Lycoming County prison board notes rising population, approves hires and MOU with probation office

Lycoming County prison staff told the countyprison board that the jailsystemsaw a notable rise in its January average daily population and presented disciplinary and mental-health statistics as the board approved personnel actions and an expenditure report.

Prison staff reported that in January the prison had an average of "202.87 males" and the pre-release center averaged "38.71 males," for a combined average daily population of "241.58," with a reported peak combined population near 289. "We did see a pretty significant increase in that population in the beginning of this month," the presenting staff member said during the report. The board accepted the expenditure report and approved personnel actions by voice vote.

The personnel actions approved included hires and status changes listed by staff: "Susan Sadason is a part time personnel assistant; Camden Smith is a full time correctional officer of relief; Noel Glaft as a full time correctional officer of relief; Brent Leon as a full time correctional officer of relief; and Kalia Little as a full time resident." The expenditure report was accepted after a motion that was seconded by Ian Marino and approved by the board.

Staff also presented disciplinary data for January: 48 hearings were held, 44 resulted in guilty findings with lockup time imposed, and four guilty findings had lockup time suspended. Staff said 24 inmates had incident hearings (seven of whom had more than one incident) and 21 informational reports were generated.

A February 10 mental-health snapshot recorded 310 inmates across the system (268 males and 42 females). Staff classified inmates by rosters: roster A (no mental-health history) 112 inmates (36.13%); roster B (past mental-health history, no active symptoms within the last year) 72 (23.22%); roster C (current mental-health issues) 110 (35.49%); roster D (serious mental illness) 16 (5.16%). Medication rates reported that 11 of 45 PRC males (24.44%) and 9 of 12 PRC females (75%) were receiving psychotropic medications; at the prison, 94 of 208 males (45.19%) and 15 of 28 females (53.57%) were receiving medications.

Board members asked staff to clarify roster definitions; staff said the roster labels reflect whether an individual participated in outpatient counseling within the year prior to the roster designation.

On staffing, presenters said the prison continues to recruit but that applicants frequently fail to appear for interviews or onboarding. "Last week, we had 3 scheduled. 1 showed up," a staff member said, and staff reported several upcoming starts and departures.

The board also announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) commissioners approved with the court of common pleas, specifically the adult probation office, to assist with inmate transportation for medical appointments and to help supervise inmates admitted to hospitals. "We received support from President Judge Lynn Park for this," staff said; the meeting transcript also includes an inconsistent reference to the judge as "Lynn Hart." Staff thanked the court and probation office for their cooperation.

The board scheduled its next meeting for March 13 at 8:30 a.m. and entered an executive session at the end of the public meeting for legal and security matters; no vote was expected in executive session.

The meeting record lists additional informational items: staff participation in a Jan. 20 MAT-program meeting with River Valley Health and West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission; attendance at a Jan. 27 employment expo at Pennsylvania College of Technology; and Jan. 29 contraband and cell-search training conducted by Training Sergeant Billy Mitchell.