Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2015-2016

Dvc Main Jail

Published: June 30, 2016 118 pages Consolidated Report
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Findings 11 findings

F1 Page 25
The public has not received a clear, understandable accounting of the County of Santa Cruz’s total annual retirement costs and obligations in a single summary document.
F2 Page 33
The Mental Health Advisory Board is not meeting the requirements of the Mental Health Services Act or achieving its own goals to advocate for persons with mental illness and to increase community awareness on issues related to mental health.
F3 Page 33
The Board of Supervisors is providing little or no direction, no specific goals and objectives, and no comprehensive training on how to be an effective advisory board.
F4 Page 29
The apparent lapses of direct communication between the Advisory Board, HSA[Health Services Agency], and the Board of Supervisors impedes the Advisory Board’s goals of effective advocacy for clients and advising HSA concerning Prop 63 funded mental health programs.
F5 Page 33
The Mental Health Advisory Board takes no responsibility for investigation or possible action on issues raised at their meetings, and there is no general process available for the public to raise concerns.
F6 Page 29
Five vacancies on the 11- member Advisory Board left it ineffective for months during our investigation. 2013–2014 Recommendations
F7 Page 33
The Mental Health Advisory Board receives a great deal of information from local mental health agencies and professionals on available programs and services, but there is no mechanism to circulate and share the information with the community and to keep local mental health professionals up to date.
F8 Page 33
The Grand Jury’s involvement has resulted in an increased recognition that an effective Mental Health Advisory Board is important to the community and that more positive steps are needed for continuing improvement.
F9 Page 80
The Chemically Dependent Inmate Policy and the Sheriff’s Medical and Mental Health Care Procedure Manual lack guidance for when an inmate should be transferred to a hospital for a higher level of care or when an inmate should be placed on IV hydration.
F10 Page 80
The Detoxification of Chemically Dependent Inmates, Federal Bureau of Prisons Clinical Practice Guidelines, February 2014, contains useful information related to recommended standards for the medical management of withdrawal from addictive substances.
F11 Page 80
The Sheriff’s Office at times refers to placing at-risk inmates in the infirmary, when in fact they are placed in the Observation Unit. The Observation Unit is not an infirmary. The Grand Jury finds this misnomer to be misleading to the public and endangering of the public trust. Another Death in Our Jail 2015-2016 Final Report 81

Recommendations 2

Commendations 17

Observations 1

No Responses Found 3

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Santa Cruz County Coroner Elected County Office
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Elected County Office
Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz Court