Q&A for Boone County Justice Center

Tom Santelli, County Commissioner:

The public safety LIT is different than the Jail Lit with the passage and adoption of Indiana House Enrolled Act 1263, signed by Governor Eric Holcomb on March 21, 2018. Counties across the state of Indiana are allowed to increase local income tax (“LIT”) rates to fund or maintain a county jail. Most counties are now able to raise LIT rates by 0.2% This legislation was passed to address overcrowding issues and limited resources to pay for expanded or new jails.

While most LIT rates are addressed by a local LIT Council made up of both county and city/town officials, HEA 1263 gives the county fiscal body sole authority to implement the new rate. The county jail LIT rate may not be in effect for more than 20 years. Revenue from the new rate must be maintained in a separate dedicated county fund and used by the county only for paying for correctional facilities and rehabilitation facilities in the county.

IC 6-3.6-2-14 Defines Public Safety which covers 14 different categories of expenses. These funds are distributed without taking into account the county has to cover PSPA (911 call center), jail, juvenile detention, prosecutor, programming and so many other expenses the towns and municipalities do not have to cover. This leads to the thought of a more equitable look at funding jail operations. When we passed the PS-LIT we focused on operations, police, fire, and operations. We have been very prudent at the county level in the use of these funds.

There are a number of pressures on the county jail and programming systems. Within Boone County, with the increased number of officers and staffing, we are catching more miscreants. Our population has doubled going from 35,000 in 1992 to 70,000 in 2020. We are also seeing more crime cross over into Boone County from Marion County. Boone County has been recognized as the 5th safest county in the country while Indianapolis is recognized as the 12th most dangerous city in the country and some areas such as the IMPD Northeast District as the 5^th most dangerous in the country. We are particularly grateful in BOONE COUNTY for the tremendous level of cooperation between the county, town municipality, state and federal levels of public safety. While the PSLIT tax could have been approved up to .25% this would not have addressed the disparity of responsibilities pushed onto the county.

Tom Santelli, County Commissioner:

I serve on several boards including:

Probation and Community Corrections
JDAI (Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiatives)
Family Recovery Court
Boone County Drug Task Force
Lt Governors Commission on Mental Health & Addiction

I have served on the SCAC board (Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Board) and work with the Prosecutor in a number of areas including strategic planning and funding for key areas and programming. I have participated in the Federal Drug Task Force Training

As you know from my answer to your first question the state redefined the felony system in 2014 which pushed level 6 felonies to the county jail. We started looking at these requirements with our first jail study in 2015.  Our second jail feasibility study conducted in 2018-2019 was more in-depth, looking at a number of factors you mention and many more aspects. We are now finishing the scoping process through our stake holders and architectural work on the new justice center in the form of a build operate transfer.

Indiana Code 5-23, or the Build Operate Transfer statute was enacted in 1997 and establishes the framework for Build-Operate-Transfer agreements. With this statute, small municipalities and local government entities have an avenue to enter into P3 contacts for projects.

I would present to you, based on my direct experience, we are a leader in the felony diversion, probation and community corrections, JDAI, mental health and addiction treatment processes. We are working to do a better job communicating our work, in a number of areas, at the county level, to our stakeholders. As you have seen we are hard at work on the communications pieces, which is prompting more engaged dialogue.

Our mental health and other programs have been remarkably successful in reducing recidivism as has our JDAI programming. We are responsible for the welfare of any individual arrested or incarcerated so we have important risk management responsibility. For example, all in, a fatality in the jail system can cost the county $5MM+.

Aspire and Integrated Wellness (InWell) are working directly in the jail with excellent success in treatment and building bridges between our inmates and their communities. The lack of programming, treatment and bridging, is recognized as one of the leading contributors to recidivism. We have an ongoing GED program. We further take the approach to treat each person whether they are incarcerated, on probation, or community correction with the intent of helping them become more productive and constructive members of our communities. My personal experience hiring individuals on work release, re-entry programs, Work One, WOTC and other support programs for ex-offenders has been very positive. We have had successes on the first time through our programs and others after as many as 11 times in the system. I have worked with individuals from start to finish in drug treatment programs.

Our biggest challenges have been funding and space. Our recent requests for grant funding our drug court and additional resources for our felony diversion programs were turned down for 2022. The end result, we are having to fund these programs locally.

Covid presents additional challenges where we had to immediately address jail overcrowding. With as many as 246 inmates in 2019 we were well above an acceptable level of incarceration, within our limited capabilities. We currently have as many as 2,000 people in our probation and community corrections system, not to mention about 1,000 outstanding warrants throughout the county. We did petition for the ability to limit our jail population however the courts are telling us we have to accept folks brought to the jail. We do have the option to send individuals to surrounding jails which increases county costs.

We have robust programs geared towards felony diversion and recidivism reduction. We need more space and funding, simply stated. We are over-crowded
 

Tom Santelli, County Commissioner:

Criminal justice code reform in Indiana, through the legislature, revised the felony levels in 2014. These changes packed the county jails with Level 6 felonies. Nearly half the people housed in Indiana jails were there on a low-level felony charge, and in some counties, this population by itself exceeded the capacity of local jails, contributing to overcrowding and rising cost at county jails across Indiana. The shift has left many county jails struggling to make room for the influx of inmates and keep up with the costs of housing them.

In 2015, the Indiana General Assembly passed a separate House Enrolled Act 1006, which mandated among other things, that the lowest-level felons, Level 6, be housed in county jails instead of DOC (department of corrections). The county jail population just keeps going up. A low level felony carries a sentence of from six months to 2 ½ years. For example, after June 30, 2015, a court may not sentence a person to prison on a level 6 felony subject to certain restrictions, thereby remanding those persons to the county jail. Today in Boone County with overcrowding the extra inmates sleep in moveable plastic bunks.

Overcrowding creates safety issues for the community, public safety officers and for our inmates. We are currently unable to classify inmates so you could end up with predator vs prey in the same cell. We have close to 2,000 individuals in Boone County on Probation and Community Corrections. We have close to 1,000 warrants that are not being served due to Covid and overcrowding. Sheriff Nielsen is successfully reducing recidivism by focusing on treating drug addiction and mental illness, which are two of the main underlying causes of Level 6 felonies, according to state law makers.
Boone County is working hard to keep offenders out of jail and out of prison in including pre-trail diversion, which includes risk assessment which helps to lower the jail population. At the same time, the jail population in Indiana shot up 32 percent over the two-year period 2016-17. According to the Vera Institute, an independent research institute that analyzes the U.S. criminal justice system, the institute reported that 64 of Indiana’s 92 county jails are overcrowded. This increased happened just after Gov Pence signed the 2015 justice reform bills into law.

It is estimated 1 in 4 felonies are Level 6 felonies largely driven by drug-related offenses, such as receiving stolen property, possession of methamphetamine and possession of syringes and needles.
In 2018 the Indiana prison population stood at 46,903 including Level 6 felons in county jails and community programs.

Juvenile Justice Reform SB 368 among other things prohibits a juvenile arrestee from being housed with adult inmates prior to trial which adds additional requirement to our county jail. Our current Boone County Jail opened October 20, 1992 with a rated bed capacity of 110, at that time we had 67 prisoners. The original bed capacity of 110 was double bunked to a rated capacity of 214 in 2007. Dispatch (our county 911 system) opened in 2006. We are currently overcrowded in many areas of the operations well beyond our ability to accommodate the inmate population.

Please follow this link to see the answer: https://www.livinginboonecounty.com/2021-census-of-boone-county-jail-residents/

2021 YTD – 47.39%
2020 – 48.59%
2019 – 42.44%
2018 – 45.07%

Jeff Wolfe, County Commissioner:

This has been a project that has been in the planning stages for many years. While Covid temporarily created an artificial drop in the inmate population, the months, and years prior to that had our population at a level in excess of the recommended limit for the facility.

We had a jail feasibility study done almost 3 years ago which showed that our population growth in the county and the increases in arrests and pending warrants predicted a need for more than 200 additional cells in the next 20 years. While no one ever wants to build more or larger facilities of this type we find ourselves in a situation where we are forced to face this reality.

The team we have put together has put our focus on the rehabilitation of and the treatment of those individuals who find themselves incarcerated. Most of the arrests made today are related to either mental health or addiction. Sheriff Nielsen has developed a program over the last several years that has provided extensive mental health treatment on a weekly basis and is wanting to expend that program even more. This new facility will help with that effort as well.

We currently have utilized every square inch of the existing facility and the growth in the county has created a very immediate need for additional administrative space for the Sheriff’s staff. We currently have individuals working in areas that were built as closets or storage areas. Our current infirmary at the jail is a very small room with one bed in it.

We also are facing impending needs for additional space in other areas of county Government including the Prosecutor’s office and the Coroner’s office. The additional arrest activity mentioned before has forced expansion in the prosecutor’s office. To accommodate the growth of that office we are finding ourselves in need of moving some offices. In doing that we feel the best scenario would be to have the office of Probation and Community Corrections at the Justice Center to allow for immediate efficiencies and for those to be developed in the future to a greater extent.

While we understand the concern, we have developed a project that is focused on only our expected needs. The population of the county has doubled in the years since the current facility was built. Currently the financing climate is very favorable to large projects like this one and we fell like this is the right project, at the right time for the right reasons.

I hope these comments have been helpful, I would be happy to provide additional information. The county has developed a web site solely for the purposes of providing information on a wide variety of topics. There is a tab on the web site related to the Justice Center project. Please see https://www.livinginboonecounty.com/ for additional information. Please understand we are adding content to this site on an ongoing basis as it is available. Be sure to share the site for others to use as well.

In response to how the numbers were derived, refer to answer contained in Question 2 re: Future Jail Growth below for the jail population, the average monthly population graph and also the highest daily population graph.   This clearly shows the jail population started to increase; the only decrease has been in 2020 & 2021 due to COVID-19. We feel that we would have continued to see a significant increase had COVID not impacted us.

There are currently 214 rated beds per current Indiana DOC Report (See page 63 of the DLZ Feasibility Study). This count includes the 184 in general population housing, 15 beds in Holding and 15 beds in Community Corrections/Work Release. The feasibility study was focused on incarceration and proposed an increase in beds to an additional 301 rated beds (all secured housing).

The proposed expansion is focused on mental health and rehabilitation as well as community corrections/work release.

The proposed expansion consists of an initial expansion with the ability to add additional beds to serve future needs. These expansions consist of the following areas:

Secured Jail – Initial Expansion:
-24 Male General Population
-24 Male Mental Health
-12 Female General Population
-36 Female Mental Health
-6 Female Segregation
– Total Initial Expansion of 102 bed expansion
-Future expansion of up to 48 beds to 150 beds

Community Corrections – Initial Expansion:
-58 Male beds
-24 Female beds
-Total Initial Expansion Community Corrections of 82 Beds
-Future expansion of 38 male beds to 96 beds
-Future expansion of 24 female beds to 48 beds
-Total build out is 144 beds

Overall Initial expansion of 184 beds
-Future expansion up to total 294 beds

Part 1: The cost per day to house an inmate is $37.50 (from $35/day in 2018) which is what the Department of Corrections pays us to house an inmate per day. According to the DLZ feasibility study, the cost per day rate is often higher than $35 (this was the rate used during the feasibility study). The feasibility study did not include information on future anticipated costs. (See page 69 of the feasibility study)
Part 2: This is truly dependent on economic, social, and political future of our country. It would be hard to estimate 10-year cost to house an inmate.

See chart below as the proposed increase in inmates/needs each year.

We do not anticipate the needs of any future staff after 2025 (3 years projection). We predict that all areas will be used once the new facility if open/available. This is truly dependent on economic, social, and political future of our country.

See chart below:

Yes, as much as it will support.

(a) See tables below for average jail population for 2017-2021. (Note: Months with gray shading indicate COVID months).

(b) In 2017 when PSLIT was implemented we began extensive mental health treatment in our facility. Between our medical provider which provides 30 hours of institutional mental health and our mental health/addiction providers which provide 112 hours/week, we have implemented substantial programs to deal with mental health. Much of this is funded by grants through DMHA, Recovery Works and other grants.

(c) We provide treatment Monday-Friday. Because of lack of counseling/classroom space not all clients/inmates are provided services at this time. 

See table below.

On an average two inmates are on hold, however we are currently holding four for Vermillion County because they are building a new jail and we are receiving $37.50/day for each of those inmates.

See table.

(a) As of January 26, 2022 we have 133 inmates with the following breakdown:

6 awaiting transport to Department of Corrections.
Due to COVID DOC will not allow us to transport these inmates. However, they pay us $37.50 for every day the inmate is housed at our facility once sentenced.

10 serving DOC sentence at our facility.
These inmates are F6 felons. DOC pays us $37.50 per day to house them at our facility.

8 serving misdemeanor sentences at our facility
These inmates either committed a misdemeanor or they committed a felony that was pled down to a misdemeanor. These sentences can range from 2 days to 2 years.

95 with Felony Charges awaiting court dates (2 Murder, 5 F-1 , 4 F2, 5 F3, 10 F4, 26 F5, 43 F6)

2 Murder cases: Buchanan and Grimball

8 with misdemeanor charges awaiting court dates.

Some inmates are held on a No Bond based on the level of their charges. The majority of inmates waiting for their court dates choose not to bond out for a variety of reasons:
They cannot afford the bond
They decide to stay in jail and serve time now so that when they do go to court the days they were here will be counted on their sentence and often it will be time served when the sentence is given.
Inmates that are here on Probation Violation will stay and serve the remainder of their time so then when they are released, they are no longer on probation.
6 that are Back for Court, Hold for another County or Safekeeper
2 are Back for Court transports from Prison
3 are Vermillion County inmates we are holding for them due to their construction. They are paying us $37.50 a day to house them in our facility.
1 Safekeeper from Marion County. It’s a reciprocal agreement, Marion County takes inmates to hold for as well when needed.

(b) That would be a question for Probation and Community Corrections. We work with the courts.

We no longer are allowed to house juveniles (adjudicated) within sight or sound of an adult inmate. We have not had any juvenile inmates brought into our facility in 2021.
We are not equipped to house juveniles due to the above restrictions. We did reach out to other facilities and they would charge $300-$400 per day. This would not include cost for two transport officers to bring the juvenile to and from the facility as needed for court.
The new Justice Center will provide 6 beds specifically for juveniles. This will allow us to be compliant.

In 2014 it was indicated in the Jail State inspection report. We contracted to conduct a staffing analysis and found out we were understaffed by 14 corrections officers. Since the implementation of PSLIT we have been able to add 10 additional correctional officers.

28

19 positions are currently filled, and we continue to supplement our Corrections Staff with Enforcement staff. We continue to run hiring processes to fill the remaining positions.

1

Benefit package costs are controlled by the county council and are not included in these numbers below:

Benefit package costs are controlled by the county council and are not included in these numbers below:

See question above under Future Jail Growth, Question 4(a).

We currently have 1 Maintenance Technician and 1 Janitorial/ Housekeeping at the jail; this is fully staffed at this time.

Based on the proposed addition and current workload at this building, we anticipate needing 5 additional employees, 2 Maintenance Technicians, 1 General Maintenance, 2 Janitorial/ Housekeeping. We do not foresee needing any more employees once fully staffed. See table below for information on position, salary & benefits, training and equipment cost

Part 1: See table below where you will see what we are estimating for the next three years. Part 2: This is truly dependent on economic, social, and political future of our country. It would be hard to estimate 10-year cost to the food service agreement.

Part 1: In yellow below you will see what we are estimating for the next three years as an increase. Below that in green you will see the projected amount needed per year based on the numbers in yellow plus a 3% increase after the first three years. Part 2: This is truly dependent on economic, social, and political future of our country. It would be hard to estimate 10-year cost for inmate medical.

We offer educational classes and various mental health services.

Education
HiSet (formerly GED and HSE)
COVID has really hurt us this year. We ceased classes twice this year for COVID; July 23rd – August 16th and November 6th – December 6th. this has been a real switch for all of us to get used to.
We had 1 male inmate receive his HSE in 2021. (We graduated 18 in 2019!). We hold 1 class of ladies and 2 classes of gentlemen twice weekly; extra classes are added for test takers around exam time. In our HSE classes, our main emphasis is to prepare inmates to either take the HSE test or to complete coursework in order to earn their high school diploma. We also provide career testing, preparation for the COMPASS and SAT tests; materials for CDL license and regular driver’s licenses, as well as extended math work. Many students refresh their academic skills so they will be ready for college/trade schools when they are released. We encourage peer tutoring in the block from those who have passed the test. It is working very well and the tutors take pride in doing it and giving back.

LIFE SKILLS’ CLASSES
There are 4 Life Skills’ classes available to the inmates: PARENTING, RESOURCES UPON RELEASE, JOB’S CLASS, AND ANGER MANAGEMENT/TRANSFORMATION. The inmates decide which class is offered. This year, because of COVID, we were lucky to get 1 class of Parenting and 1 class of Anger Management done.

The PARENTING CLASS that we offer is a compilation of two classes:
How to be a Responsible Father/Mother – Stawar and Parenting Now – Popkin.
Topics include:
Active Parenting (ages 1 – 4, 5 – 12, and 12+)
Child Development
Family Communications
Winning Cooperation
Responsibility and Discipline
Building Courage, Character, and Self-Esteem
We also work on activities that can be done with the children to help them form healthy bonds; one of those is reading. We purchase books to be shared with the inmates for their children. They love this activity.
7 male inmates and 3 female inmates completed this program in 2021.

The ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASS is an education and intervention, evidence-based class. The materials used are the SAMHSA Anger Management materials. This is a 3-month class which includes up to 12 – 90 minutes sessions. It helps the participants learn to manage anger, stop violence/the threat of violence, helps participants develop self-control over thought and actions, and provides support and feedback. The anger meter is used; journaling is practiced. A myriad of activities is used that helps them de-stress. Role-playing is utilized. 6 female inmates and 4 male inmates completed this program in 2021.

Mental Health
Integrative Wellness
Integrative Wellness (InWell) is a local behavioral health practice located in Lebanon, IN. InWell is currently providing several treatment services to our offender population that suffers from a substance use disorder (SUD). Currently, InWell is providing one hundred and thirty-six hours of pharmacological and psychosocial services per week in our facility. These hours and the various treatment modalities are broken down as follows:
Clinical Assessment and Treatment Plan Development – Jessie Loghmani LCSW (16 hours/week)
This is where the initial treatment process begins for the offenders. They are given a full biopsychosocial assessment which looks at their substance use hx, psych hx, criminal hx, family hx, and medical hx. Based upon offender self-disclosures and clinical observations, the therapist will formally diagnose the offenders, and subsequently a treatment plan will be designed to both assist them with treating their addiction while incarcerated and have treatment recommendations for post-incarceration as well.
Peer Support Services – Jennifer Van Nuys CHW, CRS, Shannon Fannon CAPRC I, Stephany Bedolla CAPRC II (50 hours/week)
A peer support is someone with the lived experience of both active addiction as well as recovery. The peer support helps to remove personal and environmental obstacles to recovery, links the newly recovering person to the recovery community, and serves as a personal guide and mentor in the management of personal and family recovery.
Matrix Group – Allene Brown LMFT (24 hours/week)
Matrix Model for Criminal Justice Settings Early Recovery (ER) group. In this group participants will learn basic skills to achieve initial sobriety and address the thinking errors that led to their involvement in the criminal justice system. They learn basic cognitive-behavioral tools for abstinence and the value of Twelve Step and other spiritual or self-0help participation. The Matrix Model for Criminal Justice settings also adds an Early Recovery session prior to Family education. Matrix Model for Criminal Justice Settings Relapse Prevention (RP) group. These groups help offenders maintain abstinence and a pro social lifestyle by delivering information, support, and guidance as they proceed through recovery. This group includes a co-leader, an important element in the group dynamic. He or she should be a graduate participant (or in later stages of the program) who is continuing to work on a program of recovery that other participants can emulate.
Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) – Dr. Crystal Jones, Vicki Wilky, NP, Elaine Myers RN (30-40 hours/week)
The purpose of the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program is to provide pre-release treatment and post-release referral for opioid-addicted and alcohol-addicted justice involved individuals. This program involves jail-based substance abuse treatment and collaboration with community-based clinics to provide aftercare treatment. The goal is to facilitate transition into an outpatient substance abuse treatment program which employs a multi-faceted approach to treatment including the use of the FDA approved medications, counseling, and aftercare referral to community-based providers.
Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) – Anita Parks-Gherung LCSW and Stephany Bedolla CAPRC IIThe JCAP program is a intensive treatment program funded by the local community corrections. This program has a unique curriculum that is based in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and provides for approximately 14 group service hours per week. Along with the core addition curriculum, there is also a skill component which allows for the provision of skills for addressing maladaptive behaviors. The resources used in this program provide comprehensive and integrated models addressing the broad range of needs and key internal and external factors for the justice involved population. Supporting a flexible open group/open admissions format. 14 group service hours per week. Along with the core addition curriculum, there is also a skill component which allows for the provision of skills for addressing maladaptive behaviors. The resources used in this program provide comprehensive and integrated models addressing the broad range of needs and key internal and external factors for the justice involved population. Supporting a flexible open group/open admissions format.

$30,600 is budgeted for HSE, Anger Management, Parenting Classes, Life Skill Classes

MAT/MOUD Program is based of an Indiana Sheriff’s Association Grant ($4 million through DMHA for all 92 Sheriff’s)

JCAP is funded through a $75K grant through Community Corrections.

Mental Health/Addiction services – 112 hours funded through Recovery Works and other State Grants, this is not a budgeted amount through the Sheriff’s Office we contract this out with InWell & Aspire.

See answer to Question 2 re: Programming above.

The Sheriff is currently working sustainability for funding through legislation, Governor’s Office, DMHA.

All programs stated above, but ALL inmates will have access to these programs with the additional programing space. We will also offer, life skills, trade skills and other appropriate skills in the step-down unit.

Undetermined but hope to continue funding through grants as stated above.

Trade skills COULD consist of auto mechanic, welding, HVAC, ServSafe, etc.Life skills could consist of interviewing skills, budget preparation, household management, etc.

We will continue to contract this out and if there are costs our goal is to get funding through State Grants and State Funded Programs through the Department of Corrections or Workforce Development.

Our strategic plan has our two current transport vans that were put in service in 2020 with an anticipated life cycle of ten years.

After contacting Lebanon Utilities, there is no reliable way to estimate utilities until the building is in use.

Boone County currently has a maintenance contract in place for mechanical & HVAC and based off the square footage increase we should anticipate an increase to $35,000 per year. Routine maintenance for original structure will most likely stay the same or slightly increase over the next ten years. As for the new building it will be under warranty for the first year, and we do not anticipate a lot of repairs for the first 5 years. After the building is occupied, we will have a better idea of the maintenance needs and will be able to estimate routine maintenance cost.

See above for personnel costs. With regard to FFE (furniture, fixtures and equipment), the cost for FFE for the project will be accounted for within the total cost of the project.

The cost per square foot (Hard Costs) for the added space is $450.23 dollars per square foot.

The Community Corrections budget for work release staff for 2022 is contained in the budget adopted by the County Council.

See Answer above

None

There are currently fifteen (15) work release beds (men only) at the jail. They have not been occupied since the pandemic to attempt to reduce transmission among residents and staff.

(Part 1): Community Corrections – Initial Expansion:
– 58 Male beds
– 24 Female beds (Currently NO female Work Release)
Total Initial Expansion Community Corrections of 82 Beds
Future expansion of 38 male beds to 96 beds
Future expansion of 24 female beds to 48 beds
Total build out is 144 beds.

(Part 2): Work Release numbers were determined based on several things:
– Current Work Release is small and in past could only accommodate 15 beds. Not large enough to accommodate current / future load
– Based on current numbers of individuals with outstanding warrants, current probation numbers, as well as the pretrial process work release numbers will increase exponentially.

If the unit is fully occupied, we would anticipate one staff member and 9 living unit coordinators.
We estimate the total personnel cost to be approximately $850,000 annually. As previously stated much of this cost can be covered by accepting residents through the Community Treatment Program (CTP) run by IDOC. They will reimburse the County $25/day per resident and will utilize the same programs and services that we will be offering to our residents. If 50 of the work release beds were utilized for CTP residents it would generate approximately $450,000 annually that could be used to pay for personnel costs. County clients would pay $12/day for work release, which will also be used to defray the operational costs of the facility. Also, the Jail LIT tax provides that 20% of the amount collected can be used to pay for operational expenses of the correctional facility (including personnel costs).