Report 2020-102 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2020-102: Public Safety Realignment: Weak State and County Oversight Does Not Ensure That Funds Are Spent Effectively (Release Date: March 2021)

Recommendation #4 To: Alameda County

To ensure that county jails identify inmates with mental illnesses and provide them with adequate mental health care, Alameda should immediately begin conducting mental health screening of all inmates upon admission to the county's jails.

1-Year Agency Response

All inmates are screened upon entry to Santa Rita Jail (SRJ). Further mental health screening is conducted either immediately after booking (most) or shortly after being placed in a housing unit. The Santa Rita Jail healthcare provider (Wellpath) screens all inmates for immediate mental health and substance use concerns. Adult Forensic Behavioral Health (AFBH) does a more comprehensive screening for mental health and substance abuse and has established a goal of completing this screening process entirely at booking once clinical staff who will be principally assigned to booking have been onboarded. Currently, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) relies on AFBH to conduct evaluations of incarcerated individuals upon intake in order to assess mental health needs. Per ACSO policy, our Classification Unit interviews every person booked into our facility prior to being housed. During this initial Classification review, if an incarcerated person displays behavior which the trained Classification Deputy recognizes as part of a Behavioral Health need, they will refer the inmate to AFBH. When assessments are completed by AFBH they are documented on a form which is then provided to the Classification Unit. That document is stored in the inmate's Classification file as well as in our Jail Management System.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

Alameda did not provide documentation to support its assertion that it has fully implemented this recommendation. Further, Alameda recognizes in its response that it has a goal of completing the screening process entirely at booking, but that it has not yet onboarded clinical staff, who it will principally assign to conducting comprehensive screenings of inmates. We look forward to reviewing Alameda's progress during its next annual response.

6-Month Agency Response

All inmates are screened upon entry to Santa Rita Jail (SRJ). Further mental health screening is conducted either immediately after booking (most) or shortly after being placed in a housing unit. The Santa Rita Jail healthcare provider (Wellpath) screens all inmates for immediate mental health and substance use concerns. Adult Forensic Behavioral Health (AFBH) does a more comprehensive screening for mental health and substance abuse and has established a goal of completing this screening process entirely at booking once clinical staff who will be principally assigned to booking have been onboarded. Currently, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) relies on AFBH to conduct evaluations of incarcerated individuals upon intake in order to assess mental health needs. Per ACSO policy, our Classification Unit interviews every person booked into our facility prior to being housed. During this initial Classification review, if an incarcerated person displays behavior which the trained Classification Deputy recognizes as part of a Behavioral Health need, they will refer the inmate to AFBH. When assessments are completed by AFBH they are documented on a form which is then provided to the Classification Unit. That document is stored in the inmate's Classification file as well as in our Jail Management System.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

As Alameda recognizes in its response, it does not conduct a comprehensive mental health screening during its booking process until it has onboarded clinical staff who will be principally assigned to booking. During its 1-year response, we look forward to Alameda being able to demonstrate that it has onboarded clinical staff and that it is conducting mental health screenings of all inmates upon admission to the county's jails.

All Recommendations in 2020-102

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.