Marin County Grand Jury
• 2012-2013
A Sobering Center In Marin- One Small Step In Solving a Big Problem[PDF]
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 5 findings
F1
On average, public inebriates occupy 4 – 5 beds every day in County Hospitals’ EDs for up to six hours at a time and more than 20 public inebriates are incarcerated in the County Jail every week. And yet the number of public inebriates accommodated at The Vine has decreased from 6 per week in the 2006 – 2008 period to less than 2 per week in 2011. We conclude that our County hospitals as well as our County Jail are disproportionately bearing the burden of a chronic societal issue that could be better addressed by a stand-alone sobering center.
F2
In 2011, only 8% of public inebriates were transported to sobering beds located at The Vine, compared to 38% of inebriates in Santa Barbara using that city’s sobering center. Marin’s hospital emergency rooms and County Jail are handling a societal problem that should better be handled by a stand-alone facility with more sobering bed capacity than The Vine.
F3
The all-in cost of providing a sobering bed is substantially less than the cost of a stay in a hospital ED.
F4
Using a sobering bed also reduces the bookings cost at our County Jail, frees up space for additional jail inmates, and may lower the operating costs of the various Marin County law enforcement agencies now using the County Jail to book public inebriates.
F5
The best vehicle for carrying the sobering center project forward is the Chronic Alcohol Use with Justice Involvement Project. The members include the Director of the Marin County Health and Human Services Department (the HHS Director) and the Chief of Police in San Rafael. The Project often expands to include representatives of the Sheriff and County Offices. The Project is interested in reducing recidivism and improving outcomes for the chronic public inebriate population.
Recommendations 4
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R1We recommend that the HHS Director distribute this report to the Chronic Alcohol Use with Justice Involvement Project, to the Sheriff, to local police chiefs and to Marin County Hospitals for their review.
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R2We recommend that the HHS Director work with the Chronic Alcohol Use with Justice Involvement Project with input from the Sheriff, Marin police departments, and Marin County Hospitals to prepare a cost benefit analysis of a stand-alone sobering center in Marin County that would be in lieu of jail or the use of hospital EDs.
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R3We recommend that the HHS Director work with the Chronic Alcohol Use with Justice Involvement Project, the Sheriff’s Office, Marin Police Departments and Marin County Hospitals to secure funding from the primary beneficiaries identified in this cost benefit analysis to develop a stand-alone sobering center in Marin County.
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R4We recommend that the Sheriff’s Office and each Marin County police department research and report on the possible cost savings and other benefits achieved from making greater use of a sobering center.