Napa County Grand Jury
• 2022-2023
• Agency Response
Response to:
Final Report: Napa County Juvenile Hall
Board of Supervisors*
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 2 findings
F1
Page 2
The Napa County Jail lacks adequate programming, especially for long term incarcerated persons. Now that the Covid-19 State of Emergency has been lifted (March 2023), it is not reasonable to wait for the new jail to provide broader programs for incarcerated persons. Director of Corrections Response: The Director of Corrections partially agrees with this finding. During the pandemic all in custody programs were suspended temporarily. In-custody social program providers Hare being allowed back on-site to facilitate programs. Since the Covid-19 State of Emergency was lifted, NCDC has worked to revamp its policies regarding program volunteers. As of May 15, 2023, NCDC has finalized its policy to reimplement volunteer program providers to return to NCDC. Volunteer programs include but are not limited to: Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and religious providers. The Board of Supervisors agrees with the Director of Corrections.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 3
The Napa County Grand Jury recommends that the Director of Corrections increase programs for IPs by December 31, 2023. If the space constraints are a limitation, the jury recommends NCJ increase online programs. Director of Corrections Response: This recommendation has been implemented. NCDC has collaborated with the Napa County Library to expand programming to include a literacy program available to all interested Incarcerated Persons (IPs). Tutors from the Napa County Library work with IPs to determine their literacy skills. Tutors are additionally available to work with IPs to work towards obtaining their High School Equivalency (HSE) Test. Tutors from the library meet with participants on weekly. Online programs are not an option within NCDC as wireless internet capabilities are limited within the facility. The Board of Supervisors agrees with the Director of Corrections. 1
F2
Page 2
Women are not offered equitable work opportunities at the Napa County Jail. Director of Corrections Response: The Director of Corrections disagrees with this finding. NCDC provides work opportunities to qualifying sentenced female inmates in the form of janitorial work in the booking area. This work location is in proximity to their housing unit (a consideration taken for safety & security reasons). The number of sentenced female inmates in the jail population who qualify for work opportunities changes daily and not all sentenced females are eligible for work as some have special housing classifications (due to behavioral issues or their safety needs) that disqualify them from work privileges. It is NCDC's policy that only sentenced inmates being housed in qualifying classified housing units be given the opportunity to pursue work privileges. Fining 3: The Re-entry facility is not currently used and is likely not going to be used for its intended purposes. Board of Supervisors Response: The Board of Supervisors agree with the finding. The board is working with legislative leaders and the Governor's Office to explore alternative uses that better fit the needs to the community.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Page 3
The Napa County Grand Jury recommends that the Director of Corrections implement work opportunities for women by December 31, 2023. Director of Corrections Response: This recommendation has been implemented. Work assignments are based on sentencing status and housing locations to minimize the flow of contraband throughout the facility. NCDC does not have combined (male and female) housing, nor do we allow combined work assignments. Therefore, the work opportunities available to incarcerated females depends on their being sentenced and housed in the general population dorm of the jail. Currently, the only location that females can safely work is in providing janitorial services within the booking area which is adjacent to their housing dorm. NCDC continues to consider and pursue work opportunities for all qualified inmates. However, the consistently low number of eligible female IPs and current configuration of the jail, coupled with security concerns and the jail's policies on keeping male and female populations separate, prevent the participation of female Ips in other existing work opportunities. Female IPs are given work opportunities that are consistent with their sentencing and their housing locations. The Board of Supervisors agrees with the Director of Corrections.
Commendations 2
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CM1 Page 3Commendation 1: The Napa County Grand Jury commends the NJC for managing the Covid-19 pandemic with innovative solutions to keep the outbreaks at a minimum.
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CM2 Page 4Director of Corrections Response: We gratefully appreciate the Grand Jury's recognition of our efforts responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Board of Supervisors Response: The Board of Supervisors agrees with the Director of Corrections. ~---- V. ς. . •
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.