Jail - Safety & Services

In anticipation of our agenda item this week related to a contract for building a new jail for women, I’ve been doing my homework and read some articles when the Court discussed the women’s jail in 2018 and 2019.  Clearly, and constitutionally, safety is a primary responsibility of ours – both for people in the free and people incarcerated.  I tend to believe that we can create a positive, therapeutic environment within the confines of jail – if we make that our priority.  The articles below recognize the poor condition of our existing facilities, but to me, each article underscores the higher value of services over buildings, and a preference for services in the community.Current data shows that most women coming into our jail cycle in for short periods and thus it makes most sense to me to strengthen our community based resources so that no one relies on jail for access to care.  Perhaps we can focus immediately on some programs inside the jail that can help connect women to integrated care in the community.  And yes, we will need to collaborate with partners to make sure there really is access to care in the community for everyone.We’ve added an agenda item to ask staff to develop a proposal for a new strategic plan and vision for the adult correctional system including how to best provide access to integrated healthcare and other needs for women.   Below are the articles I mentioned: www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2019/10/...etter-womens-prison/ urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https...T1-QlUvdT0h8RFZ6Q&e= urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https...5QQZ-zVUSALZZsjsw&e=