San Diego County Grand Jury • 2022-2023

Sheriff’s Department Incarcerated Persons’ Welfare Fund

Published: June 01, 2023 19 pages
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Findings 8 findings

F01
No specific guidelines are given in the IPWC By-Laws and Operating Procedures that specifically define what constitutes an allowable expense appropriate for the IPWF. Need for Time Studies Fact: The IPWC By Laws and Operating Procedures` state, “It is the policy of the Sheriff of San Diego County to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the procurement of property and services for the inmates.” Fact: Several positions in the San Diego Sheriff’s Reentry Services Division are funded 100% by the Incarcerated Persons’ Welfare Fund. However, these positions have responsibility for both IPWF and non-IPWF activities, (such as services related to meals, clothing, housing or medical services as defined under Title 15).
F02
Mandating periodic time studies would identify the use of IPWF funding for non- IPWF activities, especially important for those personnel having dual responsibilities for Title 15 activities and IPWF supported programs. Expanding IPWC Membership Fact: The membership of the IPWF Committee of the San Diego County Sheriff Reentry Services Division includes one civilian volunteer position.
F03
Limiting the membership on the committee to only one long standing civilian member does not allow San Diego County’s diverse citizenship to be adequately represented or differing viewpoints to be heard. Effective Use of Funding Fact: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors eliminated charges to incarcerated persons for phone calls, texts and video visits to families.
F04
The substitute funding authorized to replace phone charge revenue provided an annual revenue guarantee in future fiscal years by the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors to maintain funding sources for these important and impactful correctional education programs for the benefit, education and welfare of incarcerated persons.
F05
Initial funds authorized by the San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors and a large current fund balance may continue to support IPWF programs for some time, but existing reserves in the fund may fall unless this supplemental county funding continues. Fact: The IPWF funds a wide variety of correctional education, vocation and psychosocial programs intended to reduce recidivism and reincarceration rates and promote successful reentry of incarcerated individuals into society. 11
F06
Performing economic analyses that compare the cost of correctional education programs to the social and financial benefits of reduced recidivism or reincarceration could demonstrate that discontinuing such programs could ultimately be more costly than continuing them.
F07
The County Sheriff has no evidence or published evaluation of the effectiveness of the reentry programs funded by the IWPF. Audit Requirement Fact: The By-Laws of the Incarcerated Persons’ Welfare Committee require an audit of the Incarcerated Person’s Welfare fund and the Jail Stores Commissary Fund at least every three years. Fact: The most recent audit of the Incarcerated Persons Special Revenue Fund and Jail Stores Enterprise Fund was in 2016.
F08
The County is not meeting the requirement to perform an audit of the Incarcerated Persons Welfare Fund and Jail Stores Enterprise Fund every three years. San Diego County Legislative Priorities Fact: Two bills have been passed by the California Legislature, SB555 and AB1782 (in 2020 and 2022, respectively), mandating that Incarcerated Persons Welfare Funds be used “solely for the benefit and welfare of incarcerated persons”, and seeking to curtail the broad discretion Sheriffs now possess in determining how to spend Incarcerated Persons’ Welfare Funds. Both pieces of legislation were vetoed by the Governor. Fact: While IPWF monies have been used as discretionary funds to supplement the cost of meals, clothing, housing and medical services for incarcerated individuals, such discretionary spending is permitted by provisions of this law.

Recommendations 11