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San Francisco County Grand Jury • 2016-2017

Epic Report: Ensuring Equality of Women’s Education In The SF Jail System 6. How Transgender Females’ Housing Affects

Published: June 18, 2017 10 pages

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⚠️ 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 14 findings

FINDING: A deputy’s initial training is 6 months long. An insufficient time of that training is spent focused on the specific skills needed for a deputy whose duty is inside the jail.

FINDING: Deputies and civilian staff often lack sufficient training in interpersonal communication skills, case management and assessing the needs and risks of the inmates. They need to more vigorously follow up an inmates’ assessment, and contact county agencies to assure an inmate’s needs are adequately addressed while in custody.

FINDING: The deputies are working excessive over-time hours which leaves them too exhausted to meet the demands of their work. As a result, tension between the deputies and inmates can be exacerbated, as well as increased deputy dissatisfaction at work. Those deputies who are working with female inmates in the jail presently are suffering from fatigue because of the excessive over- time demands. Consequently, by their own admission, they are not performing up to par. More deputies are needed to fill the extra hours required for the job.

FINDING: At present, because of lack of staff, re-entry surveys are given on a limited, random basis, so that management does not have the feedback it needs to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the educational classes offered, or the prognosis of the success of an inmate's re-entry.

FINDING: In February, 2017, the Sheriff’s office submitted a grant request for $70,000,000 to the California Board of Community Corrections for the renovation of County Jail #2, where females are incarcerated. At present, designing a new Women’s Education Pod is not included as a part of the new jail plans for this grant proposal.

FINDING: Housing for female inmates trying to study while in jail is not designed for maximum learning. The facilities are seismically compromised and a threat to the safety of inmates in the case of an earthquake. The building is old and poorly designed for modern theories about incarceration; furthermore, it does not meet modern qualifications for inmate’s physical security, personal safety and appropriate visitation space.

FINDING: Those inmates who have already graduated high school have little opportunity to continue their education in custody, as so few courses offered are college oriented. The major problem for college-oriented inmates is the shortness of their incarceration, most often not allowing for the completion of a full semester of study.

FINDING: The courses taught in custody do not prepare inmates for the technical skills they need upon re-entry. There are few opportunities to use a computer in jail and learn the technical skills necessary to get a job when leaving custody.

FINDING: Five Keys does not compile complete statistical information about its educational courses in terms of recidivism, change of behavior or success in re-entry. Therefore, we know little about the impact of these classes in terms of keeping women out of jail, changing their behavior to conform to the laws of our society, or how successful they are in re-entering civil society.

F10

FINDING: There is little statistical documentation available to determine if educational services offered for women inmates in the SISTERS program are effective. The Sheriff's Department, which facilitates the SISTERS Program, does not ensure that the SISTER program keeps complete records about the number of inmates who participate in each SISTER group. The SISTER program also does not efficiently measure the success of the program in terms of motivating continued education after release, or track positive behavioral changes while in custody, or increased well being while in custody, nor are the recidivism rates explored thoroughly, leaving the Sheriff’s Department unclear about the statistics about the female inmates in the SISTER program. Consequently, they know little about how effective this program is.

F11

FINDING: The Sheriff’s Department lacks proper training for deputies / jail staff towards accepting transgender females as being a full part of the female population in and out of the SF jail system, regardless of surgical status.

F12

FINDING: The Sheriff’s Department lacks a set of proper disciplinary actions for Sheriff’s deputies / jail staff who refuse to accept transgender females as female jail population members, including refusals to perform common jail search duties on transgender inmates in the SF jail system.

F13

FINDING: The Sheriff’s Department lacks proper classification directives to classify transgender females as a part of the female population of the SF jail facilities.

F14

FINDING: The Sheriff’s Department lacks proper female housing for transgender females in the SF jail system, negatively affecting their socialization and educational potential.

Recommendations 14

R1

RECOMMENDATION: The Sheriff’s Department should dedicate more time in the initial Deputy Training Course to the actual work deputies do inside the jail, rather than spending the majority of their training time on work as a police person on the street. They need training to more appropriately match their job descriptions inside. We suggest the Sheriff’s Office implement this recommendation within a year (July 2018).
R2

RECOMMENDATION: Deputies and the civilian staff should be required to take the two-day University of Cincinnati Core Correctional Practices training. The course involves learning the language and techniques for addressing inmates to motivate them, instead of creating resistance. It also includes education in direct supervision, which involves how to effectively manage a housing unit using cooperative strategies instead of divisive ones. We suggest the Sheriff’s office implement this recommendation within the year (July 2018).
R3

RECOMMENDATION: Instead of increasing the over-time budget for existing deputies, we recommend hiring more deputies. We suggest the Sheriff’s Department evaluate the feasibility of hiring more deputies within the current budget year (2017-2018), instead of continuing to pay over- time to over-worked staff. Five Keys
R4

RECOMMENDATION: We recommend the Sheriff Department hire 8 more case managers for Five Keys to effectively carry out its mission to guide an inmate through her incarceration, assist in her successful re-entry, and keep track of their progress in the Five Keys system. We suggest beginning this hiring process within the next 12 months (July 2018). EPIC REPORT: Ensuring Equality of Women’s Education In T Female Housing
R5

RECOMMENDATION: This Committee strongly supports funding for renovated jail facilities, and recommends that the SF Sheriff’s Department the California Board of Community Corrections to incorporate the Five Keys’ proposal to develop a Women’s Education Pod as a part of their building and re-design plans. We also recommend that the SF Sheriff’s office report how this plan for a Women’s Education Pod will be budgeted into their $70 Million grant to the SF Board of Supervisors by July 2018.
R6

RECOMMENDATION: Create an adequate housing design for maximum learning for female inmates, using the Five Keys Women’s Educational Pod design, by August 2018.
R7

RECOMMENDATION: The Sheriff’s Department will focus on facilitating abbreviated, intensive courses to fit an inmate’s time limitations by working with the Five Keys school administration.
R8

RECOMMENDATION: The Sheriff’s Department should facilitate more technical classes for both high school and college studies, as a part of their overall educational programs. Statistical Analysis
R9

RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that the Sheriff’s Department work with Five Keys staff set up guidelines to measure the success of its charter school program in terms of recidivism, change 35 EPIC REPORT: Ensuring Equality of Women’s Education In T of behavior, and success in re-entry for every participating inmates in the Five Keys program. We suggest this recommendation be implemented within the year (2017).
R10

RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that the Sheriff’s Department, working in conjunction with the SISTER program, set up guidelines to measure the success of the this program, in whatever quantitative way the department decides to measure that success, and document the results each semester and /or year. We suggest implementing this recommendation by July 2018. Transgender Issues
R11

RECOMMENDATION: By May 2018, the Sheriff’s Department should create proper training for deputies / jail staff towards accepting transgender females as being a full part of the female population in the SF jail system, regardless of surgical status.
R12

RECOMMENDATION: By June 2018, the Sheriff’s Department should create proper disciplinary actions for Sheriff’s deputies / jail staff who refuse to accept transgender females as female jail population members, including refusal to perform common jail search duties on transgender inmates in the SF jail system.
R13

RECOMMENDATION: By July 2018, the Sheriff’s Department should rewrite the SF jail classification directives to classify transgender females part of the female population in the SF jail facilities. This language should look like this: Transgender females are a part of the female population, and shall be accommodated and treated as such. EPIC REPORT: Ensuring Equality of Women’s Education In T Transgender males are a part of the male population, and shall be accommodated and treated as such.
R14

RECOMMENDATION: By August 2018, the SF Sheriff’s Department should move all transgender women to appropriately female housing in the SF jail system 37 EPIC REPORT: Ensuring Equality of Women’s Education In T