Get to Know IACMPAA

The Idaho Association of Counties Misdemeanor Probation Administrator’s Association is a membership-based association for misdemeanor probation administrators around the state of Idaho. There is a yearly cost to each county to be a member of this association but counties are not obligated to join the association. Counties that elect to join the association have the benefit of working with misdemeanor probation administrators from around Idaho on challenges in the misdemeanor probation realm. IACMPAA is structured with an elected president, vice president, and secretary that serve specific terms based on the established by-laws of the association, and under the umbrella of the Idaho Association of Counties.

The membership meets every other month in different locations around the state in an effort to accommodate all participating administrators with expenses relating to their attendance. There are numerous agencies invited to the IACMPAA meetings that work with or around the misdemeanor probation realm. These agencies include but are not limited to the Idaho Supreme Court – Administrative Office of the Courts, the Idaho POST Academy, Health and Welfare – Adult Mental Health, Idaho Juvenile Justice Association, and the Idaho Department of Corrections. The meetings are scheduled in conjunction with the Idaho Association of Commissioners and Clerks (IACC) meetings and the Idaho Association of County Juvenile Justice Administrators (IACJJA).

There are numerous administrators that work in both the juvenile probation realm, as well as the adult misdemeanor probation realm. The meetings are intended to allow administrators across Idaho to compare notes and collaborate on how each participating county does business, including the utilization of evidence-based practices. These meetings also help facilitate discussion among the participating administrators regarding challenges faced by the adult misdemeanor probation realm around the state and quite often involve problem-solving efforts to improve business practices and create consistency around the state. These meetings also help facilitate discussion about proposed legislation or needed legislation. Minutes are kept of each meeting and important meeting topics are shared with all adult misdemeanor probation administrators around the state of Idaho whether they are a current association member or not. These meetings also help in the identification of needed training and how the training can be provided.

Some of the challenges currently being faced by IACMPAA has to do with the statewide database called Odyssey and how transfer cases are tracked and payments received. Transfer cases are cases where the individual is sentenced in one county but lives in another county and requests the county of residence provide supervision. Another challenge facing this group is the utilization of training funds collected each year per Idaho Administrative Rules and how these funds can be accessed for training purposes throughout the State.