Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Christina Corpus, Sheriff
Subject: Annual Report of Inmate Welfare Trust Fund
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept the report on the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund for the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
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BACKGROUND:
California Penal Code 4025 provides for the administration of an Inmate Welfare Fund (IWF) and requires that an itemized report of IWF activity be submitted annually to the Board of Supervisors. The IWF may only be used primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of incarcerated persons and maintenance of correctional facilities. This includes the cost of operating programs to benefit incarcerated persons, including but not limited to, education, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare, library, accounting, and other programs deemed appropriate by the Sheriff.
California Penal Code 4025 also provides that the Sheriff may operate a commissary in the jails and that profits shall be deposited into the IWF. Additionally, any refund, rebate, or commission received from a telephone company for incarcerated persons’ use of telephones shall also be deposited into the IWF.
An independent financial audit of the Inmate Welfare Fund is completed annually.
DISCUSSION:
The Inmate Welfare Trust Fund Committee, formed by the Sheriff’s Office, is responsible for safeguarding the funds, controlling expenditures, and approving the annual budget. In July 2018, the Sheriff’s Office ceased collection of commissions from telephone services for the incarcerated population. In September 2018, the Sheriff’s Office entered a contract with Keefe Commissary Network, LLC to provide commissary services for incarcerated persons in Maguire Correctional Facility and Maple Street Correctional Center.
On June 27, 2020, the agreement with Keefe Commissary Network, LLC was amended to eliminate commission payments to the Sheriff’s Office from commissary sales.
During FY 2023-24, the Sheriff’s Office continued to spend down the IWF balance. During the fiscal year, $5,613 of interest was earned and disbursements totaled
$344,448 and included all operating expenses. As of June 30, 2024, the IWF balance was $59.
As of February 28, 2025, the Sheriff’s Office had settled the remaining $59 in the IWF to $0. There are no more sources of IWF revenue, and Sheriff’s Office has closed the Fund as of February 28, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with accepting the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund report for period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.