Detention chief urges urgent hiring, county to join state Corrections Recruitment Fund; commission approves detainee housing contracts

Detention Administrator Shayla Ramsey told the Roosevelt County Commission on Sept. 10 that the county jail population was 51 — 13 female and 38 male — and outlined programs and costs tied to staffing shortages and housing needs. Ramsey said 12 people participate in the county’s medication-assisted treatment program (six receive medications), three are enrolled in GED work, and detainees recently participated in county-fair art and jewelry entries.

Ramsey reported long-term booking data, saying there have been 525 bookings and 548 releases since Jan. 1, 2014, and described why off-site intake/release housing would be costly: she estimated $130,000 for intake-release housing alone and cited an illustrative outside-housing figure of $125 per detainee per day for an average 40-day stay as not feasible. To address recruitment and retention she said she has shortened the hiring and onboarding timeline from about a month to roughly "3–5 days," and stressed urgency in filling a human resources coordinator position. She told commissioners there are three open positions, six cadets in the academy and three recent academy graduates.

Recognizing those staffing pressures, the commission unanimously approved participation in Appropriation 24-Z15042-13, a three-year Corrections Recruitment Fund (CORF) grant totaling $393,750.00, and adopted Resolution 2024-32 to satisfy the grant’s participation requirement. Ramsey told the board the resolution is required for the county to receive grant funds. The motions to participate and to adopt the resolution passed 5–0.

The commission also approved several contracts related to detainee housing. Ramsey explained the county contracts with San Juan County for juvenile housing because only a few state facilities accept juveniles; the commission passed the San Juan County juvenile housing contract by roll call. The commission approved reciprocal detainee-housing contracts with Curry County and a second agreement to house Curry County detainees in Roosevelt County, all by unanimous votes.

Commissioners commended Ramsey for accelerating hiring and for in-house training, and discussed transporting sentenced detainees to the Department of Corrections; Ramsey said most detainees are transported within days of sentencing by her staff or sheriff’s office personnel. The commission did not take further action beyond approving the grant participation, the resolution and the housing contracts.

The commission recessed for an executive session at 10:36 a.m. and returned at 11:00 a.m., after which it approved a contract discussed in the closed session; the approved contract was not described in open session beyond the motion and vote. The meeting adjourned at 11:01 a.m.