By Rosalie Rayburn
Albuquerque Journal
SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. — Sandoval County commissioners will tonight consider additional updates to policies and procedures recently approved in response to federal government concerns about suicides at the jail.
The list of updates includes items that have been followed in practice at Sandoval County Detention Center but require commission approval to be formally adopted as standard operating procedure, jail Director Al Casamento said.
They include:
* Guidance for treatment and housing of special needs detainees, such as those who are physically or developmentally disabled, frail, chronically ill or pregnant.
* Guidance for medical personnel and investigators in cases where a detainee reports a sexual assault.
“These are things that have been in practice but this spells out how they should be treated,” Casamento said.
For example, he said, the jail has five wheelchair accessible cells that have wheelchair accessible showers.
Casamento, who has worked at the jail for around 20 years and has been jail director since early 2009, said he could only recall one sexual assault incident which later proved to be false. But Casamento said it was still important to have a formal policy in place.
Other updates include policies regarding medical and dental services for inmates and notification of family members in cases of suicide or attempted suicide.
Last month the U.S. Marshals Service pulled 190 federal inmates from the detention center because of concerns related to three suicides there in recent months.
In response, Casamento and department directors at the jail reviewed policies and procedures and commissioners in late March approved the recommendations, which included a contract to provide mental health services at the jail. Casamento does not know when the federal inmates will be returned.
Commissioners tonight will also have to approve an amendment to the $98,906 mental health contract with Correctional Healthcare Services because of a typographical error by the company.
The contract document councilors previously approved said services would be provided for “40 hours per week.” Casamento said it should have said 20 hours, which is the figure he used in his presentation and proposal to the commission.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal