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Jackson County jail reports record average population; ASO to fund MOUD telehealth through FlowState, board schedules food-budget review
Summary
The Jackson County jail averaged a record 42.33 inmates per day in September and is operating near capacity. The county’s administrative services organization (ASO) will fund medication‑assisted treatment telehealth through FlowState; supervisors asked staff for a food‑budget forecast and a work session to consider transfers or amendments.
The Jackson County Board of Supervisors heard a jail operations briefing Tuesday that showed a recent record average daily population and confirmed state funding will cover medication for opioid use disorder delivered through the jail’s telepsychiatry provider.
Jail administrator Andrew Long told the board the jail’s September average was 42.33 inmates per day, with a high of 45 and a current population of 39. Of those, 17 were from Vaxon County and 22 from Scott County; the population included 33 men and six women. Long said revenue from housing outside inmates — including $43,505 from Scott County last month — was down compared with a prior month because the facility was holding more of its own admissions.
The jail will use FlowState, its telehealth psychiatric provider, to deliver medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Long said the county’s ASO told staff it will fund those medications and the related telehealth prescribing, and the county will bill the ASO through FlowState so local operating funds are not used for the doctor visits.
Why it matters: County officials said the county is operating close to a comfortable capacity and that inmate counts and contracting with other counties both affect revenue and workload. Supervisors asked staff for cost detail so the board can weigh budget transfers or amendments if needed.
Board discussion and next steps: Supervisors asked whether the jail needs an in‑house medication management program or additional training for custody staff. Long said medication purchasing and prescribing will be handled through FlowState and billed to the ASO; he also said the jail plans continued training on medication management through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) or other training partners.
On the jail food budget, supervisors asked the auditor’s office to prepare a fiscal forecast of food costs given a sustained average of about 40 inmates in recent months. The auditor and jail staff agreed to prepare numbers and hold a work session in October so the board can consider a transfer or a budget amendment; Long said he will present cost estimates, including an approximation of ancillary costs such as water and wear on supplies.
The board did not take any formal vote on jail policy or MOUD delivery during the session; the matters discussed were informational and led to staff directions to produce cost forecasts and schedule a follow‑up work session.
