Butler County prison board eyeing new site, grant for reentry program
The county prison board on Tuesday, Jan. 21, discussed applying for a federal grant to add transitional housing and other services to its reentry program, and creating a reentry center on the ground floor of the city-owned tier garage.
Board members discussed applying for a Smart Reentry: Housing Demonstration Program grant requiring a 50% county match from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to provide transitional housing for the reentry program, which helps inmates reintegrate into society after their release.
The program would also connect reentry inmates with services that can help transition back into society.
Warden Beau Sneddon said he walked the space in the garage with county facilities and operations director Mike Hillwig to get an idea of the extent of the renovations needed to convert it for the program.
“It’s an awesome space,” Sneddon said.
He said locating the reentry program outside of the jail would benefit those in the program.
Staffing would be the biggest expense, Sneddon said. Food and bedding for inmates in the program can be brought from the jail, he said.
The jail used to lease the space from the city for the work-release program from 2005 to 2009 and the county probation department used the space after that, he said.
Housing and employment are the biggest barriers former inmates face when trying to reenter society, said county Commissioner Leslie Osche, who serves on the board.
The grant application is due March 11.
Osche said the board recently traveled to a prison in Maryland to learn about its reentry program.
Sneddon said a trip is being planned to the Fayette County Jail to get a look at the IGNITE (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education) program that is designed to eliminate recidivism. He said the program is fully funded by the National Sheriff’s Association.
The Fayette County Jail has had “almost zero” inmate misconduct issues since it implemented the program, Sneddon said.
■ In other business, the board authorized the county commissioners to negotiate the settlement of up to $10,000 of a lawsuit filed against the jail. Board members declined to discuss the suit or identify the plaintiff.
Osche said the county will end up paying about $4,000 of the settlement and rest will be covered by the county’s insurance deductible.
■ The board also received a year-end report from inmate health care provider PrimeCare Medical showing that there were 277 suicide watches and two suicide attempts, but no suicides.
The report includes 8,423 sick calls, 291 inmate grievances, 81 emergency medical transfers and 20 hospital admissions.
