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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES September 2023 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Administration Building September 12, 2023 Present: John Flannery, Commissioner David Keller, Commissioner Christopher Schell, Warden Harold Wissinger, Controller Hon. Shawn Meyers, President Judge Dane Anthony, Sheriff Mark Singer, Court Administration Doug Wilburne, Probation Chief John Thierwechter, Assistant County Administrator Carrie Gray, County Administrator Geoffrey Willett, Probation Deputy Chief Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Director Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden Jeffrey Scott, FCJ Deputy Warden Emily Scordellis, PrimeCare 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 August 2023 meeting were discussed. A. Controller Wissinger moved to accept the minutes, Commissioner Keller seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Warden’s Report A. There were 131 commitments (109 males, 22 females) and 135 discharges (109 males, 26 females) in August. B. The average daily population was 266 with an average of 233 males and 33 females. C. There were 116 sentenced (102 males, 14 females) and 153 unsentenced (133 males, 20 females) inmates. D. The average length of stay (ALOS) for those discharged in August was 86.7 days and the median length of stay for August was 54 days. The yearly average length of stay was 71.8 days. E. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 172 on the MH caseload and an additional 45 with SMI diagnoses. There are no inmates at Torrance and two awaiting transfer. F. Emily from PrimeCare discussed the jail’s mental health numbers and classification definitions. Class A are inmates with no MH concerns, Class B are inmates with a MH history but not currently in need of MH services, Class C are inmates receiving MH services but not diagnosed with a serious mental illness and Class D are inmates diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Emily explained that Class C numbers are high because this category includes anyone identified as in need of treatment goals and includes participants in the medication assisted therapy program. President Judge Meyers asked if all inmates were offered services. Emily answered that all commitments are screened and referred if needed; if not referred, they are reviewed after 90 days. G. Commissioner Keller moved to accept the Warden’s report, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. V. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 47 intakes and 34 discharges. B. There were 15 inmates placed into employment. C. There were 1751 hours of community service completed. D. The Pre-Trial Release program had 51 offenders. E. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 68 offenders. There were 11successful discharges. F. The Sex Offender Program had 45. G. There were 41 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. The Electronic Monitoring Program had 10 offenders. I. There were 18 offenders detained in August and there were 18 that were given alternative sanctions. J. There were 152 jail days saved by using the alternative sanctions of electronic monitoring (457 days), DCIP/D&A RIP (2775 days) and pre-trial release (1474 days). K. The Work Release program collected $25,560 and the Probation Department collected $232,731 in August. VI. Old Business A. Warden Schell provided a staffing update. There are currently 70 officer positions filled and 12 scheduled to start. B. Warden Schell gave a COVID update. The jail’s work release unit had five positive COVID cases and the unit was temporarily quarantined. The plan is to retest after five days and return to normal operations if there are no new positive cases. VII. New Business A. The Prison Board’s involvement in approving jail expenses was discussed. 1) Current protocol is that the expenses are approved by the commissioners. Controller Wissinger stated that he had reviewed PA Title 61 and was concerned that he was not meeting the standards on how jail expenses are reviewed. He suggested that he put all jail expenditures in a report that can be approved by Prison Board at the monthly meeting; however, he recognized that some expenses may require more urgent action. He suggested that he attend the Commissioners Meeting to join the commissioners in reviewing jail expenses. Judge Meyers asked if the expense report would be shared with all board members and Controller Wissinger said that the report would be sent out prior to the Commissioners meeting. The full month’s report will then be reviewed at the Prison Board meeting. DW Weller asked how emergency purchases would be made and Controller Wissinger answered that county emergency protocols would be followed in those cases. 2) Commissioner Keller moved that the jail’s current bills be paid, Judge Meyers seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. 3) Controller Wissinger moved that the expense approval procedure be changed to follow the letter of the law by requiring him to appear at the Commissioners’ meeting and join the commissioners in approving jail expenditures, Judge Meyers seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. 4) It was clarified that the Commissioners’ meeting expense review would be open to public comment and would need to be advertised. VIII. The next meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2023 at 8:30AM at the Franklin County Administration Building. Controller Wissinger moved to end the meeting, Commissioner Flannery seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned.