Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté speaks at the May 31 board of commissioners meeting.
(Courtesy of Community Access Television Services (CATS))
Monroe County officials are considering new programming in the county jail to benefit inmates experiencing mental health and substance use issues.
The sheriff’s office and board of commissioners want to participate in the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support (IRACS) program, a state-funded initiative that provides individuals with recovery resources both during and after incarceration.
The program has already been implemented in Delaware County, where Tony Skinner serves as sheriff. Skinner appeared at the board of commissioners’ Wednesday meeting to provide insight into the program.
Delaware County Sheriff Tony Skinner at the May 31 board of commissioners meeting.
IRACS pairs inmates with peer coaches who provide counseling during their time in jail, according to Skinner. Once an individual is released, the program helps them find housing, employment, insurance, and other necessities.
“Historically, what happens is we treat these folks while they’re in the jail, and then when they’re done being in jail — when it’s time to go back out into the community and be a successful citizen — there’s no follow up with them out there,” Skinner said. “What’s different about the IRACS program is they have a team outside the jail that actually follows these folks for up to 30 days, and it helps with their re-entry back into the community.”
Skinner said many of the peer coaches were formerly incarcerated, have experienced addiction, and are going through recovery themselves. Coaches may meet with inmates on an individual basis or in group settings, he said.
IRACS has been successful in reducing overdoses, instances of violence, and other critical incidents in the Delaware County Jail, according to Skinner.
Skinner also said it has helped reduce recidivism rates and stress levels for inmates and jail staff alike. He said that in the first sixth months after implementing the program, jail staff reported seeing fewer repeat offenders than usual.
Skinner did not provide data at Wednesday’s meeting, however.
“I know from our correctional staff that it’s working because they say it’s working,” he said. “Our goal as sheriffs across the state and across the country — we’re all pretty in lockstep with this — we want to reduce recidivism. When people leave the jail, we don’t want them coming back. So far, it looks like the IRACS program has done a great job in helping us do that.”
But there are potential challenges with the program.
First, Skinner said there’s no guarantee the state will continue to fund the program indefinitely. He said Delaware County has not put in any safeguards to ensure continued funding, but he expects state funding to continue for the next several years.
“Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but at this point, we don’t see this coming to an end,” Skinner said. “It’s my opinion that I think this program is going to continue to grow.”
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté said IRACS may overlap with some of the labor-intensive programs already in place at the jail. For that reason, the sheriff’s office may have to either scale back or cut existing programs.
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté at the May 31 board of commissioners meeting.
“There are going to be overlaps; I can just see it,” Marté said. “If we decide to go forward with this, I need to sit down with my staff and decide how we’re going to go forward, because it’s going to put on a tremendous amount of strain on a staff already strained.”
Kyle Gibbons, Marté’s chief deputy, said part of the challenge is the limited space for programming available in the jail.
Chief Deputy Kyle Gibbons at the May 31 board of commissioners meeting.
If IRACS were to be implemented locally, Gibbons said the sheriff’s office would have to cut back on other programs, at least temporarily. He said the sheriff would work with community stakeholders and other departments to see what makes the most sense.
“If this is something that we’re truly going to do, its starts with the sheriff but it includes everyone at every level, and it takes very, very close communication,” Gibbons said.
Currently, only five counties in Indiana have implemented IRACS, according to Skinner.
Discussion on the program took place less than a week before a recently established community justice committee is scheduled to meet for the first time.
Last month, Monroe County Council members voted to found the Monroe County Justice Fiscal Advisory Committee. The committee will develop and present recommendations to the council on budgetary priorities for the community’s criminal justice needs.
The vote came a little less than three weeks after the commissioners suspended future meetings of the Community Justice Response Committee, the group that had been discussing plans for a new jail.
Despite the contentious nature of that committee’s meetings, Marté and the commissioners agreed that they’d like to see the IRACS program implemented as soon as possible and continued in a new jail.
Marté said that will be dependent upon future discussions, however.
“We’ll definitely get together again and have a lengthy conversation (about) what’s the next step here,” he said. “I like the program; it’s just a matter of now having all the tools and everything in place to make it happen.”
The fiscal advisory committee is scheduled to meet 4:30 p.m. Monday.
