Deb McGinty updated the council on the status of the mobile probation unit, describing progress toward securing funding and contracts and noting the work was delayed by a federal shutdown.

“We have somewhat hopeful news in the sense that we've gone through the process needed to be able to request a waiver from the federal government,” McGinty said. She said the county has been in contact with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which is the grant administrator for the Department of Justice funding, and that the county is prepared to contract with the Corrections Foundation to operate mobile probation units at multiple community sites.

McGinty said the county is targeting getting the contract in place in December but emphasized that the timeline is contingent on FDLE and DOJ approvals. She described the program as a pilot for Hillsborough (the county would be the ninth to deploy mobile probation units statewide) and said other counties have reported deployments and promising results.

The council did not take formal action during the update; McGinty said the team is ready to proceed once approvals and funding are confirmed.