County correctional systems detain persons awaiting trial, violators of probation and often persons with untreated mental illness and substance abuse issues. The Association supports justice reinvestment, which is a system where communication about these offenders exists between the local, state and federal levels. Sheriffs are the leading law enforcement body charged with protecting the public, which is why FAC works closely with the Florida Sheriffs Association, local Sheriffs and jail administrators. Boards of County Commissioners are responsible for approving the Sheriffs budget, which can be more than one third of the county's entire budget. This often includes salaries for law enforcement officers, patrol fleet vehicles, local diversion initiatives and jail operating costs.
Sheriffs
Sheriffs are constitutional officers who are elected, or appointed, to protect all citizens within each county. Sheriffs coordinate with local police departments, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement and social service entities. Many Sheriffs operate the jails in each county, also known as county detention facilities, but there are several counties who have elected to use different methods, like a separate county correctional authority.
Update: Feb 2, 2010
SB 218 Related to Inmate Medical Expense/HB 319
The bill was up in the House Public Safety & Domestic Policy Committee and Senate Community Affairs Committee. The House did not vote on the bill and FAC encourages supporters to reach out to the members of the house committee. FAC got the bill through the Senate committee. Please take the time to thank those senators for their vote on this very good bill. To learn more about his bill and the savings it will bring to counties please click here Inmate Medical Talk Sheet.
Jails
Every county has a jail, and there are some counties with multiple facilities. In 2008, the average daily population for Florida’s county jails was 61,500 inmates. The most recent data collected in May 2009, shows a 9.8% reduction from the previous year. Generally speaking, more than half of inmates in jails are awaiting trial, and the majority of inmates are held for felonies. For the most up to date information, please visit the Department of Corrections' website.
The rising cost of inmate medical care is a cause for concern. Last year, the Department of Corrections was successful in passing legislation that would cap medical costs to medical facilities when an existing contract was not in place. Has your county followed all of the steps to ensure adequate payback of medical expenses? Click here to view a presentation given at the 2007 NACo Conference entitled "The Costs of Medical Care in Jail."
People often use the terms “jail” and “prison” interchangeably, however the two words have different meanings. Jails typically hold a variety of offenders often making it an extremely difficult environment to control. A jail refers to a county detention facility that generally holds persons awaiting trial or serving sentences for less than one year. There are other classifications that define Florida’s jail population, including probation violators, those awaiting sentencing, individuals who have been committed under the Baker and Marchman Acts, illegal immigrants and even juveniles. A prison, on the other hand, is a state run, or contracted facility, that detains offenders who have been convicted of felonies and are serving sentences greater than one year. Persons serving multiple misdemeanor charges can also be sent to state prison.
One subsidy the federal government provides to counties is reimbursement for housing illegal immigrants local law enforcement officers encountered while protecting the public. The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, which provides federal payments to states and localities when sites incur costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens. This includes violations for state laws or local ordinances. A funding schedule for all localities in Florida is available here.
The National Institute of Corrections hosts trainings, offers technical and research assistance and has many resource materials for a variety of criminal justice issues. NIC receives federal funding to provide these services to local governments, sheriffs and police departments; so the majority of programs offered are FREE. NIC has a variety of topic areas, county officials and staff may be interested in the following: improving your county’s Public Safety Coordinating Council, how counties and law enforcement should respond to persons with mental illness, effective jail administration, or training for correctional officers. Visit their website for more information.
Reentry
Nearly all of offenders in Florida’s jails and prisons will return to our communities. This means that whether or not we want to realize it, every county in Florida will be affected by prisoners returning to our neighborhoods. Many offenders are in need of housing, jobs, substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling. Since these resources are often hard to come by, counties must coordinate with our partners at the local, state and national level to ensure that communities are well prepared to deal with offender reentry.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) produced a guide for how county officials can improve an offender’s chances of a successful reentry in their community. Click here to read the brochure Reentry for Safer Communities.
The Urban Institute is piloting the Transition from Jail to Community Initiative in 12 localities and six states. They have compiled years of research, best practices, and successes that are available for public officials who wish to make their communities safer. It’s not a program; it’s a new way of doing business. Visit the Urban Institute's website for this must have resource: Transition from Jail to Community.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center has recently launched a website dedicated to providing resources relating to reentry. This resource center, provides assistance to the prisoner reentry field. Information provided includes education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections agencies working on prisoner reentry. The center will also provide a single point of contact for the individuals and organizations engaged on reentry issues. The website will be routinely updated with reentry research, publications and tools will be continually updated.
Persons with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse and Co-occuring Disorders in County Jails
Over the last several decades prisons and jails have become the default holding cells for persons with mental illness. The majority of persons with mental illness who are in Florida’s jails are there for local ordinance violations or minor misdemeanors. The issue has gained national attention and we are experiencing a shift in criminal justice policy to identify individuals with mental illness, substance abuse or co-occurring disorders as they come in contact with law enforcement. It is more economical to serve these individuals in a community setting, as opposed to keeping them in jail for minor violations.
Florida received praise from NACo for an the Reinvestment Grant program, a unique collaborative effort between the state and counties for local projects aimed at reducing the number of persons with mental illness, substance abuse or co-occurring disorders in county jails. Click here to read the bulletin: State and County Collaboration: Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System.
FAC partners with the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation, a non-profit corporation created by the Legislature to oversee the coordination of substance abuse and mental health services in Florida. The SAMH Corporation also monitors the Reinvestment Grants given to 23 counties. Twelve counties received implementation grants and eleven were awarded planning grants. In June 2009, the SAMH Corporation hosted their second conference where counties shared best practices, successes and challenges with our state’s leaders. Click here for all the presentations shared at that conference and for upcoming SAMH meetings.
Sheriffs have the autonomy to engage in programs that will help their deputies protect the public. Crisis Intervention Team training, or CIT, is one program that gives law enforcement the tools on how to improve their interaction with persons who have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder. However, CIT is much more than training; it is a partnership between local law enforcement and substance abuse and mental health providers in the community. This is a great benefit to communities, since many people with mental illness, substance abuse or co-occurring disorders frequently use a large portion of public resources, like jails, hospital emergency rooms, homeless shelters and crisis stabilization units. For more information on the Florida Crisis Intervention Team, click here.
The Council of State Governments created a valuable resource titled “Law Enforcement Responses to People with Mental Illness: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice”. It was specifically designed for law enforcement and is based on national best practices and evidence-based research. Click here to download the brochure.
Additional Resources:
Florida Department of Law Enforcement 2010 Legislative Proposal.pdf
Inmate Medical Talk Sheet.pdf