpayers.

What is a Correctional Delivery System?

In Minnesota, each county board has the unique ability to choose from three correctional delivery systems that best meet the county’s needs. These systems define how probation and supervised release services are provided:

County Probation Office (CPO) Model: This model involves two probation agencies. The county office supervises all juvenile matters and adult misdemeanant/gross misdemeanant clients, while the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) oversees all adult felony clients.

Community Corrections Act (CCA) Model: The county takes full responsibility for all community supervision, except for Intensive Supervised Release (ISR) for high-risk individuals supervised by the DOC.

Minnesota Department of Corrections Contract Offices (DOC): In this model, the DOC assumes responsibility for all community supervision. Counties are billed for roughly 50% of the costs for juvenile and adult misdemeanant/gross misdemeanant supervision.

On January 31, 2025, all probation and supervised release clients will report to a County Agent.  All agents will be in the Otter Tail County Courthouse and the County Offices in New York Mills.  Michael A. Schommer, Director of Probation highlighted the benefits of the new delivery system. “This will reduce redundancies while increasing efficiencies,” shared Schommer.  “Additional agents will be hired to reduce caseload sizes, creating more opportunities for agents to focus on their client’s needs from a systems perspective.  By integrating services, a holistic approach to addressing client needs and enhancing public safety may be achieved.”

For more details, the Otter Tail County Probation Assessment Report by consultant Jason Anderson and the 2024 Otter Tail County Probation Comprehensive Plan by Probation Director Michael A. Schommer are available on the Otter Tail County Probation website at ottertailcounty.gov/department/probation/. Please contact Deputy Administrator Lynne Penke Valdes and Probation Director Michael A. Schommer to answer questions.