County officials to assess suicide prevention at jail
In light of recent suicides by inmates and appeals by inmate advocates, county officials will issue a request for proposals to hire a consultant to examine suicide prevention policies and practices at the Allegheny County Jail.
The move comes after disagreement last month among members of the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board over whether to hire a suicide prevention expert at a cost of about $18,000 from a multimillion dollar inmate welfare fund, and over whether the board could act alone or needed approvals from county council or other officials.
The county will issue a request for proposals, and county funds will pay for the cost of the assessment, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David Cashman, board chairman, said Thursday at the monthly meeting of the oversight board.
“It is a county expense … it’s not an inmate welfare fund expense,” Judge Cashman said, noting that it involves the running of the facility.
Inmate advocate Marion Damick put forth a proposal last month to have a nationally known inmate suicide prevention expert assess the Downtown lockup. Seven inmates have committed suicide since 2016, and the jail has a history of high suicide rates.
At a January meeting of the board, Judge Cashman said he wanted input from county council before an oversight board vote and balked at the cost of the proposed review.
Board members Terri Klein and county Controller Chelsa Wagner said last month that the jail oversight board should be able to vote on and approve the expense, using money from the inmate welfare fund. Ms. Wagner said the inmate welfare fund had a balance of $2.7 million.
Ms. Wagner and Ms. Klein have been outspoken in pushing for the board to assert more autonomy and oversight.
The proposed assessment would include a comprehensive review of the jail’s “suicide prevention policies, procedures, and practices,” such as its screening procedures, assessment forms, training curricula, examination of inmate medical records, housing of suicidal inmates, and a host of other factors, according to a proposal previously submitted by Massachusetts-based expert Lindsay Hayes.
Last month, Judge Cashman balked at Mr. Hayes’ proposal, saying that the Massachusetts expert had developed the jail’s current suicide prevention policies.
Judge Cashman said Thursday he had been misinformed, and Mr. Hayes did not develop the current policies.
“The [Allegheny County Jail] procedures and protocols were not designed by Lindsay Hayes. His research, and that of many other experts in this field, was used to inform the process. I’m not aware of any contracted services with Mr. Hayes,” county spokeswoman Amie Downs said.
On Thursday, Ms. Klein and other board members said they supported the transparent process that a formal county request for proposals would provide.
John Kenstowicz, a volunteer with The Pennsylvania Prison Society who helped bring the idea of hiring Mr. Hayes to the board, said Thursday he was pleased the county was moving “in the right direction” but added the most important aspect would be implementing the recommended steps to prevent future suicides.
Inmates John Orlando, 40, and Jeffrey Heil, 45, died by suicide in 2016; Jamie Gettings, 33, Joel VelasquezReyes, 39, and Ross Frye, 62, died in 2017; and Alison Taglianetti, 57, and Dana Abraham, 64, in 2018.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Judge Cashman said he would remain on the oversight board for an additional term.