San Diego County Sheriff's Department 2004 Annual Report

for Tomorrow.2004YEARIn Reviewprevention, parentingskills, literacy, andfamily reunification.In addition, casemanagers developpost-release plans anddevelop referrals for men and women leavingjail. The inmate vocational Building Tradesand Nursery and Landscape programsprovide training to numerous inmates, withthe added benefit in 2004 of a cost savingsof $759,000 to the Department for severallarge projects. Programs in industrialsewing, silk-screen design, commercialprinting, engraving, graphic design, officeoccupations, commercial laundry, and janitorialtrades also provide training to many ofour inmates andsavings to theDepartment.In order tofeed the inmatesheld in thedetention system,the Sheriffmaintains astate-of-the-art central kitchen facility, whichhas been used as a model design in numerousjails across the country. Each day, theCentral Kitchen produces approximately25,000 meals both for our inmates and forthe Probation Department, at an average costof $2.25 per inmate per day.The Medical Division provides health carefor inmates through the services of its doctors,nurses, and technicians, using newly implementedcase management and utilizationmanagement processes to ensure programcompliance with accepted communitystandards. A fully stocked and regulatedpharmacy supports the quality services ofour health care professionals. Changes madeduring 2004 in the classifications ofRegistered Nurses working in the jails, alongwith an adjustment in their paystructure, brought their compensationcloser to the community standardin order to improve retentionof quality nurses within the system.Mental Health Clinicians workwith nursing staff to identifyinmates who need mental healthassessments or specific interventionsto help them cope with a variety of problemsexperienced while in custody, includinganxiety, and sleep and mood disorders.Counselors provide psycho-educationalclasses on the topics of Substance Abuse,Parenting, and Anger Management/Domestic Violence.Establishing andmaintaining a modern,professional corps ofsworn detention staffhas been an ongoinggoal for the Department.In 2004, amilestone in moderndetentions historywas reached when thefirst “Sheriff’sDetentions Captain”in San Diego was promoted. This classification,newly approved by the County’s Boardof Supervisors, extended the career path ofthe Department’s detentions personnel andensured San Diego’s continued position as aleader in California’s detention community.In order to better train the Department’ssworn detention staff, the Sheriff’s DetentionTraining Unit created a database in 2004which moved the Department to a completelypaperless operation. Course schedules, classattendance, training records, and certificatesare all automated now, and all past trainingrecords have been imaged into this revolutionarytraining database. This system wasdemonstrated for the Board of Correctionstraining audit; the auditors were so impressedthat they mentioned it to other counties as amodel. The Training Unit also redesigned itsSTC-certified annual training program,creating a system of single 8-hour trainingblocks in order to provide facilities the abilityto send more of their deputies to trainingduring on-dutyhours and maintainbetter control ofovertime costs.To ensure thatthe DetentionServices Bureauprovides the highstandard of careintended by theDepartment, the Standards and Complianceunit was directed in 2004 to establish a formalcycle of audits. These audits were designedto monitor the detention system’s complianceto the laws established in California thatguide and direct all jail and prison systemsin the state. Through on-site visits and acareful review of the JIMS database, theStandards and Compliance Unit serves as adirect link between the legal requirements ofstate guidelines and the day-to-day operationsof the Sheriff’s Detention Services Bureau.This unit represents the Department’s commitmentto establishing its role as a leader inmodern detentions,both in California andacross the nation.