Title
Adopt a Resolution:
a. Authorizing the Sheriff's Office to proceed and apply for the SB 1022 (Adult Local Criminal Justice Facility Construction Program) Request for Proposal Project (RFP) funding in the amount of $40.0 million;
b. Approving the necessary 10% minimum matching funds in the amount of $4.0 million; and,
c. Authorizing the Sheriff to sign and execute the RFP and submit it to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for financing. (ADDED VIA ADDENDUM)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt a Resolution:
a. Authorizing the Sheriff's Office to proceed and apply for the SB 1022 (Adult Local Criminal Justice Facility Construction Program) Request for Proposal Project (RFP) funding in the amount of $40.0 million;
b. Approving the necessary 10% minimum matching funds in the amount of $4.0 million; and,
c. Authorizing the Sheriff to sign and execute the RFP and submit it to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for financing.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
On June 27, 2012, the Adult Local Criminal Justice Facilities Construction Program became effective through passage of Senate Bill 1022. SB 1022 authorized up to $500 million for the construction and improvement of local adult corrections facilities. On July 23, 2013, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from counties in need of funding for expanding their corrections services. Through this program, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office proposes to apply for the maximum grant amount of $40.0 million in funding. This will require a 10% local match from the county.
In 2011, the Board of Supervisors previously approved a jail expansion application to the BSCC (then the California Corrections Standards Authority) under the AB 900 program for $80.0 million to build space for 576 beds to address overcrowding in the jail. In 2012, Monterey County received partial funding in the amount of $36,295,000 toward a reduced expansion of the County of Monterey Adult Jail. Then, in September 2013, the State approved SB 365 which reallocated newly available funding. Through this action, the Monterey County Jail Expansion project was selected to receive additional funding of approximately $44.0 million to fully fund the original project application of $80.0 million.
Unlike AB 900, which was focused on providing funding for additional bed space in existing facilities, SB 1022 seeks to address the impacts of criminal justice realignment (AB 109) by focusing on the inadequacy of existing county facilities to meet the resulting additional program needs and management of inmates. While the AB 900 funding will allow Monterey County to expand the jail to meet current and future housing needs, the jail still has critical need for additional and improved programming space for services including mental health treatment, substance abuse programs, and general education and employment training.
The Sheriff's Office is preparing a SB 1022 grant application to construct a new facility adjacent to the current jail expansion project. This facility will provide 22 dedicated mental health bed spaces with space for individual and group mental health therapy and programs. Additionally, the facility will include additional space for 2 safety cells as well as in and out-of-custody offender programming needs.
Need for Additional/Improved Mental Health Space
Monterey County Jail currently offers mental health evaluation and possible services to any inmate identified as needing these services at time of booking. Mental health delivery needs are currently exceeding the jails capacity to handle these patients in any centralized area or with staff efficiencies. As a result, mentally ill inmates may be housed in general population beds in the pods, medical beds, isolation beds, or safety cells. Given that these patients are potentially in several areas of the jail; interviews, medications, assessments, and group services require medical staff to move between several different areas in the jail or require significant escort time by the deputies creating safety concerns for the staff and inmates. Additionally, none of the areas available to house mentally ill inmates has adequate group rooms or individual, confidential interview space.
The proposed new construction would build a housing unit of 22 mental health beds and 2 safety cells for a total of 24 beds. This unit would be for mentally ill inmates only and would create a therapeutic milieu where all mental health care and programming would be provided. The unit is characterized by a separate housing unit and structured activities for mentally ill inmates who, because of their illness, experience adjustment difficulties in a General Population (GP) setting, yet are not so impaired as to require 24-hour inpatient care. This Special Mental Health Unit (SMHU) comprised of single cells would also have a medication room and medical exam room to reduce the need for deputy escorts to these services. Included in this unit would be group rooms, individual contact and non-contact rooms for inmate interviews.
The SMHU would allow for mentally ill inmates to receive individual, group and recreation interventions. These are the key components of a successful mental health program. It would also facilitate close observation of medication administration and therefore increase compliance. The supportive environment would assist fragile mentally ill inmates to cope and even thrive in a stressful jail setting and begin to prepare them for consistent mental health interventions upon release.
Adjacent to this facility would be additional education and multipurpose rooms to support the mental health programming as well as be available to the rest of the facility for program needs and reentry training and education. The additional group and programming space would allow an increase in educational, vocational, rehabilitation and reentry activities for all jail inmates. Included in this complex would be clinical and program staff offices so that most clinical and program staff would be working together and sharing information
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
RMA-Public Works, the Office of the County Counsel, Sheriffs Office, and Board of State and Community Corrections are in concurrence with the recommended action.
FINANCING:
If approved for award, the total project costs for the jail programming and mental health facility are estimated at $44.5 million. It is recommended that the $4.5 million in local match be comprised of $2.1 million in-kind match for the current fair market value of the project site property, $400,000 in-kind staff costs, and $2.0 million cash match from the Capital Projects program.
In addition to construction costs, the department estimates that 4.0 FTE deputies will be required to staff the additional mental health bed space. It is anticipated that this will not require additional positions due to the reassignment opportunities for deputies who currently are required to supervise the transport of inmates around the facility due to the existing separation of locations for mental health services and program space. Additional staffing by contracted programming and medical providers will also be required. These costs have not yet been quantified, and will be addressed in future agreements with the providers. These services are a departmental priority and will be covered within the Sheriff's Office budget through a combination of state and grant funding, Inmate Welfare funds and general funds.
Prepared by: John Guertin, Executive Director - Administration Bureau, (831) 755-3754
Approved by: Scott K. Miller, Sheriff-Coroner
Attachments:
Board Resolution