Minutes of the Monthly Meeting oft the Lancaster County Prison Board February 15, 2024  The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Joshua Parsons at 9:15 a.m. in the Public Meeting Room at the Lancaster County Administrative Office Building. Members Present: Commissioner Joshua Parsons, Commissioner Ray D'Agostino, Commissioner Alice Yoder, Judge David Ashworth, Chief Deputy Sheriff Christopher Riggs, Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson, and Controller Lisa Colôn. Others Present: Cheryl Steberger, Justin Hackler, Joseph Shiffer, Bob Devonshire, Arla Brown, Bradley Whittaker, Carrie Kurtz, Christine Fluegel, Christina Peddigree, Tim Burke, Kim Wolfe, Jennifer Nissley, Manc Wilson, Judy Erb, Kim McDevitt, Karlee Shambaugh, Allison Kay, Gail Groves-Scott, Neil Ward, Meriah Zink, and Kathy Kunkel. Note: There were others present who did not sign in and whose identity is unknown. Commissioner Parsons called for the reorganization of the board, adding Commissioner Alice Commissioner D'Agostino nominated Commissioner Joshua Parsons as Chairman of the Prison Commissioner Parsons nominated Commissioner Ray D'Agostino as Vice Chair of the Prison Commissioner Parsons reappointed Controller Lisa Colon as Secretary. President Judge Commissioner Parsons stated that the minutes of the December 21, 2023, and January 18, 2024 Prison Board meetings were submitted for approval. Hearing no additions or corrections from the Board, Commissioner Parsons stated the minutes were approved as submitted. Cheryl Steberger, Warden; Justin Hackler, Investigator; Joseph Shiffer, Deputy Warden for Inmate Services; Arla Brown, Director of Administration; Robert Devonshire, Director of General Services; and Lisa Colon, Controller, gave reports on their areas of responsibility. All these reports, including operations and statistical information, are posted on the County's website. Warden Steberger, reported on the PrisonStat meeting held on February 13, 2024 located at the Lancaster County Administrative Office Building. She stated that these meetings have proved to be beneficial in educating the public and staff regarding data, statistics and metrics to many Warden Steberger also acknowledged Lt. Michael Hersh who implemented the FTO (Filed Training Officer) program and has been working vigorously to provide data regarding the difference int the 'Use of Force' incidents. They are looking forward to seeing the results of the Warden Steberger reported on the population. In January 2023, 748 was the average compared to. January 2024, the average population was 776. This morning the total is 755. Warden  Yoder as a new member oft the Prison Board.  Board. Controller Colon seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Board. Controller Colôn seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Ashworth seconded. The motion carried unanimously.  areas of the facility gathered over the last 6 months.  data in the future.    Prison Board Minutes February 15, 2024 Page 2  Steberger also mentioned that October 2023 had the highest average population of the year, averaging 801. March 2023 had the lowest average standing at 719, with the average Inresponse to Warden Steberger's comments on the PrisonStat meeting, Commissioner Yoder recommended collecting data from previous years to provide information from the beginning of these trainings when practices were different. Commissioner Yoder also mentioned that by attending this meeting, she acknowledged the rarity and transparency of the data this provides to the public. Commissioner Yoder stated the impact of conversations taking place at this meeting, such as the impact of weather changes for air conditioning and heating and how that President Judge Ashworth reported on the data and statistics collected on the holding of inmates with parole violations (PV's) as questioned at the previous prison board meeting. President Judge Ashworth stated that ini the month of January, they had 369 new admissions Justin Hackler, Investigator, reported the officers of the month for January. First shift: Officer Matthew Thompson; Second shift: Officer John Nicklas; Third shift: K-9 Officer Michael Withka. Currently there are 3 Sergeant vacancies and 1 Lieutenant vacancy. It should also be noted that Mr. Hackler continued by giving recognition to HR Deputy Director Tim Burke for his help with Weingarten" training within the last few weeks. This has been beneficial to staff and officers Inc closing, Mr. Hackler was pleased to announce the promotion of Lieutenant Bradley Whittaker to the rank of Captain, stating that during the competitive hiring process, Mr. Whittaker Captain Whittaker came to the podium and thanked the administration for providing this opportunity and is looking forward to growing and improving in his new role. He also thanked his wife who was in attendance for her support. Warden Steberger presented him with his uniform Joseph Shiffer, Deputy Warden, gave an update on the Inmate Service Report. Deputy Warden Shiffer started by commenting on Captain Whittaker's promotion, referencing the difficulty of the interview process and how impressed he was with Whittaker's actions and is looking forward to Deputy Warden Joseph Shiffer continued by giving an update on the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program. He reported that from the start oft the program in September 2022, there have been 273 participants on Subutex. For the month of January there were 52 participants (1 yr. recidivism rate: 40.0%, 180-day recidivism rate: 24.6%, 90 day recidivism rate: 13.8%). Since the start of the program, there has been 54 participants on Methadone. For the month of January there were 15 participants. (180-day recidivism rate: 50.0%, 90-day  population length of stays standing at the mid-700 range.  can be ofi importance while reviewing metrics for the new facility.  with only 30% being PV's.  12 new correctional officers recently graduated on Friday February gth.  surrounding the rules and regulations regarding labor laws.  distinguished himself.  chevron.  working with him as Captain.  recidivism rate: 12.5%).    Prison Board Minutes February 15, 2024 Page 3  Deputy Warden Shiffer continued with an update on the child visitation policies that were mentioned in the previous prison board meeting. He stated that Marcos Ramos and Christina Fluegel met with CYA in the month of. January, providing assistance for all staff members about Deputy Warden Shiffer stated in the month of January, they had 12 court ordered visits and with the help of Karlee Shambaugh, they also did 7 family visits. They are hopeful that with the new facility, they will have adequate space to hold more visits and are excited to move forward with Deputy Warden Shiffer continued with a Programs Update. On January 24, 2023, with the help oft the LCRC staff they conducted an inmate survey. With a total of 750 inmates given the survey, 570 surveys were received. This survey was to determine what areas of need there are throughout the facility such as food, housing and other resources. The team is currently calculating the results in hopes to improve in-house programs. Deputy Warden Shiffer commented that there have been some benefits from this already, as they received information Inc closing, Deputy Warden Shiffer reported on the new ID program in the facility. All inmates can access information on birth certificates, social security cards or PA: state ID's. In the month of January, they had 26 applications for birth certificates, 36 applications for social security cards In response to Deputy Warden Shiffer's reports, Researcher Gail Groves-Scott made comments with regards to medical stats. She stated that intakes on new inductions in the MAT program were at 0 and questioned where they were with that information. Deputy Warden Shiffer stated they were to have a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) meeting later that afternoon to Ms. Groves-Scott continued by questioning Deputy Warden Shiffer's MAT program report stating that resources from Prime Care Medical', reported in January that 18 inmates were on Methadone and only 51 on Subutex. Deputy Warden Shiffer stated they get their information from the medical staff, and they will need to investigate that information further. Ms. Groves-Scott also had questions regarding the dental care provided to the inmates at the facility. She stated that in 2023 there were only 2 patients that had fillings, despite over 700 exams that were given. She also stated that there were over 100 patients who had tooth extractions and questioned if there were issues regarding patients receiving fillings in the facility, as opposed to getting teeth extracted. Deputy Warden Shiffer confirmed that they do not extract Commissioner Yoder commented on the new ID program. She stated how important this is and hoped to see the success rate and progression of this program at a future meeting. Commissioner Yoder also asked if they have a sense of time it takes from the start of the requested ID's/Birth Certificates to when the inmates are released. Deputy Warden Shiffer is not aware of that percentage, but noted they do track how many get approved. Arla Brown, Administrative Director, gave her administration report. She stated they currently have two vacancies in the department and conducted interviews for an HR Manager position  policies and procedures and best practices regarding these visits.  that opportunity in the future.  on educational services and are drafting new policies for the future.  and 48 applications for state ID's.  determine how to move forward with that.  healthy teeth, but he would have to investigate that further as well.    Prison Board Minutes February 15, 2024 Page 4  and are pleased with the candidate they have selected. The barbering services for the month of Robert Devonshire, Director of General Services, gave the facilities management report. Ini the month of January at the current facility there have been 127 work orders and the running monthly average for the facility is also standing at 127. So far for 2024 there have been 127 work orders, but the number should change as we continue throughout the year. Work orders Lisa Colôn, Controller, gave her financial report. For the month of January, the Prison's total revenues increased by $28,350.56. Personnel Services increased by $1.9 million, $17,872.77 in supplies, $58,401.96 for Purchased Services and $1,695.75 in Capital Expenditures. This is a total increase in expenses of $2,016,563.16. For the Prison Maintenance category, there has been a $723.60 increase in supplies, Purchased Services increase by $130,853.82 for a total Warden Steberger, reported on the new prison program. The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners approved the LCCF Program at the February 7th, 2024 Commissioners' meeting. This program will serve as a guide for the design team for the new LCCF design. Although the program has been approved, it has yet to be discussed on the size or the budget of this project. The current direction oft the Commissioners is to plan for the facility to support 1,212 beds with an initial building supporting approximately 1,000 beds. In addition to that, the Commissioners agreed to allow the team to investigate the opportunities for centralized booking within the new facility. Warden Steberger stated you can find information on this program on the Warden Steberger continued by giving an update on the facility design, stating that TranSystems is working on the first phase oft the project's design and how they will use this Commissioner Parsons commented on the new prison program report by stating the Board of Commissioners did approve the LCCF program and had substantial discussions regarding the Commissioner Yoder inquired on at tentative turn-around time for the facilities design. Warden Steberger is unsure on an exact date, stating it was originally to be April, although it may be Commissioner Parsons continued by saying they are less interested in sticking to an artificial timeline for the project and would prefer to do this in an accurate and deliberate way, with an open and public process. Commissioner Parsons also mentioned they discussed the first rough draft oft the program report which is projected for late spring/ early summer, expecting many Commissioner Parsons opened the discussion for business from the guests.  February provided 52 haircuts with 18 oft them being indigent.  per month stand at 157 as a 5-year average.  increase of $131,577.42.  LCCF-PA.com website.  program to further assist them as the project continues.  matter.  pushed back to May, due to the depth of this project.  changes from there.  Researcher, Gail Groves-Scott, started the discussion by congratulating the Board and Prison staff on the transparency of statistics regarding the programs in place. She continued with concerns regarding holding Prime Care and our facilities accountable with initiating new patients    Prison Board Minutes February 15, 2024 Page 5  on medications for addiction treatment. She noted that the Overdose Fatality Review Board held ap presentation to the public last week and shared 10 cases of individuals who have died from an overdose in Lancaster County with all of these individuals having interacted with the justice system. Ms. Groves-Scott insisted we start with these medications immediately as the individuals enter the facility, as they no longer require a DEAI number and they can be easily Ms. Groves-Scott continued by speaking about the change of Methadone regulations stating the Federal Government made the first change in 20 years regarding these regulations. She noted the prisons also changed regulations on this, stating as long as they have a registered DEA number, they are able to prescribe a patient Methadone compared to common controlled substances and no longer have to receive treatment from a specialized Methadone clinic. These new regulations start taking place in April. Ms. Groves-Scott stated there are no guidelines that Inc closing, Ms. Groves-Scott questioned Warden Steberger on prison deaths stating that in 2022, Penn Live reported several jails in Pennsylvania were not following guidelines on reporting deaths, including Lancaster County. She questioned Warden Steberger if regulations on death reports have changed, sO that we have more accurate calculations on these prison Inr response, Warden Steberger stated all regulations stay the same and if the individual is categorized as an inmate, they are reported. She followed that if they are not incarcerated, that Commissioner Parsons commented on this matter by confirming that is something the County does not do. Commissioner Parsons also stated that when he and Warden Steberger came in several years ago, there were multiple deaths a year and they have worked very hard to try to reduce the amount of prison deaths in the County and are very transparent on the number of deaths. Warden Steberger stated that she is one of the few Wardens that when a death does take place in her facility, she invites the families in to discuss the death of their loved one and President Judge Ashworth commented by stating he works closely with Christina Fluegel on the determination if mediçal release would be beneficial. This determination is made based on an individual's circumstances, looking at each situation very specifically, case by case. President Judge Ashworth also noted that regarding addiction treatment medications, one of the problems they often run into is that even though the medication is available, individuals are reluctant and In closing, President Judge Ashworth and Gail Groves-Scott both discussed that many individuals in incarcerated settings or recovery homes in the area have been reluctant to take these medications due to bad stigma. In addition, some of these recovery homes do not accept individuals in these MAT programs. They both said it is an ongoing educational process. President Judge Ashworth stated they very deliberately steer away from sending individuals to West Earl Township resident, Neil Ward, commented on the amount of PV's and ways we can approve the statistics surrounding them. President Judge Ashworth continued by reiterating his  prescribed.  require counselling before starting these addiction treatment medications.  deaths.  death is not reported.  helps them through that process.  have no desire to receive the medications provided.  these locations.    Prison Board Minutes February 15,2024 Page 6  points made earlier in the meeting regarding this topic. President Judge Ashworth also mentioned about the report he released months prior on the efforts made by the courts and Commissioner Parsons commented on this matter stating that at its peak, the prison had a population of around 1,300, and today the population sits at 755, which is a major reduction that was done in a safe and effective matter. Mr. Ward continued asking how we can reduce instances such as mentally ill or trauma informed arrests. President Judge Ashworth stated there are nearly 500 individuals involved in trauma informed trainings. Mr. Ward also asked about the number of security scanners in the new facility. Commissioner D'Agostino stated we will know more about the logistics oft the facility once we have a concept design. Commissioner Parsons moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:17 a.m. President Judge Ashworth seconded. The motion carried unanimously. The next meeting will be held on March 21, 2024  adult probation with regards to alternatives to incarceration.  at 9:15 a.m.  Respectfully submitted, Ola.C6 Lisa K. Colon Secretary