Over seven years ago, Jill Schermett was facing a long prison sentence that would take her away from her children. She’d given up on the idea of getting clean on her own and said she’d “accepted this as my fate.”
But then her attorney approached her about Oregon’s Family Sentencing Alternative Pilot Program, commonly called FSAP. Her sentence could be reduced in exchange for her participation in the program.
The Family Sentencing Alternative Pilot Program is an alternative to traditional incarceration with one simple goal: keep families together.
If an individual is convicted of a non-violent crime, and they are pregnant or the biological parent or legal guardian of a minor, they may be able to stay in their homes and communities through this supervision program rather than serve time in prison.
Participants still have to meet accountability steps, but they get to be there to help their kids with homework. See their choir concert or football game. Pack their lunch. Read to them before bed.
The program is somewhat unique on the national stage, though a handful of other states, including Washington and Massachusetts, have their own versions. Oregon began the pilot program back in 2015 after its founding bill passed both the Senate and House with nearly unanimous, bipartisan support.
In the 10 years since, about 300 participants have taken part, affecting 600 children.
Stats show the program is working.
Participants saw double-digit drops in rates of recidivism, arrests and incarceration compared to single parents who went to prison. The program has also helped reduce the number of days justice-impacted children spend on average in foster care — it’s sometimes even been the solution that allows children in foster care to reunite with their parents. Plus, it’s less expensive.
“There’s less victimization and [fewer] folks being convicted of new crimes,” said Babak Zolfaghari-Azar, the senior policy manager at Partnership for Safety & Justice, which has advocated for the program since its infancy. “That’s good for community; that’s good for families, right? So, that’s a win-win.”
But the original bill included a sunset, meaning that if lawmakers want to see the program continue, maybe even expand, they need to make it permanent before the end of the current session.
That’s where House Bill 2555 comes in — establishing a permanent program.
How does the program work?
Schermett wasn’t entirely sure what she was getting herself into when she agreed to participate in FSAP, but she took a leap of faith.
Five counties currently offer the program: Columbia, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah and Washington. Once in the program, participants must follow the strict oversight plans developed for each person.
This could be things like geographical restrictions, including house arrest and electronic surveillance; participation in vocational training; or completion of parenting classes, drug or alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, or life skills classes.
Schermett developed a close relationship with her probation officer, who helped her navigate the many barriers she faced. Schermett told state lawmakers during a hearing last month that her biggest hurdle was her addiction.
Through the program, Schermett entered a residential treatment facility. During her time there, she was reunited with her children in what she described as a life-changing moment. Her FSAP probation officer helped her secure stable housing once she finished treatment.
“She helped me believe in myself,” Schermett said. “She showed me that I was more than my addiction, that I deserved a life with my children, and that change was possible.”
Zolfaghari-Azar with Partnership for Safety & Justice said probation officers in the program don’t just see the individual as their crime.
“They see you as mom. They see you as dad,” he said. They ask: “What can I do to help your family be successful?”
When Schermett reached two years of sobriety, she became a certified recovery mentor. Today, with more than six years of sobriety under her belt, she helps women facing the same challenges she did.
“I can proudly say that without the FSAP program and the unwavering support of my probation officer,” she said, “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Leticia Longoria-Navarro is the executive director of The Pathfinder Network, a statewide nonprofit that supports justice-impacted individuals and families. It’s the same organization where Schermett works as a peer support specialist.
“I’ve attended parenting graduations, treatment ceremonies, celebrated new jobs, first apartments, school graduations and court hearings where families were reunited,” Longoria-Navarro said about FSAP.
“I’ve seen children supported to thrive — educationally, socially and emotionally — staying connected to their parents, and preventing the harmful impact of parental incarceration that I personally experienced.”
FILE - Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, Ore., May 19, 2021. Jill Schermett joined FSAP uncertain of its impact but found transformation through strict oversight, treatment and mentorship.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Longoria-Navarro said more than 70,000 children in Oregon alone have experienced parental incarceration. Nationally, one in 14 children has been affected, with half under the age of 10. That rate jumps to one in nine African American children, she added, highlighting a stark and years-old racial disparity.
Youth with incarcerated parents often deal with mental health and behavioral issues, discrimination, financial and housing instability, educational setbacks, and a higher likelihood of being incarcerated themselves later in life, causing an intergenerational cycle.
“Families create safe communities,” Longoria-Navarro told lawmakers. “Please support the continuation and expansion of this vital program.”
Pushback and progress on this session’s bill
House Bill 2555 would change the name and make the Family Sentencing Alternative Program permanent.
The bill has a few changes in it as well, such as removing prior criminal history as an automatic disqualifier for the program and allowing participants to remain in the program for the entire duration of their supervision, not just one year.
But the main difference in the new bill — until this week — is that it would include primary caregivers among those eligible to participate.
Most of the people who have participated in the FSAP program so far have been women. Marion County is an outlier in that area since it’s closer to a 50-50 split of men and women. But advocates said there’s been a lack of program participation by people of color.
One of the ways they hoped to address that in the 2025 bill was to open the eligibility not only to biological parents and legal guardians, but to any primary caregiver.
Zolfaghari-Azar told OPB it’s becoming increasingly more common to see aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, as examples, being responsible for the primary care of young children. This typically means the child is in their physical custody and has a long-established relationship with them as the person responsible for their schooling, clothing, feeding and other care.
“We see a lack of racial diversity in the program, and these sorts of family structures can be more common amongst families of color,” he said. “One way that we thought that we could get more diversity amongst participants is really focusing on, ‘What does a family look like?’ ”
FILE - Oregon’s Capitol building in Salem, Ore., Dec. 12, 2024. House Bill 2555 renames and expands the Family Sentencing Alternative Program, broadening caregiver eligibility and addressing racial diversity concerns.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The vast majority of testimony at the bill’s hearing for the House Judiciary Committee in February was in support. The Oregon Association of Community Corrections Directors and the Oregon District Attorneys Association both testified in favor of the overall program and its renewal, but they each opposed the bill as written because of the caregiver component.
Opponents argued that expanding the criteria to include caregivers more broadly could be time-consuming, place additional burdens on the judicial system and law enforcement, and possibly deter more counties from opting into the program.
Amanda Dalton with the DAs association said that determining the precise role and responsibility of each person involved in a child’s life will likely be complex and subjective, leading to inconsistencies in legal outcomes.
“By broadening the criteria to include individuals who do not have a formal legal obligation to the child,” she testified to lawmakers last month, “it risks undermining the primary goal of the program and its current successes.”
Dalton said they’d like to see other changes first.
“We would like to see it expanded to other counties to allow legal guardian and parent expansion first, especially in a budget cycle, frankly, that you’re looking for every dollar,” she said. “This program wasn’t included in the governor’s recommended budget, so it will have costs.”
The state spends roughly $2 million per biennium on this program. That money comes from general fund dollars from the Department of Corrections’ budget and pays for probation officers, treatment and housing costs associated with the program, and more.
Some advocates and lawmakers pushed back on the caregiver critique.
They argued there was precedent for including primary caregivers in other state benefits, and that the Department of Human Services and others involved are skilled and knowledgeable to identify who would and would not qualify. One wondered if it might cost more to establish programs in new counties rather than adding people under existing programs.
In the end, advocates pushing for the new language compromised, for now.
Shannon Wight, deputy director of Partnership for Safety & Justice, told OPB Tuesday that keeping families together is the heart of the program, and “we believe this decision puts the program in the best position to move forward.”
She said they’ve agreed with key stakeholders to continue the discussion in the future.
“It is our hope that the bill will pass with bipartisan support,” she said, “and that we will revisit the caregiver conversation and come back with another proposal in the next legislative session.”
The bill has a work session scheduled with the House committee on Monday.
