The Board of Supervisors, at its August 8 meeting, approved a response to a June 2, 2023, Grand Jury Report, “What’s Taking So Long? County Delays Mandated Jail Improvements.”
The Grand Jury reviews and investigates the performance of county, city, and local governing entities. Investigations of governmental entities can be initiated by the Grand Jury itself or suggested by citizens. A public report usually follows an investigation with findings and recommendations that must be publicly addressed by the recipients as prescribed in Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05. Responses are then directed to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court.
The Board of Supervisors agreed with three of the findings and partially disagreed with four of the findings. One finding was specifically responded to by the Sheriff Office. Following is a summary of the responses to the Grand Jury’s findings and recommendations from the report.
FINDING RESPONSES
While the findings of the Grand Jury report suggest the inmate population is higher as a result of AB 109, the average daily population (ADP) of the County’s jail facilities is lower today than it was in 2011, when AB109 (California Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011) was passed.
The Board acknowledged that new facilities are needed to achieve compliance with the Mays Consent Decree. In December 2022, the County BOS unanimously approved 33 plans designed to reduce the ADP of County jail facilities by at least 600 over time, in alignment with the recommendations in the O’Connell Sacramento Jail Study. Furthermore, the County BOS approved more than $45 million in appropriations for growth requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 related to the implementation of the jail population reduction plans and remedial plans to support Consent Decree compliance.
The Main Jail and Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC) were constructed and renovated prior to the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. The Board of Supervisors agreed there are continuing ADA and HIPAA violations due to the lack of adequate health related facilities. These challenges will persist while approved projects are designed and constructed.
The Board believed that County departments should continue to evaluate interim solutions to address Main Jail and RCCC deficiencies identified in the Mays Consent Decree. The County is analyzing whether interim measures are possible and are committed to innovative and unique solutions.
The Board of Supervisors agreed that there are limited healthcare facilities and staffing in the Main Jail. The current space for the number of exam rooms, behavioral health programming space, and specialty care space in the main jail is not adequate to support the demand for services, despite the significant increase in healthcare staffing.
While the report asserted the sanitation of the Main Jail and RCCC is substandard and has inadequate written procedures in place to ensure cleaning is effective, the jail custodial services provided by the Departments of General Services and Health Services, Adult Correctional Health are documented and largely effective. However, the Environment of Care Report (EOC Report) noted deficiencies within the medical areas of which the County has a plan to address.
While the County has taken significant steps toward implementing the recommendations from consultants and court-mandated experts to address non-compliance issues, full implementation of these recommendations will take time and require future project and contract approvals and associated budgetary actions.
RECOMMENDATIONS RESPONSES
Significant work towards compliance within the County jail has already begun. County staff are moving forward with the Design Build project delivery and are bringing funding and design concepts before the Board at a future date.
The County will also develop and implement a sanitation and disinfection program at the Main Jail and RCCC.
Several recommendations were deemed unreasonable and will not be implemented, including installing a temporary trailer(s) located in the enclosed Main Jail parking garage to reduce continuing HIPAA and ADA violations and allow for increased acute treatment and diagnostic (lab and basic imaging) capability and rapidly funding and implementing the construction of an additional 18 mental health treatment rooms by December 31, 2023.
The recommendation to increase the number of intake stations by at least three to reduce overcrowding in the booking area will require more analysis. In partnership, the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Health Services Adult Correctional Health (ACH) division has implemented a two-tier medical intake process which has reduced overcrowding and officer wait time in booking.