Sheriff reports CALEA and KLEAP accreditations, highlights staffing and raises jail mental‑health concerns

Sheriff Nate Boeckman told the Geary County Commission on Feb. 9 that the Sheriff's Office had a productive 2025, reporting dual accreditation, grant awards, contract renegotiations and staffing improvements.

"Achieved National CALEA Accreditation, the first and only Sheriff's Office in Kansas to obtain this," Boeckman reported, and he said the office also received KLEAP accreditation. He told the commission the office secured over $55,000 in grants (with $15,000 pending), renegotiated contracts that saved substantial sums, reduced overtime by more than half, and increased revenue from $449,000 to $723,503. He added the detention center implemented a Corrections Training Officer Program and updated its policy manual.

Commissioner Trish Giordano raised concerns about mental-health care for inmates, noting that "if someone is on Medicaid and they are arrested, they lose their Medicaid benefits and if they are a Pawnee Mental Health patient, they will not come and see them in the jail." Boeckman said Tiffany McCone, employed by Pawnee Mental Health but contracted through Southern Health, provides mental-health services in the jail about 10 hours per week and sees an average of 10–15 inmates weekly; he said McCone believes she can complete required work in about eight hours and that the contract should be renegotiated in the future. Giordano suggested that if Pawnee is unwilling to provide in-jail care, a portion of Geary County's $200,000 annual allocation to Pawnee Mental Health could be redirected to hire jail-based mental-health providers.

Boekman and Giordano agreed the sheriff's office would continue collecting data on inmate mental-health needs and service hours and report back to the board before June. The exchange did not result in an immediate motion; commissioners directed staff to gather further information.