O.C. Seeks Alternatives After Early Release of 121 Young Inmates : Crime: Money is tight and overcrowding is expected to worsen. Suggestions include federally funded boot camp.

Faced with too many inmates and bankruptcy-depleted funding, the county was forced to grant early releases to 121 juvenile inmates last month and is considering alternative methods of housing future youthful offenders.

Some crime-victim activists have expressed concerns about letting inmates out early, but Probation Department officials said Tuesday they had little choice given their tight budget.

Juvenile Hall is funded to handle 374 inmates but as of Monday had 432. While the facility has the beds to house the extra inmates, its budget does not provide funding for staff overtime and extra meals.

Overcrowding is expected to become more acute in the future. The county estimates that 200 new beds will be needed by 2000 as the number of teen-agers in the county increases and judges hand down longer sentences to youthful offenders.

Lacking the money to build new jails, the Probation Department is turning to less expensive options such as a boot camp, house arrest and special youth and family centers for teens who commit nonviolent crimes.

Chief Probation Officer Michael Schumacher said the goal is to accommodate all inmates while providing the effective rehabilitation services that will help prevent them from becoming caught up in the criminal justice system as repeat offenders.

“If you don’t stop these problems at an early age, you have to live with them all your life,” said Schumacher, who briefed the Board of Supervisors on the issue Tuesday.

Last week, several supervisors expressed some uneasiness about the early releases, which they said could send the wrong message to young potential troublemakers.

But on Tuesday, the board praised Schumacher for initiating innovative programs despite severe financial limitations.

The inmates selected for early release had served a majority of their jail terms and weren’t considered dangerous. The Probation Department submitted the list of inmates to a judge, who approved the releases in October. In many cases, the court order meant that offenders got out of jail a few months earlier than scheduled.

“They didn’t get off [without punishment],” Schumacher said. “They were fairly close to completing their sentences.”

The Probation Department has sought early releases on several occasions over the past few years to deal with Juvenile Hall overcrowding. But Schumacher said he’d like to avoid early releases as much as possible in the future by focusing on alternative methods for dealing with offenders.

In January, the county is set to open a Youth and Family Resource Center that will handle as many as 60 juveniles. The center, which will be run jointly by the Probation Department, two local police forces and the county Department of Education, will provided highly structured schooling, counseling and social services.

Instead of going to Juvenile Hall, some nonviolent offenders will be sentenced to attend the center from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. When not attending the facility, certain offenders will be ordered by the court to remain inside their residences, effectively placing them under house arrest.

The center is being financed by a $500,000 grant from the U. S. Justice Department.

The county also hopes to use federal funds to create a 100-bed “boot camp” for nonviolent offenders. The supervisors on Tuesday accepted a $30,000 federal grant that will be used help craft a formal proposal for the boot camp.

Schumacher said the county hopes to finance the facility with a portion of the $495 million that Congress has earmarked for law enforcement-related ventures.

Supervisors on Tuesday expressed strong support for the two projects, especially given the county’s limited ability to fund new Probation Department projects in the wake of the bankruptcy.

They also urged probation officials to maintain efforts to reform youthful offenders. “Prevention in this area pays off,” Supervisor Marian Bergeson said. “If we can reach them early, there can be a lot of cost savings.”