'Environment of confinement': How Sheriff Buckley is changing the Barnstable County jail

HYANNIS — The point of putting people in jail, said Sheriff Donna Buckley, is to hold them accountable for their actions, but to also prepare them for release, for rejoining their families and communities as productive citizens, and to be less likely to commit crimes.

“Reentry begins on day one when they come in the door,” she said.

Buckley took office in January 2023 as the first woman to ever hold the position, and the first Democrat in 24 years. During her campaign she promised to focus on the care and custody of inmates. The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office operates the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne.

In a wide-ranging conversation on April 25, Buckley spoke with the Cape Cod Times about several developments at the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office.

Some of the accomplishments and challenges have included staff realignment and training, creation of programs for incarcerated women, and the establishment of an in-house medical service. Buckley plans to invite the National Commission on Correctional Health Care to conduct an audit later this year for accreditation purposes.

Changes in medical services delivery:

Buckley ended the contract with Wellpath, LLC, the agency that provided medical care to inmates. A state audit conducted prior to Buckley’s election found that medical appraisals were not being conducted in a timely manner by the agency. The Commonwealth's three-year, $5,700,924 contract with Wellpath was supposed to provide medical care to inmates using almost 13 full-time equivalent positions, including per diem positions for medical director, psychiatrist, and nurse practitioners.

The Sheriff’s office has transitioned to an in-house medical services unit using the same budgeted amount. Staff include a health services administrator, two nurse practitioners, two charge RN's, seven LPN's, three licensed clinicians, and support staff. A physician, psychiatrist, medical director, and several LPN's and RN's will be on a per diem basis. The program is evolving, Buckley said.

Mental health and addiction programs:

Between 60% and 80% of the incarcerated population qualify as having a history of opioid use disorder according to Buckley. She calls jails “de facto mental health and addiction treatment centers.” Thirty percent of Barnstable County inmates are on a medication-assisted program.

She has instituted an eight-hour mental health and first aid course for all staff members. Participants are taught to recognize certain behaviors, understand how and when to intervene, and how to defuse and deescalate a situation.

Every inmate will receive an individualized assessment that looks at their educational, vocational, health and family backgrounds so inmates can more readily work on specific goals and programs prior to their release.

The Chief of Inmate Services and Programs has been made an executive level position. Barbara Clarkson, who was hired in March 2023, oversees medical, casework and inmate programs. The shift reflects an emphasis on holistic treatment of each incarcerated person, according to Buckley.

Women’s programs:

A women’s therapeutic treatment program was established and made available to pretrial and sentenced women.

All women inmates are currently enrolled in a twice weekly program provided by Grace Yoga in Falmouth. The women have access to fresh fruit, coffee and use of a refrigerator. Buckley calls it an example of “changing the environment of confinement.”

Components of a new case management model include reviewing medical, mental and behavioral health issues, life skills, vocational and educational training backgrounds. This model is available to male and female inmates.

Staffing:

The correctional facility has the capacity to house 588 inmates. The population on April 25 was 179, including 154 men and 24 women. Another inmate had not been to court yet.

Buckley is using staff turnover (a decrease of 40 correctional staff) as an opportunity to realign the sheriff's office goals. Staff with social work, criminal justice, behavioral health and vocational counseling backgrounds will use their skills to do more than provide security service, Buckley said.

She is hiring a data person to track numbers. Numbers will help tell the story, she said.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com .

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sheriff Donna Buckley brings new focus to care, custody of inmates