As human and hopeful as the work itself.
About Us
A private nonprofit providing safe, evidence-based and cost-effective alternatives to incarceration for Central Virginia.
OAR at a glance
Established in 1971, OAR-Jefferson Area Community Corrections is a regional community corrections agency. The Agency provides pretrial services, local probation services, Charlottesville-Albemarle adult recovery court, Fluvanna adult recovery court, Nelson County recovery court, Orange-Madison recovery court, Charlottesville- Albemarle therapeutic docket, reentry services and criminal justice planning services. The jurisdictional catchment area includes Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson and Orange County. OAR is dedicated to providing safe, evidence based and cost effective alternatives to incarceration for Central Virginia. As a private non-profit organization, OAR receives funding from federal grants, state grants, all nine local governments that we serve, private foundations and local donations.
Mission statement
The purpose of the OAR/Jefferson Area Community Corrections Program is to assist individuals who are arrested, imprisoned or released from incarceration to gain and retain self-respecting, self-sustaining and crime-free lifestyles. To further this purpose, the agency shall endeavor:
To reduce the rate of incarceration, especially for non-violent crimes, whenever constructive alternatives are possible;
To encourage offenders to become responsible members of their family and the community and to recompense victims and society;
To reduce the negative effects of incarceration and provide prisoners and their families opportunities for positive personal development;
To support the offender’s transition from incarceration to a self-sufficient, crime-free life; and
To inform the public and promote its support of a more effective and compassionate criminal justice system.
Funded by the communities we serve
“OAR is one of the first places I have dealt with in the legal system that actually cares about us.”
Vision Statement
In our commitment to community safety, we address the needs of defendants, offenders, and victims ensuring that EVERY CLIENT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUCCESS.
Serve clients with strengthened services guided by legal, evidence-based and restorative principles and practices
Integrate the various OAR departments so that collaborative work strengthens our total impact
Raise the level of understanding of OAR services among the criminal justice and larger communities
Lead and innovate in the field of community corrections
Why OAR
Research tells us that people incarcerated for as little as 72 hours begin to lose their pro-social ties and their risk to re-offend increases
Successful reintegration should begin on day one of incarceration
Over-supervising and over conditioning low risk people causes harm
There are research driven best practices that can reduce reoffending
Individualized success plans based on risk and need reduce reoffending and increase success
Alternative responses to incarceration and the adversarial court process yield the best long term outcomes
Approximately 50% of crime is committed by individuals who do not reside in the jurisdiction of the offense so a siloed response is not effective
Effective use of public money
Cost per day per inmate at ACRJ = $152.45
Avg. length of stay at ACRJ = 33 days
Avg cost per jail incarceration = approx $5030
Avg cost per OAR participant = approx $789
6.3 x less expensive
OAR is an integral part of a larger system that has produced lower reported crime rates, reductions in jail population and a rebooking rate less than the national average over the last ten years.
Evidence-based practices
Recidivism can be predicted — and reduced.
OAR-JACC endorses and implements evidence-based practices throughout our service delivery and programming — an ever-changing process as research and best practices develop. Decades of research prove recidivism can be reduced through the fidelity of this six-point model.