MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – At first glance, it may sound routine, but behind the scenes, it’s about keeping the system honest, efficient, and effective.

Thanks to a federal Bureau of Justice grant, Marion County is working with two seasoned evaluators to ensure the State of Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit diversion drug court is not only compliant with grant requirements but operating at the highest standard. These evaluators will provide detailed insights into how the program functions and where improvements can be made, according to Alina Stoothoff, a court operations consultant with the circuit’s Office of the Court Administrator.

“Our grants go through [Marion County Board of] County Commissioners,” said Stoothoff. “The contract is a contract with the evaluators of the grant. They are with the University of Florida and one of the other evaluators is at Sam Houston State University. These are two evaluators we’ve had before, when we had a similar grant for the same program. Those same two evaluators, because they’re familiar with us, are going to continue, but we have to have a contract with them so they can get paid through the grant.”

The evaluators, who are also Ph.D. students and instructors, will provide data and feedback on the effectiveness and compliance of the court’s diversion program, one of several specialty courts in Marion County.

“They do actually provide us with reports about how the circuit court’s programs are doing. It does help us, and they sometimes publish,” Stoothoff said. “It can be part of their doctoral thesis. It goes through our general counsel to make sure that they’re not putting anything in there that’s not allowed through the court system and through the canons.”

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