Department of Community Programs
The Department of Community Programs (DOCC) is responsible for a variety of in-custody and community-based offender programs. The Department's mission is to reduce crime and create safer communities through alternatives to incarceration that provide a comprehensive continuum of custodial and community-based programs, treatment and active supervision. Its members strive to provide offenders with the best opportunity for successful reentry into the community. The Department is divided into five Divisions: In-Custody Behavioral Services, Drug Court Treatment, Pretrial Services, County Probation and Day Reporting and Reentry. The Department employs 200 staff, has an annual budget of $20 million, oversees an active caseload of approximately 12,000 offenders each day. It is estimated that the services rendered by the Department save the County's taxpayers millions in incarceration costs annually.
Supervision Divisions
Day Reporting and Reentry: The Day Reporting and Reentry Division helps reintegrate offenders back into the community following release from jail. It combines the benefits of intensive supervision with reentry to help manage the jail population while ensuring public safety. The division provides offenders with support mechanisms needed to transition successfully back in to the community, while at the same time monitoring their activity to prevent recidivism.
Pre-Trial Services: The Pretrial Services Division is designed to divert criminal defendants from pretrial incarceration. It provides complete, accurate and non-adversarial information to the judges of the 17th Judicial Circuit to improve the release/detention decision process in compliance with Florida Statutes and the Rules of Criminal Procedures. Additionally, the program supervises pretrial defendants in the community in partnership with law enforcement and outside agencies, ensuring that mandated conditions and court ordered special requirements are satisfied.
Probation Division: The Probation Division is charged with the duty of overseeing those defendants sentenced to misdemeanor probation for criminal offenses by the 17th Judicial Court in compliance with Florida Statues and the Rules of Criminal Procedure. Following sentencing by the Judge, the defendant is assigned a BSO probation specialist, who establishes a case management plan. The defendant reports at least monthly to the assigned specialist and must comply with the orders of the court. If the defendant complies with the orders within the time frame specified, his/her probation is successfully terminated and the case is closed. If, however, the defendant fails to comply with the orders within the time frame specified, their probation is violated and generally a warrant is issued for their arrest.
Employment Services Program: BSO's Employment Services Program is a joint relationship with local area businesses and organizations that works to reduce recidivism by helping offenders currently under supervision by BSO to obtain employment and become productive members of the community.
Participants are assessed by a community job development coordinator to determine the participants' level of education and skills, their interests, their understanding of the principles of successful employment and their readiness. The process also identifies areas of need for the participant to obtain employment including a permanent address, social security number, proper documentation for aliens, access to transportation, etc.
Participants not ready for a job interview are required to attend BSO's Employability Skills Workshops which teaches participants about potential career interests, resume writing, proper dress and hygiene and interviewing skills.
Once a participant is ready, the program identifies potential employers and sends the participant for an interview with the employer.
More information about BSO's Employment Services Program is available from the Department of Community Programs at (954) 535-2373. Enrollment in the program is available at locations throughout the county.
Treatment Programs
Drug Court: Broward County's Drug Court is the third oldest drug court in the nation, created in 1991, and the Drug Court Treatment Division serves close to 1,000 clients daily. The Drug Court Treatment Division is an alternative to traditional incarceration for criminal offenders who are charged with the purchase or possession of a controlled substance or other substance abuse related offense, and/or are assessed as having a substance use related condition. The one to two year treatment program helps to break the cycle of addiction and criminal justice involvement by using a variety of individualized treatment services to restore the participant as a productive member of society. The progress of all participants is continually monitored by the 17th Judicial Circuit's Drug Court Judges through regular court hearings. Failure to comply results in the imposition of a variety of graduated sanctions. The division is licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families to provide Intervention Services and Outpatient Treatment. The Outpatient component of the Division is accredited by CARF International under the Drug Court Behavioral Health Core Program Standards.
In-Custody Behavioral Services:The In-Custody Behavioral Services Division provides programs and treatment services to inmates in Broward County�s Jail System. The Substance Abuse (SAP) and Life Skills Programs target the criminogenic factors resulting in an inmate�s incarceration. The programs promote pro-social attitudes and behavior change in an effort to reduce criminal behavior. Both programs provide inmates with a set daily schedule of activities that include group sessions, lesson plans, workbook assignments, and video learning. SAP is a didactic modality of substance abuse education using a best practices curriculum combined with 12 Step Recovery (AA/NA) groups. The Life Skills Program includes instruction on domestic violence, parenting, anger management, financial management, leisure and peer association planning, problem solving, self-control skills, coping skills, and stress management. Both programs are available to male and female inmates, are by court order only, and for a duration of 30 days. The SAP may be followed by 30 days in-custody in the Alcoholic Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous Unit within the jail. Both programs may be followed by 30 days of aftercare upon release through BSO�s Day Reporting and Reentry Program. The Mental Health Program takes a holistic approach to offender mental health treatment including psychological assessment, individual and group counseling interventions, and discharge planning. The division provides services to offenders located in the Mental Health Unit of the North Broward detention facility and monitors the contract with BSO's mental health services provider. Counseling services are individualized to meet the needs of offenders with varying levels of psychological functioning.
For more information on the programs, please contact BSO's Department of Community Programs at (954) 535-2373.
David Scharf
Director
View Bio
David Scharf is a 27 year criminal justice veteran and is presently the Director of Community Programs for Broward Sheriff’s Office. David has dedicated most of his career to Community Corrections, serving in numerous capacities, including Probation, Pretrial Services, Day Reporting and Reentry and Restorative Justice Programs. As Director, David’s primary focus is on the implementation of Evidence Based Practices to reduce the high rate of offender recidivism and to decrease crime and victimization.
David is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice and has completed extensive graduate level work in Criminal Justice Administration at Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University. He is also a graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s Executive Criminal Justice Leadership Program and the Florida Corrections Academy. He has been a certified law enforcement instructor in numerous disciplines including defensive tactics, impact weapons and firearms. In 2007, David received the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission Outstanding Service Award for his work in developing and implementing accreditation standards for Pretrial Services Agencies in Florida. In 2009, David was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the US Attorney’s Office in Miami, Florida for his body of work in offender reentry programming and crime prevention strategies.
Throughout his career, David has been a member of many criminal justice organizations including the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the Nationals Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, and The Association of Pretrial Professionals of Florida, where he served as Vice President for two terms, the Broward County United Way Commission on Substance Abuse, and Narcotics Overdose and Prevention Education. He has authored several articles on non-traditional crime prevention strategies and has presented his findings nationally to various forums.
Paula Maudlin Smith
Assistant Director
View Bio
Paula Smith started her career with the Broward Sheriff’s Office in 1996 as an Assistant Superintendent in the Department of Detention. As a key member of the Joseph V. Conte Transition Team, she led the team through the design, build, planning operations, and successful opening of the Joseph V. Conte Facility. Experienced in direct supervision and jail programs, Mrs. Smith implemented the direct supervision and program philosophy into the facility. Transferring from detention, to the newly formed Department of Community Control, she was responsible for developing the division to include the functions of Drug Court, Pretrial, and Probation. As a Programs Coordinator for the Department of Community Control, she automated the treatment and supervision division and was responsible for program analysis and outcome reviews.
Mrs. Smith was promoted to Assistant Director for the Department of Community Programs in January 2013. She is responsible for the Drug Court and In-Custody Behavioral Health Divisions.
Prior to working with BSO, Paula worked for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia as the Director of Alternative Programs. She also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigations Washington D.C. Mrs. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice From Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Lieutenant William Carter
Executive Officer
View Bio
Lieutenant William L. Carter has been employed with Broward Sheriff’s Office Department of Detention since January 1998. As a deputy, he has performed various duties including managing an inmate work unit, field training certified new hires and training detention academy recruits as a FDLE certified general and high liability instructor. In 2004, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to BSO Institute for Criminal Justice Studies as the Detention Academy Supervisor. Sgt. Carter was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant in February 2007, where he assumed the position of Commander of Basic Training at the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies.
Since July 2009, Lieutenant Carter has several assignments as shift commander at the Paul Rein Detention Facility, the Joseph V. Conte Detention Facility and the Main Jail. In July 2011, Lt. Carter was promoted to Executive Officer in the Department of Detention and Community Control. In addition to this assignment, he also served as the DOD/CC Ombudsman. Currently, Lieutenant Carter is the Executive Officer in the Department of Community Programs.
Prior to joining the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Carter was a correctional officer sergeant with the State of Florida Department of Corrections. In September 1993, he retired from the United States Air Force as a senior non-commissioned officer.
