2024 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 30
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More than 220 occupants per week were treated by in-house mental healthcare staff,
including assessments, medication, therapy, and counseling.
A chaplaincy program specifically for occupants was designed and implemented, allowing
jail occupants to use digital kiosks in housing units to request and schedule appointments
with an on-site spiritual counselor.
Knowing that education is foundational to life skills, growth, and positive change, the
MCJ, in partnership with Literacy Services of Wisconsin, graduated two classes in the
second year of MCSO’s new Occupant Graduation Program, awarding GEDs and high
school diplomas to individuals in custody.
Transparency enhances safety and accountability. To that end, the MCJ increased its use
of body-worn cameras for officers who work in areas requiring occupant contact, such as
housing units and booking.
Considering the primary MCJ goal is the safety and security of both staff and occupants,
the MCJ added a full-time Sworn Deputy Sheriff Captain position to ensure the compliance
of MCJ staff with statutory requirements and to provide additional oversight and review.
With additional compliance oversight and policy review, MCJ leadership implemented the
following changes:
a. The cancellation of a 24-hour watch policy, as recommended in a jail audit. Previously,
Wellpath’s policy required occupants to remain on suicide watch for a minimum of 24
hours. That resulted in unnecessarily long periods that occupants were on watch.
Eliminating this requirement allowed mental health professionals to better prioritize their
treatment time to those who needed it most.
b. Daily monitoring by an experienced senior supervisor for suicide watch compliance.
c. Additional training for probationary staff regarding suicide watches and suicidal
behavior.
d. A direct observation policy that requires that anyone identified as having suicidal risk
be kept in direct observation in the MCJ booking room until a mental health professional
can see them.
e. The installation of a dedicated suicide watch officer implemented in our high security
unit: Their only duty is to monitor occupants on suicide watch.
MCSO 2024 Annual Report
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