Good Evening,
I am writing tonight to share the Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO) updates for this past week related to the COVID concerns in the Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities.
The most recent information we have received from the DOC is that the number of incarcerated individuals and staff who are COVID positive has decreased. We need to continue to watch the numbers, but this is a very good indicator of the downward trend in cases for the facilities and indicates that the number of COVID cases appear to have reached their peak for both incarcerated individuals and DOC staff.
In addition to the COVID-related update, I wanted to share some information the OCO has learned about the situation related to Tuberculosis. The DOC has been engaged in testing to identify if there are individuals with Tuberculosis in the facilities. The testing requires three-steps to actually confirm a case. If the individual tests negative at any of the steps they are screened out for Tuberculosis. Only those individuals who have a positive result from the specific test at each phase will move onto the next phase of testing. It takes a positive result at each phase to confirm an actual case of Tuberculosis. Through this process, the DOC has been able to rule out the vast majority of incarcerated individuals who may have been exposed who have been tested so far. The DOC is continuing to test individuals and they are also working with the CDC. We understand that the CDC will be onsite at Stafford Creek next week. We will continue to monitor the situation and share what we are able to in our updates.
I am also attaching the most recent letters from Sec. Strange at the request of the DOC for those who may not have received this information through another means.
COVID-RELATED CONCERNS DATA
The following data is the total for the COVID-related concerns received by the OCO in the past several weeks in the facilities with the data broken out by the types of concerns. The data reflect concerns received by the OCO through hotline calls directly from incarcerated individuals, complaints received through the OCO website, and emails. The following are snapshots of the concerns we have received as of today.
Data by Concern
Data by facility – The following table divides the concerns by facility:
OCO ACTIONS
The OCO is attempting to respond to as many of the concerns raised as possible, as quickly as possible, with our very small staff. In order to prioritize our work, while we are continuing to investigate individual complaints, we are also simultaneously focusing on the issues receiving the most concerns and the facilities with significant issues.
While we are limited in what we are able to do by statute, the following are some of the things we have been putting into place and actions taken most immediately:
- Issues across facilities: In the last two updates, I included questions posed to the DOC in order to get more detailed responses to the significant systemic-type issues that run across facilities and that represent concerns we have received. The responses have not provided the level of detail I had hoped to receive; therefore, I will not be continuing this format of posing questions each week to the DOC in a FAQ format. Instead, we will continue to work on these issues with the DOC to get additional information and resolution where possible.
- Issues in specific facilities: The OCO staff continues to work on issues related to specific individuals in the facilities as they arise. The following are a few examples of just some of the things the OCO staff have acted on in approximately the past week. This is not the entire list of cases worked on by the OCO staff; rather, it is representative of the types of issues the staff has been working on related to COVID. In addition to the COVID-related cases, the OCO staff is also continuing to work on non-COVID related concerns as well which are not represented by the following examples.
- We had received a call that CO’s were not passing out masks to individuals in one of the units Stafford. The OCO staff contacted the facility and was able to ensure the individual who contacted the OCO received a mask. Additionally, a directive was sent out by the facility management to give ALL incarcerated individuals who ask for a mask a N95.
- The OCO received a concern that individuals at WCC were being asked to volunteer to work without pay due to the outbreak. Because of the high need for those jobs, some individuals are being temporarily reassigned into laundry and food service jobs to cover for others who might have tested positive or been exposed to COVID. We verified with the facility that anyone asked to work extra hours in the laundry or kitchen will receive pay.
- The OCO received a concern from Olympic that individuals were being forced to work in DNR even though they should be in isolation. The OCO verified any individual released from isolation had met the timeframes and testing protocols to return to the population.
- Cedar Creek has hired a COVID Compliance Lieutenant reporting any staff only masking issues directly to the Superintendent.
- People in unit had been taken off quarantine a day prior to the OCO staff visit and they were still not being given outside time. The OCO staff brought the issue to the facility administration, and it was taken care of by the time the OCO staff left the facility.
- During an OCO staff visit, the OCO staff found that people in one of the units had not had paper towels for three days. The OCO was able to confirm the issue was resolved that day of the facility visit.
- The OCO staff received concerns related to quarantine protocols in a specific unit at CRCC. The OCO staff visited with multiple incarcerated individuals in that unit and raised their concerns directly to facility leadership. OCO staff received response from facility leadership.
- The OCO staff received communication from both an incarcerated individual at WSP and external stakeholders about concerns related to using JPay tablets when in isolation units. The OCO staff discussed the concerns with facility leadership and visited cell front with the incarcerated individual who filed the complaint. The issue was fully resolved as the incarcerated individual stated that DOC staff are helping to sync the JPay tablet while in isolation.
- The OCO staff received communication from external stakeholders with concerns about quarantine and isolation protocols in the BAR units. The OCO staff visited cell front with incarcerated individuals in both isolation and quarantine units to hear concerns. The OCO staff also visited with post-positive individuals on their first day with yard access and the individuals were very happy to be able to finally be outside.
- The OCO hotline staff spoke with an incarcerated individual in IMU South who was concerned about delays in transfer and loss of earned time due to COVID-19 protocols. That day, OCO staff visited the facility and were able to speak to the incarcerated individual and provide self-advocacy information including details about Earned Release Time Policy #350.100.
- The OCO staff conducted a site visit at Larch Corrections Center and directly spoke with 50+ incarcerated individuals about their concerns related to COVID-19 protocols, JPay messages, mail rejections, and delays accessing information about GRE and work release. The OCO staff provided self-advocacy information on-site and opened multiple cases for investigation. These cases were then assigned to appropriate OCO staff to work on the individual cases.
While we are not able to get a full resolution to all of the issues submitted to our office, our staff are making multiple visits to facilities each week to talk directly with incarcerated individuals and are continuing to work on individual cases that are both COVID and non-COVID related.
The OCO statutory grant of authority limits our work to the investigation of issues: We are not able to mandate or require action. For this reason, we engage with DOC to provide them with information on the areas of concern we are identifying and make specific requests for action. We will continue to work on the issues we receive to the extent of our statutory authority to achieve a resolution.
I will be endeavoring to provide regular communications with updates as I have them to share.
Best,
Sonja Hallum
