Persons with Mental Illnesses

The Los Angeles County Probation Department (LACPD) has worked on staff training and resident education. Due to difficulty in hiring a training officer to assist in curriculum development, the PREA team has begun work on curricula on its own. The TMG coaches have assisted in reviewing materials and providing edits. LACPD is hoping to move forward with initiating the PREA audit process to begin in the summer of 2021. This has added pressure on the PREA implementation team in order to be ready for the initial audit.

Pamphlets were going to be ACAR produced in October 2020. The TMG TA Coach offered to review them, provide TA, and help if needed. The TMG Coach and PREA staff continue to have monthly check in calls to troubleshoot new and emergent issues and work towards full implementation of the goals.? Alabama PREA audits previously scheduled for fall were moved to January and February 2021 because of COVID. Those may have to be rescheduled but the agency does plan on going forward. They planned to conduct some interviews via Zoom.

Montgomery County is using the $20,000 they received, (along with their matching $30,000), to create an electronic reporting system, adding to a system they already managed. The selected vendor built this from scratch, allowing information to be entered into a desktop or laptop where PREA complaints can be filed electronically, closed upon investigation completion.? It also contains a front-end audit feature. Montgomery County created the programs and finished the testing phase.

DC DYRS continued to face implementation delays as a result of internal fiscal issues. The PREA Coordinator and grant point of contact Nancy Fisher were not able to access funds until October 1, 2020, the start of DC?'s fiscal year. This was due to DC?'s inability to recognize the grant funds in the previous fiscal year since the funds had not been part of the approved budget for the previous fiscal year. Unfortunately, October 1st was not the end of the challenges. Ms.

EBCI continues to struggle with implementation. Their facility head has been out on medical leave since July. The reservation continues to be hard hit by COVID. Non-essential staff, including human resources, are working from home. Unfortunately, they do not have full access to work systems and processes, further hampering efficiencies.

Early in this reporting period, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) made some progress on their implementation guide, but was faced with additional setbacks as the ongoing COVID pandemic continued to create challenges for the agency. In October the site leads and JDI coaches had a productive meeting with a mental health consultant to discuss the project goals centered around Woodland Correctional Facility and the development of a PREA model for working with inmates with mental illness.

The JDI coaches assisted the grantee in coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, providing sample documents, and resources from program development. SCDC continued to work collaboratively with the JDI coaches and actively sought out suggestions and feedback. Given the number and complexity of the deliverables, a secondary task force was created specifically to oversee the development of the peer support program. The task force includes mental health staff, program staff, and victim advocates.

TMG coaches conducted a follow-up discussion to their October meeting, and provided a written confirmation of what TMG was permitted to do based on the new interpretation of the grant. NYC staff were glad to receive this information.

NJDOC has monthly calls with their coach to check the progress of the PREA video production. Although there are COVID related delays, NJDOC feels confident that they will be able to meet the goals of the grant. TMG coaches received an update on current activities via teleconference. The first draft of their PREA video was completed in October. TMG coaches reviewed the final draft of the PREA video that is being completed by Garrett Hubbard and shared feedback with NJDOC?'s PREA Unit Brielle Easton and James Haas.?

The agency and the Chief are fully on board with PREA implementation and the Lieutenant in charge has been engaged. The Chief and the TA provider have completed the PREA policy and screening tool; screenings have been in place for about five months now. Escambia has a new facility staffing plan that has been completed which includes PREA requirements. They do have to do their annual staffing plan meeting and the Chief discussed inviting the TMG coach or the TA provider to call in and assist them with the first one to make sure it includes everything and is documented properly.