Work Release Overview
DeKalb County Community Corrections / Residential Work Release Program is listed in county materials as a justice-system program with a Potter Drive address in Auburn. The research record treats it as a work-release and community-corrections facility, not as the primary DeKalb County Jail. The ordinary county jail is operated by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office at 215 E. 8th Street and has its own public inmate search. Community corrections and residential work release serve a different role: court-approved alternatives, structured residential supervision, employment-based custody, and related program placement.
That distinction is the main rule for searching. A person booked after arrest may appear on the DeKalb County Sheriff inmate search. A person sentenced or ordered into a community-corrections placement may instead appear in a court case, program record, or supervision record. The work release program is custody-adjacent because participants may live under restrictions and leave for approved work, but it should not be described as a normal jail block or a public booking gallery.
County commissioner minutes from 2016 through 2021 give local history. They state that Community Corrections was created to relieve jail overcrowding and because the work-release program had been discontinued at the jail. Later minutes show debate over whether community corrections should remain a stand-alone facility or be combined with jail planning. One judge emphasized that the facility was conceived and presented as a residential work-release facility, not as the first phase of a new jail.
Program Capacity Context
Official county sources did not publish a bed count for the DeKalb County Community Corrections / Residential Work Release Program. The facility profile therefore should not borrow the DeKalb County Jail's 105-bed figure. County documents do discuss work-release capacity constraints, practical separation needs, and the relationship between community corrections and jail overcrowding. The work release record also refers to program limits that control who can be accepted, even when space exists.
The county jail population figures still matter because community corrections grew out of DeKalb County's effort to manage jail pressure. The 2026 county space study lists the adult jail at 105 beds, while the sheriff homepage and roster API showed about 95 jail records during research. A county sheriff department profile also lists an average of 134 inmates. Those figures are jail figures, not work release figures. The safer reading is that official county records show a long-running need for alternatives to ordinary jail custody, but they do not publish a reliable current residential work-release population count in the sources reviewed.
Note: No official work-release bed count was located, so use the program phone for current placement and availability questions.
Search Work Release Status
There is no ordinary public jail roster located for DeKalb County Community Corrections / Residential Work Release Program. That means a search for someone assigned to the program should use a custody-level path rather than one search box. Start with the county jail roster if the person was recently arrested or may still be booked at DeKalb County Jail. Then check Indiana MyCase for the criminal case, sentence, court order, or community-corrections condition. If the question is about current program participation, call Community Corrections at the program number.
Older custody events can also split across agencies. The sheriff roster covers current and recently released county-jail custody. MyCase covers public court case records, with official documents obtained from the court maintaining the file. The sheriff records division handles sheriff records and public-record requests. IDOC covers sentenced state-prison custody after transfer. SAVIN and VINELink support custody-notification searches, but they are not a substitute for the court file or the program's current supervision information.
- Search the DeKalb sheriff roster if the person may still be held at the county jail.
- Search MyCase by name and DeKalb County to look for work release, sentence, or supervision orders.
- Compare dates, charges, and court division if several same-name cases appear.
- Call DeKalb County Community Corrections for current residential or work-release placement questions.
- Use IDOC, BOP, ICE, or SAVIN only when the case moved outside county work-release custody.
Program Address Contact
The county contact listing identifies the Community Corrections office at Potter Drive in Auburn and gives a separate phone number from the DeKalb County Jail. Use that contact for program questions, placement confirmation, reporting instructions, employment-related restrictions, and residential work-release rules. For a person who is still waiting for booking, bond, or court transport at the jail, use the jail line instead.
DeKalb County Community Corrections / Residential Work Release Program
1000 Potter Drive
Auburn, IN 46706
(260) 333-0710
Program contact for work-release and community-corrections placement questions.
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 6049
Auburn, IN 46706
(260) 333-0710
Use official program instructions before mailing documents or participant materials.
| Question | Best Contact |
|---|---|
| Current jail custody | DeKalb County Jail, (260) 925-3365, Ext. 2 |
| Work release participation | Community Corrections, (260) 333-0710 |
| Court order or sentence | MyCase and the DeKalb Clerk of Courts |
| Older sheriff records | Sheriff Records Division, ext. 4410 |
Work Release Visits
The DeKalb Sheriff's Office work-release policy workbook states that work-release inmates had no visitation because they were coming and going at all hours. That statement should not be mixed with DeKalb County Jail's video visitation system. The jail uses video visits through ICSolutions and The Visitor, but the work-release program is described in the policy material as a separate placement with different movement and supervision issues.
For current visit, drop-off, reporting, or document-delivery rules, call the program first. Work-release rules can depend on employment, schedule, sanction status, treatment requirements, court terms, and current facility policy. A family member should not assume that a jail video visit, jail lobby visit, or jail contact rule applies to the Potter Drive program. If the person is still housed at DeKalb County Jail before transfer or approval, the jail visitation rules control until the placement actually changes.
| Setting | Visit Rule Found | Where to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Residential work release | Policy workbook states no visitation for work-release inmates. | Community Corrections phone line. |
| County jail before placement | Video-only visits, scheduled in advance. | DeKalb County Jail, Ext. 2. |
| Court-ordered program contact | May depend on supervision terms. | MyCase, court order, and program staff. |
Program Rules and Costs
Official public sources did not publish a commissary, money-deposit, phone, or mail schedule for the Community Corrections / Residential Work Release Program. Do not use the jail's Access Corrections, SecurePak, commissary delivery, or video-visit rules as if they apply to work release. Those jail services are tied to the 215 E. 8th Street jail and its inmate trust accounts. Work release is managed through program rules, court orders, and supervision terms.
Employment is central to the DeKalb work-release policy material. The workbook says placement should involve employment and a good work record. It also says a referring court may recommend treatment or programs, while sheriff approval remains tied to available facilities and programs. That creates a practical records trail: the court case may show the order, program staff may confirm reporting and residential rules, and the jail roster may show the earlier booking if the person moved from jail into the program.
- Work release
- A court-approved custody program that permits approved employment while the person remains under structured supervision.
- Community corrections
- A local alternative-custody and supervision system that can include residential work release, home detention, or related programs.
- Detainer
- A hold from another agency or jurisdiction that may block release or program placement.
- Pending charge
- A criminal charge that has not been resolved and may affect eligibility or approval.
Work Release Placement
Work release placement does not begin the same way as a street arrest booking at DeKalb County Jail. The 2013 DeKalb work-release policy workbook says a request for work-release supervision is by referral from a DeKalb County court. Requests from outside DeKalb County require approval by the DeKalb County Jail Commander, who has final approval over work-release referrals in the policy material. Presentence reports should accompany referrals when available.
The workbook gives several local limits. It says the program will not accept referrals for more than a maximum of six months actual confinement. It also says active warrants, detainers, a sentence held in abeyance, or pending charges in another court may bar participation. Employment and a good work record are expected for placement. A referring court may recommend treatment or programs, but final approval must fit available facilities and programs.
Those rules mean the work release path can fail even after a court discussion. A person may be otherwise eligible but still have a hold, no approved job, a pending case in another court, or a facility limitation. A roster search alone will not answer those questions. Use the court order, program contact, and jail status together.
- Court referral is the starting point for DeKalb work release supervision.
- Outside-county requests require local approval.
- The workbook limits accepted referrals to six months actual confinement.
- Active warrants, detainers, sentence holds, or pending charges can bar placement.
- Employment and a good work record are part of the placement expectation.
About Community Corrections
DeKalb County records present community corrections as part of the local response to jail crowding and sentencing alternatives. The facility is listed separately from the DeKalb County Jail, and county planning minutes repeatedly discuss whether it should remain a stand-alone community-corrections function or be folded into broader jail planning. That history is important for searchers because a work-release participant may have a jail booking history without being housed in the jail at the time of the search.
The program also connects to the court system. A work-release order, community-corrections placement, home detention condition, sanction, or revocation may appear in the public court docket before it appears in any program-level contact. The Indiana Judicial Branch DeKalb County court page and MyCase route users to local court records, while the clerk provides official records when documents are not online. The sheriff records process remains the path for sheriff-held law-enforcement records.
If a person was sentenced to state prison instead of work release, use the IDOC incarcerated locator. If a person is in federal prison, use the BOP inmate locator. Immigration detention is separate from both jail and work release and is searched through the ICE detainee locator. Indiana SAVIN and VINELink can help with custody notifications, but they do not replace direct program verification.
Note: Confirm current work-release placement with Community Corrections before travel, mailing, employment coordination, or court follow-up.