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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES December 2021 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Administration Building December 14, 2021 Present: John Flannery, Commissioner Bob Ziobrowski, Commissioner David Keller, Commissioner Bill Bechtold, Warden Hon. Shawn Meyers, President Judge Dane Anthony, Sheriff Matt Fogal, District Attorney Harold Wissinger, Controller Doug Wilburne, Probation Chief Geoffrey Willet, Probation Deputy Chief John Thierwechter, Assistant County Administrator Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Supervisor Ben Sites, Deputy Sheriff Lionel Pierre, FCJ Deputy Warden Jeffrey Scott, FCJ Deputy Warden Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden Mark Singer, Court Administrator Sheena Baker, Communications Coordinator Glenda Helman, Director of Grants Management I. The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Flannery at 8:30 AM. II. Public Comment A. There was no public comment III. Minutes for the November 2021 meeting were discussed. A. Controller Wissinger moved to accept the minutes, Sheriff Anthony seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Warden’s Report A. There were 147 commitments and 141 discharges in November. B. The average daily population was 401.4 with an average of 336 males and 65 females. C. The recidivism rate was 48% when looking at all new commitments that had been incarcerated at FCJ within the past three years. The recidivism rate was 43% when looking only at those commitments with new charges. D. At a snapshot view at the beginning of December there were 188 sentenced and 218 unsentenced inmates. There were 22 inmates on Approved Temporary Absence status; however none of these are due to overcrowding. Fifty-two were pending transfer to other facilities, with 44 of those pending transfer to SCI. E. There was $13,966 collected in total revenue for November. F. The average length of stay (ALOS) for those discharged in November was 80.3 days. G. There was one inmate housed in Centre. H. A breakdown of the demographic statistics for November indicated that males made up 78% of the population, 70% of the population were white, 50% of the population was between the ages of 26-39, 73% were single, 5% were military veterans and 77% had at least their high school diploma or GED. I. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 958 sick calls. There were 13 outside medical appointments and six trips to the ER. There were 764 mental health contacts. There were 79 inmates on suicide watch. There were five inmates that required 1:1 observation. There were no inmates at Torrance State Hospital. There were seven participants in the Sex Offender’s Treatment Program. There were 51 in the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) program. There were 258 on the MH caseload and an additional 37 with SMI diagnoses. There were 60 commitments placed on detox protocol. There were two pregnant inmates. Forty-five inmates were given the COVID vaccine. J. Controller Wissinger moved to accept the Warden’s report, Sheriff Anthony seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. V. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 47 intakes and had 42 releases. B. Seven inmates were placed in jobs, however the work release program was shut down in its second week due to COVID precautions. C. There were 2296 hours of community service completed. D. The Pre-Trial Release program had 69 offenders. E. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 59 offenders. There were four successful discharges. F. The Sexual Offender Program had 48. G. There were 28 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. The Electronic Monitoring Program had eight offenders. I. There were 128 jail days saved by using the alternative sanctions of electronic monitoring (309 jail days), DCIP/D&A RIP (1322 jail days), intensive supervision (80 jail days) and pre-trial release (2219 jail days). J. There were 14 offenders detained in November and 19 given alternative sanctions. K. The Community Release program collected $4,218 and the Probation Department collected $217,601 in November. L. Chief Wilburne discussed the 2019 Justice Reinvestment Act and its impact on his department. Oversight of all PA probation departments has switched from the Department of Corrections to the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency. There will be more focus on the use of Evidence Based Practices, to include Motivational Interviewing and formalized risk screening tools. VI. Old Business A. Warden Bechtold provided a pandemic update. There are currently five staff and 103 inmates on COVID protocols. He thanked the Courts, Sheriff’s Office, Adult Probation and the District Attorney’s office for their assistance in maintaining jail operations during this time. The jail dealt with critical staff shortages and officers from the Sheriff’s Office and Adult Probation assisted in covering correctional officer posts. VII. New Business A. Judge Meyers recognized Chief Deputy Ben Sites for his coordination with Court Administration to attempt to eliminate some of the technical issues during court proceedings. Commissioner Keller said that technology is a priority of the commissioners and asked Judge Meyers to reach out if further assistance is needed. Judge Meyers added that the county’s IT department has been receptive to helping, but the issues may be beyond their control. B. Commissioner Flannery recognized and extended congratulations to Warden Bechtold and former Deputy Warden James Sullen for being honored at the fall PA Prison Wardens Association conference. Warden Bechtold received the “Warden of the Year” award. Warden Bechtold thanked Commissioner Flannery for the acknowledgment and thanked jail staff for their professionalism and dedication. C. The Prison Board discussed the schedule for the 2022 meetings. No concerns with the dates and times were presented. Commissioner Keller moved to accept the schedule, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the schedule was unanimously approved. The schedule will now be publicly advertised. VIII. Executive Session = Warden Bechtold requested for the meeting to go into an Executive Session to discuss security matters. Controller Wissinger made the motion, Sheriff Anthony seconded the motion and the meeting was unanimously approved to go into Executive Session. At the conclusion of the Executive Session, Controller Wissinger made the motion, Sheriff Anthony seconded the motion and the Executive Session was unanimously approved to end. IX. The next meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2022 at 8:30AM at the Franklin County Administration Building. Commissioner Keller moved to end the meeting, Sheriff Anthony seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned.