Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility a/k/a “The County Jail” Déjà Vu All Over Again

Conclusions 1

• CL1 Page 10
  Although SCSO is compliant with Title 15 medical and mental health requirements, the MADF is not designed or configured to house the growing number of individuals with mental health diagnoses. MADF staff are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances and chronic staff shortages. The nature of the job, long hours, mandatory overtime, and the challenge of dealing with mentally ill inmates have all contributed to a long-term staffing crisis. Correctional officer turnover and the ensuing loss of institutional knowledge is an issue. The result is that MADF has had difficulty offering and maintaining inmate programs and providing out of cell time and activities. Although improvements are being made, there is more that should be done to improve the situation for everyone involved. The Grand Jury found several key issues. Hiring and retaining Correctional Officers needs to continue to be the highest priority. We acknowledge the significant amount of progress that has been, and continues to be, made by SCSO. In the past five months, recruitment and hiring have gone up and the mandatory overtime necessitated by under-staffing has gone down. It is clear that SCSO is making a concerted effort to address the chronic staffing shortage and that they are moving in the right direction. We were greatly encouraged by the May 1 newsletter from the Sheriff’s Department announcing that Detention will be fully staffed by summer 2024. Now that the roster is being filled; attention needs to turn to retaining the best officers and replacing any staff that doesn’t measure up. Robust substance abuse treatment services are needed, both inside and outside the jail. The Grand Jury found significant overlap between what SCSO is doing and what the Department of Health Services is doing. Two recent developments are encouraging.: in March, 2024 the BoS authorized SCSO to execute an agreement with GEO Reentry Services to provide substance use disorder treatment services to adults at the County’s detention facility through March 31, 2027 with an option to extend for two additional one-year terms. Outside the jail, the “Dr. Sushma D. Taylor Recovery Center” will soon provide medically managed withdrawal services for low-income male patients, with 50 beds for those in our county who struggle with addiction. Sustained commitment and collaboration are essential to continued improvement. The Board of Supervisors, and the Sheriff’s Office must work together to find (and fund) solutions to the problems facing the MADF staff and inmates that are under their authority.

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