The Committee Corrections Board voted to adopt a work-release book policy that aligns the work-release program’s rules with the county jail policy after litigation brought by the group identified in the record as Unchained Hearts. The chair said the policy change was drafted with involvement from the county attorney and that Jeremy Lovell helped implement the revisions.

According to the presentation, Unchained Hearts sued over inmate access to books and prevailed on aspects of that claim; the jail subsequently revised its policy to address deficiencies. The work-release policy was adjusted so that the language and protections track the jail policy where appropriate, while accounting for program differences. The presenter said the policy changes are primarily wording edits — for example, using “participants” rather than “inmates” — and that numeric limits (numbers of books and days) were not changed.

The redlined copy provided to the board highlighted corrections specific to the work-release setting; once approved, staff will update the participant manual distributed to every resident to ensure consistency between the jail policy and the work-release policy. The chair said Jeremy handled coordination with the county attorney on this item.

An attendee in the room, identified in the record as Jack Harpers, was taking photos or recording; board members noted that public meetings are subject to public observation and recording unless a disturbance occurs. The board moved to approve the policy; the motion passed after a voice vote of “ayes.”

Staff will incorporate the approved language into the work-release participant manual and implement the aligned policy in operations.