COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Sheriff's Office

DATE:

April 3, 2003

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 22, 2003

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Sheriff Don Horsley

SUBJECT:

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND

Recommendation

Approve the report on the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund for the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.

Background

The Inmate Welfare Trust Fund has been set up under California Penal Code §4025, which provides that the Sheriff may operate a commissary in the jail, and that profits shall be deposited into an Inmate Welfare Fund. Section 4025 also provides that refund, rebate, or commission received from a telephone company for inmates' use of telephones shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. The fund may only be used for limited purposes related to the benefit, education, and welfare of the inmates, and maintenance of county jail facilities, which includes the cost of operating programs to benefit the inmates, including, but not limited to, education, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare, library, accounting, and other programs deemed appropriate by the sheriff. Section 4025 further specifies that an itemized report of disbursements must be submitted annually to the Board of Supervisors. Also included in this report is a summary of income.

Revenue and Fund Balance

Last year, the county contracted with Evercom Systems, Inc., a new inmate telephone service provider. To date, the Evercom system has performed as expected, and the telephone commission received from the new vendor has been consistent with projections. If this continues then the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund will have a stable source of revenue to continue to support much needed programs for the inmates.

The other major revenue generation is from commissary sales to the inmates. Consistent with state law and regulations, the inmate commissary is operated for the purpose of providing various personal items, authorized non-prescription medicines in limited dosages, and foodstuffs to the inmates. All medication dispensed through the commissary is first approved by the medical unit staff. Other foodstuffs are also reviewed by the County dietitian and the facility Commanders before being offered for sale to the inmates. The commissary is operated from an automated computer system which maintains individual inmates account balances and keeps a running balance and transaction history of all transactions for the inmate.

The commissary employs five full time staff, and they provide commissary service at least twice a week to approximately 1200 inmates. Apart from this the Sheriff's Fiscal Unit also provides fiscal and administrative support for this operation. The total commissary sales for year 2001-2002 were $1,039,206.00 with a net profit of $162,552.72, or 15.64% of gross sales.

Fund Balance

We are pleased to inform the Board that for FY2001/2002, the net income for the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund was $1,312,035.34. The sources to this revenue were: Inmate Telephone Commission ($839,872); one time contract signing bonus ($250,000); Commissary sales ($162,552.72); interest earned on fund balance ($48,308.49); and miscellaneous revenue, including patient fees revenue and discounts earned ($11,301.65). The closing fund balance as of June 30, 2002 was $826,550.25.

Disbursements: Rehabilitation, Education and Recreation

The total disbursement for the year was $1,371,795.38. Contracted services for inmates represent 90% ($1,244,564.00) and other disbursements represent 10% ($127,231.38).

The Inmate Welfare Trust Fund contracts with the Mental Health and Public Health Divisions of San Mateo County Health Services to provide a chemical dependency recovery and substance abuse program (CHOICES), an AIDS prevention and treatment program, as well as a Mental Health inmate counseling program. These services are available to all inmates in County Correctional Facilities.

The Fund contracts with the County Superintendent of Schools for operation of a GED certificate program for the inmates. A library is also maintained in the facility for the inmates. This used to be contracted through the Peninsula Library System until they informed us they could no longer provide this service due to staffing issues. The library contract is now with the Service League, which also provides a variety of in-custody support and post-release services for inmates.

The Fund also pays for the purchase of some items that are used for and by the inmates for recreation and self-development, such as televisions and stand-alone computers, which are placed in the day rooms and housing units throughout the Sheriff's Correctional Facilities, or used in conjunction with other special programs, such as the computer training component of the Bridges Program.

Administrative & Fiscal Impact.

A committee consisting of the Assistant Sheriff, the Captain of the Sheriff's Detention Division, and a Community Representative oversees the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund operation. The committee approves yearly fund requests from the service providers and the facilities. The committee also makes recommendations for award of contracts, most of which (because of the dollar amount) come before the Board of Supervisors for adoption. The personnel budget for authorized commissary positions is contained within the Sheriff's annual budget, and is fully offset by commissary fund transfers.

Therefore, there is no Net County Cost to the County's General Fund for the operation of the Inmate Welfare Fund Trust.

County has approved this report as to form.

Vision Alignment

The Inmate Welfare Trust Fund provides funding for activities and services to incarcerated inmates so that they continue their education and increase their sense of responsibility to the community. The inmates have access to education, healthcare and training in various activities while incarcerated. The skills learned should help inmates when they are released back into the community. They may be able to obtain a steady job and stay out of future trouble. This aligns with Goal number 4 "Residents have many educational and training opportunities beyond high school", Goal number 6 "Residents have access to healthcare and preventive care", and Goal number 8 "Help vulnerable people - the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at risk youth and others - achieve a better quality of life".