Cou The County of Yuba*

The 2015-2016 Yuba County Grand Jury finds that the Yuba County Jail has shown considerable improvement in the mental health care being provided to the inmates. They now have two crisis counselors, one part-time, and one full-time; two part-time psychiatrists (one available through Tele- psych); and a full-time forensic mental health therapist. The inmates have approximately 100 hours of non-emergency mental health care available to them per week. A Bureau of Justice 2006 report states that 64% of jail inmates throughout the nation have mental health problems. Assuming that this same statistical information applies to the Yuba County Jail; that would be an excess of 200 inmates. With 100 treatment hours available this allows for less than 30 minutes of non-emergency one-on-one mental health counselling/treatment per inmate per week. The Jail has reinstated group counsel sessions which allows more inmates an opportunity for treatment during the week. In November 2015, Yuba County was awarded to a $20 million grant through SB 863. This grant shall be used to build a new annex next to the existing building which will include additional rooms for counselling and classroom instruction. Correctional Officers receive annual training in suicide and suicide prevention, and mental health issues in a jail facility. The Officers also received "Mental Health First Aid" which is an 8 hour training course. SUPERVISORS Andy Vasquez - District 1 • John Nicoletti - District 2 • Mary Jane Griego - District 3 • Roger Abe - District 4 • Randy Fletcher - District 5 During the UC Davis (UCD) presentation to the Grand Jury, UCD advised of two suicide-by-hanging attempts, both suicide attempts were interrupted by other inmates. Prior to each situation each inmate had told UCD that they had asked for mental therapy; they wanted to see a psychiatrist, yet no treatment was offered. With the Realignment Act, some inmates are now being housed for longer periods of time, up to five years. Inmates with mental health issues could benefit from a complete evaluation and a recovery oriented treatment plan (Interpretive Guidelines). In 2015, the Zur Institute wrote that there is no textbook definition of the standard of care in the mental health field. Based on the statistics cited, the 100 hours per week allotted to treatment of mental health issues appears to be inadequate for the number of inmates potentially requiring care. The Board of Supervisors agrees with this finding.

The 2015-2016 Yuba County Grand Jury finds that the Yuba County Jail has increased the number and quality of its medical personnel by hiring a full-time Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) who will assist the doctor in the care and treatment of inmates. One of the current LVN's has passed the RN course, has applied for an interim permit and is expected to receive the permit prior to the release of this Grand Jury Report. This interim RN may receive permanent RN status within a few months. The Sheriff has approached the Board of Supervisors and received funding for the Correctional Facility RN pay with the goal of maintaining a valuable employee while increasing the skill, education, and experience in the Medical Unit. The doctor stated that he tries to see an inmate within 48 hours of the inmates' request. The doctor and nurse combined see 60-80 patients a week and it can become difficult for an inmate to get an appointment with the doctor which could cause a delay in treatment. The Grand Jury also interviewed an ex-inmate who states the inmate was miss-diagnosed by several Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) and the FNP as having a soft tissue damage. It wasn't until they saw the doctor, 28 days after the initial injury, that the inmate was diagnosed with a radial head fracture. However, in further researching the medical recommendations for this type of injury, the Grand Jury found that the treatment received after the fracture was found was consistent with what the US National Law of Medicine recommended for this type of fracture (US National, 2015). The Board of Supervisors agrees with this finding.

The 2015-2016 Yuba County Grand Jury finds a number of studies have shown the benefit of providing inmates with an opportunity to earn their GED diploma, which makes this a vital issue to be considered by local, state and national legislators. An article by Matthew Clark in 2014 stated that a 2013 RAND report integrated more than 30 years of previous research on education and recidivism rates. The report states that "inmates who participated in correctional education programs had 43% lower odds of returning to prison than inmates who did not." (Clark, 2014). It goes on to state that the odds of an offender finding employment after release from prison was 13% higher for those who did participated in academic or vocational programs compared to those who did not." (Clark, 2014) Another study by John Nuttall (2003) broke down two groups, offenders under the age of 21 and over 21. "Offenders under the age of 21 who earned their GED diploma were 14% less likely to return to SUPERVISORS Andy Vasquez - District 1 • John Nicoletti - District 2 • Mary Jane Griego - District 3 • Roger Abe - District 4 • Randy Fletcher - District 5 prison within three years, while prisoners over 21 were 5% less likely to return to prison after earning a GED diploma. Education in prison systems is an effective way to lower recidivism." (Nuttall, 2003) Yuba County Jail does offer GED courses that cover the five Core Requirements as well as grammar and spelling. They work with inmates to give them an opportunity to obtain their GED certification, however they are unable to provide the GED certification test in-house and it is not always practical to transport an inmate outside the jail and watch over him/her for six hours. The Jail Administration advised the Grand Jury that they are hoping to provide the GED certification exam in-house in the future. The Board of Supervisors agrees with this finding. <b>RECOMMENDATIONS</b> <i>R1</i>. The 2015-2016 Yuba County Grand Jury recommends that the Sheriff apply to the Board of Supervisors to provide funding and hiring of a full-time psychiatrist that could allow the Jail to work on a mental health treatment and care plan with a focus on work and/or education. The 2015-2016 Yuba County Grand Jury further recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve funding for a full-time psychiatrist. This should be accomplished by the end of the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. Ongoing analysis by the Sheriff's Department and subsequent determinations of needs does not warrant a full-time position as recommended by the Grand Jury. Of further note, the Board of Supervisors relies on department heads to request augmentations for staffing and related expenses through the budget process. In this case, there has been no request. The Board of Supervisors is aware, through discussions with the Sheriff and Y-S Behavioral Health staff, services are being provided to inmates at an appropriate level through their partnership and collaborative approach. Should conditions change, it is incumbent upon the departments to recognize the need, develop a plan and submit request(s) to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.

The 2015-2016 Grand Jury finds that the personnel in MJUSD Facilities and Energy Management Department do not have enough knowledge and experience in handing the HVAC systems. The Grand Jury was advised, during interviews, that the technician currently assigned to maintain the HVAC system is unfamiliar with the system. The Honorable Julia L. Scrogin August 5, 2016 Response to Finding 4: Disagree. Maintenance Department staff has the tools, knowledge and expertise to work on HVAC systems in large part, and hired an additional HVAC technician in September of 2015. However, they do not have the tools, knowledge or expertise to diagnose and work on chillers specifically. In the past, Maintenance Department staff notified the Maintenance Department management that the operation of a chiller system is a specialized process requiring a specialist in that field. To fill this need, the Maintenance Department contracted with American Chiller to make repairs, diagnose problems, and conduct maintenance on the Chiller. To best of the District's knowledge, American Chiller was the contractor who did all water treatment on the central plant at Lindhurst High School for the past ten years. This information was not shared to other staff or district management by the previous director of this department.

The 2015-2016 Grand Jury finds that MJUSD is currently addressing the HVAC problem with an emergency HVAC replacement project (Barron, 2016). Per K. Barron and a 2015 newsletter from MJUSD (2016); this is a multi-stage project with the first stage addressing Lindhurst High School's C and F buildings. Building C should have a new system in late March to early April 2016, Building F in late April 2016. Work on a new HVAC system for the gym, locker room and classrooms in Building E is expected to start, by early fall of 2016. Research documentation shows that proper maintenance will reduce energy costs (ACHR, 2005) as well as reduce the potential risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria which is associated with Legionnaires Disease and Potomac Fever (CDC). Response to Finding 5: The District notes that the Grand Jury Report does not require a Response from the District to Finding Number 5. However, in an effort to provide a comprehensive response, the District provides the following response: The Maintenance Department, under the direction of the current Executive Director of the Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation Department, made efforts to provide the C and F buildings at Lindhurst High School with sufficient and constant cool air flow. To do so, portable cooling units were brought in along with exhaust fans being installed over each building exit way. The District was able to maintain, for the most part, a steady temperature in the buildings ranging from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Maintenance Department staff was able to verify this information through daily logs which tracked temperatures in Building C twice a day via the District's Energy Management System (EMS). With regard to the HVAC replacement project, the District completed the majority of Increment 1 in April of 2016. Increment 1 involved the disconnection of Buildings C and F from the central plant/chillers, excavation and trenching for electrical and ground mounted pads, pouring of concrete pads at building C, and the installation of roof mounted mechanical equipment at The Honorable Julia L. Scrogin August 5, 2016 Building F. Increment 1 also included the installation of thermostats and carbon dioxide sensors in Buildings C and F. Increment 2 of the HVAC replacement project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016. Increment 2 will involve the following work on Buildings B and H: trenching around Building B for electrical lines; removal of old mechanical equipment and chiller lines; installation of thermostats and carbon dioxide sensors; installation of new package units or split system HVAC equipment; and air balancing, commissioning, and development of an operation and maintenance plan. REQUIRED RESPONSES TO RECOMMENDATIONS