Saturday, November 29, 2008

Inmates to get 'second Chance'

County renews improved jail-rehab center contract

Gerald Garner Jr. El Defensor Chieftain Editor,ggarner@dchieftain.com

Presented with a sweetened deal, Socorro County Commissioners on Tuesday, Nov. 25, renewed a contract that could see drug- and alcohol-addicted inmates not only locked up, but treated as well.

The county's decision comes a little more than a month after Second Chance representatives came before the commission with a plan to house and treat inmates in their Albuquerque facility at a significantly reduced rate.

At that time, Second Chance's Jermaine McChristian offered the county a reduction in the daily incarceration rate from $65 to $50.

Although several commissioners publicly professed support for the facility, they said financial constraints "handcuffed" them from utilizing the program.

"The threshold for our contract with Second Chance was $20,000 and we reached that very quickly," County Manager Matejka Ray said at the Oct. 14 county meeting.

That $20,000, commissioners said, was quickly depleted when an early summer jail renovation project forced the county to farm out its inmates to other facilities around the state — facilities that do not offer rehabilitation.

But at the Tuesday, Nov. 25, meeting, commissioner Phillip Anaya said that the district attorney, probation officers and the local court system weren't sold on how the program would work, thus tying up critical funds to "study the situation."

"When we did this before, those guys wanted to study the situation and that's where the money went,' Anaya said.

The primary questions raised by the various courts and law enforcement personnel centered around which prisoners would utilize the program and who would refer them.

Second Chance representative Jermaine McChristian had spoken with probation and parole staffers prior to Tuesday's meeting, and said they were on board.

"They said that they're willing to submit names of prospective inmates to the jail administrator for his consideration," McChristian said. "Only select inmates would be referred."

Anaya, who has publicly supported the concept, again reiterated his desire to see Second Chance work, adding, "I want this program to work because I've been there and I've seen it."

Commissioner Stanley Herrera, however, wasn't quite as supportive.

"Do we have to accept Second Chance?" he asked. "We exhausted our funds the first time. I think we were doing good before making an agreement with Second Chance."

County Attorney Adren Nance noted that if the commission agreed to the revised contract, it would not obligate them to send inmates to the Albuquerque facility. He said it can be used as an emergency overflow facility — a safety net of sorts.

Commission chairman Jay Santillanes fired what appeared to be a fatal blow to the negotiations when he quipped, "We need overflow but we don't need Second Chance."

Jail administrator Angel Maldonado, however, had a different take on the program.

"I think it's a good tool that could help the county's inmates," Maldonado said.

Apparently that was enough to sway Herrera, who made a motion that the revised contract with Second Chance be approved.

Nance noted that the contract also contained a provision to house and treat the county's female inmates at a rate of $65 per day.

Anaya seconded the motion and the contracts were approved.

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