Title
Receive the Inmate Welfare Fund Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2016-17.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors receive the Inmate Welfare Fund Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2016-17.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The report was reviewed by the Budget Committee on January 31, 2018.
The Inmate Welfare Fund (IWF) is governed by California Penal Code (PC) Section 4025. In part, PC 4025 states:
4025. (a) The sheriff of each county may establish, maintain, and operate a store in connection with the county jail and for this purpose may purchase confectionary, tobacco and tobacco users' supplies, postage and writing materials, and toilet articles and supplies and sell these goods, articles, and supplies for cash to inmates in the jail. (b) The sale prices of the articles offered for sale at the store shall be fixed by the sheriff. Any profit shall be deposited in an inmate welfare fund to be kept in the treasury of the county. (c) There shall also be deposited in the inmate welfare fund 10 percent of all gross sales of inmate hobbycraft. (d) There shall be deposited in the inmate welfare fund any money, refund, rebate, or commission is attributable to the use of pay telephones which are primarily used by inmates while incarcerated.
In Monterey County, the primary sources of monies generated for the IWF comes from inmate commissary sales and revenues from inmate telephone and tablet usage. The revenues from inmate telephones has decreased since a Federal Communications Committee (FCC) ruling came out last year that lowered and capped the rates that could be charged for inmate telephone usage. However, the Sheriff's Office has recouped some of those lost monies by working with our new inmate telephone provider, Telmate, to offer video visitation and tablets for inmate usage. The drop in revenue has been offset by a decrease in expenditures as well.
Pursuant to section 4025(e) of the California Penal Code, the money and property dep...
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