In their first meeting of the new year, the Schuylkill County prison board heard about the various programs being administered by the adult probation office in an effort to reduce overcrowding at the jail.
The prison had an average inmate population of 301 throughout 2015. The monthly average dropped to 273 for December, peaking at 286 for the month. That is the lowest monthly average since it was 271 in January 2015.
Intakes totaled 2,342 — 1,792 men and 550 women — for 2015, and the average length of stay per inmate was 47 days, according to Warden Gene Berdanier’s report.
Neil Stefanisko, probation office supervisor, provided the board with an overview for each program, including the prerelease, restrictive intermediate, DUI intermediate, vocational rehab, supervised bail and work release.
“(In 2015) there were 327 defendants that we supervised in specialized programs,” Stefanisko said. “Out of them, we removed 65 for violations. There were a total of 248 defendants that completed the program successfully. There were a total of 31,557 jail days saved and the recidivisms for all the inmates in the program is approximately 19 percent.”
Recidivism refers to a defendant’s relapse into criminal behavioral. Stefanisko said the state average of recidivism is about 20 percent.
“We are currently looking for alternatives for treatment of the defendants who we supervise in life skills programs that incorporate drug and alcohol programs,” Stefanisko said.
He said that the county prison participates in the “Breaking the Cycle” program at the Schuylkill Medical Center. However, with a cost of $1,000 per defendant, Stefanisko said the department is reviewing options to possibly have the county administer the program.
Several board members commended the adult probation department for their work with the various programs.
“These people we are dealing with, especially in the pre-release program, are people who would not normally be out there,” President Judge William E. Baldwin said. “We are putting them out there because of the overcrowding and therefore have to supervise them as strictly as we can, which is one of the reasons we knew we were going to have recidivism. They are not the candidates we would parole right away. We have to do a lot of drug testing, a lot of supervision and the probation office is really stretching itself to keep track of all those people.”
Baldwin said there is a drug problem in Schuylkill County, partly due to heroin becoming so inexpensive.
“Unless we do something to get people who are ready to go out on the outside, they are going to keep coming back and I hope you are still pursuing a prerelease facility.”
Prison board Chairman and Commissioner George F. Halcovage said the immediate priority was transporting inmates to other facilities, but a prerelease facility is still being considered.
“It is actively being done as we are doing this,” Halcovage said.
In December, the prison board authorized agreements with George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Thornton, and the State Correctional Institution/Muncy, to house about 35 inmates from Schuylkill County. Halcovage said the state Department of Corrections is taking the lead on the diversion plan and coordinating transportation at no charge. They have yet to be transferred. Halcovage said individuals are still being screened for the selection process.