Cass County Pretrial Services recognized on a national level
- hillaryhartoin
- Oct 20
- 4 min read
Roughly seven years ago, Cass County didn’t offer pretrial services.
It’s come a long way since its founding. Cass County’s Pretrial Services is now being used as a model for other counties while its director helps mentor people in the profession nationwide.
Hillary Hartoin, director of Cass County Court & Pretrial Services, was recognized last week at the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies in Atlanta with the Member of the Year Award. She also taught four sessions at the conference.
The award recognizes people who have made a significant contribution to the pretrial services profession.
“I believe pretrial services isn’t just about remaining arrest-free or ensuring court dates,” Hartoin said in her acceptance speech. “It’s about the quiet but powerful belief that people are more than their worst moments. It’s about giving someone a chance — a real opportunity to choose a better path when the system traditionally too often pushes them into the margins.”
What is pretrial services?
Hartoin explained in an August interview with the Pharos-Tribune that the goal of pretrial services is to see who can effectively be released back into the community after being detained by law enforcement. Since the program takes place before people go to trial, everyone in the program is presumed innocent.
Inmates are assessed to see if they can be safely released back into the community, and return to their jobs and families.
After the assessment, a hearing is held with the judge, prosecutor and pretrial services to make sure each party agrees pretrial services would be beneficial for both the community and the individual who was arrested.
“We really try to prioritize that opportunity for that person to be successful and to be re-released with community safety,” Hartoin said. “We’re making good decisions that prioritize and balance both.”
To be approved, she explained, the person can’t have a substantial criminal history and they need to have residential stability.
More than being arrest-free
Hartoin explained Cass County’s pretrial services aims to provide the court with an objective report. It prioritizes incarceration for people who have a high risk of reoffending or failing to appear for court dates, instead of people who face economic disparity.
For example, Cass County’s Pretrial Services offers support services for people who don’t have stable housing or transportation.
The local agency’s list of resources has grown steadily since it was founded in 2018.
In November, it launched a new therapeutic services division to promote equal access to voluntary treatment and supportive services. The division marks a partnership with Psychotherapy Associates of Kokomo.
The local agency also works with Justice System Partners, a nonprofit that works with criminal justice entities throughout the nation, to implement the organization’s Coaching Referee Model for Change.
According to the Justice System Partners’ website, the model has probation agencies focus on building a learning environment and growth mindset instead of fostering a punitive culture.
Hartoin said Cass County’s pretrial agency is the only one in the country so far to have fully implemented the model.
“While we hold people accountable to the rules, we also provide tools and skills to help them learn a new way to live,” Hartoin said. “Rather than just looking for negative behavior, we try to teach them skills to replace that with positive behavior, whether that’s relapse prevention or mental health.”
Any treatment someone engages with via pretrial services is done so voluntarily. On average, 75-80% of people in Cass County pretrial services choose to participate in the agency’s programs.
“I’m really passionate about supportive services and helping be successful while ensuring community safety and having that balanced approach,” Hartoin later added, later noting every decision the agency makes is measured against its success rates to ensure it’s a step in the right direction.
The director added local success rates average roughly 6% higher than the state average — especially concerning appearance and public safety rates.
Additionally, the Cass County Jail was operating 46% over capacity when the agency was founded. By 2024, the jail population had decreased by 50%.
“We want our community to be the safest that it can be, and we want every individual to be the most successful contributing member of the community that they can be,” Hartoin said. “So I think having those values is really what steers what we do.”
Contributions to pretrial services
Last summer, Hartoin was appointed to Indiana’s Judicial Conference Pretrial Release Committee by Chief Justice Loretta Rush. The committee oversees the education and certification practices for pretrial across the state.
She also serves on two subcommittees: the pretrial data committee and the pretrial coordinator committee, which helps provide educational opportunities and takes insight from the rest of the state’s pretrial directors.
“It’s really a chance for our local values to help shape the future of pretrial at the state level, so I feel really blessed to have that opportunity,” Hartoin said.
Also in 2024, Cass County’s Pretrial Supervision attracted the attention of Dr. Evan Lowder at George Mason University. Lowder was interested in using Cass County’s program as a model for other jurisdictions.
Twelve counties across Indiana are now working with the university and the Indiana Office of Court Services to implement that model for a study that should be completed by 2027.
During last week’s National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies award ceremony, Hartoin told her colleagues she’s witnessed firsthand how supportive services can change lives. She said she’s seen people walk into her office broken, but leave with hope.
“That transformation doesn’t just come from us alone. It comes from their spirit, that same spirit of resilience that keeps them moving forward despite the obstacles that many of us will never face,” Hartoin said during the speech. “As we look toward the future of the field, I challenge us to practice that same spirit of resilience and continue to fight for justice systems that uphold human dignity and believe that public safety and people-centered support are not mutually exclusive.”