Members of the 2014-15 Merced County civil grand jury
recommended changes to formal procedures for domestic wells, surrendered babies
and detention facilities.
Grand jurors released their annual report last week. In
addition to required annual reports on the county’s jail system, jurors visited
fire departments around the county and looked into a variety of complaints.
The jurors found that the county’s Division of Environmental
Health is experiencing greater demand for new wells than ever before. The
demand could lead county employees to complete the well drilling process
without adequate inspections, according to the report.
To maintain the proper oversight, the jurors recommended
that well-drilling permits should be visibly posted at each site. The permit
should require the date and time of inspection of the well, which is supposed
to be resealed every year, to be signed off by an inspector.
“I think the important thing is people know what the
(well-drilling) process is,” jury foreman Jack Jackson said.
The jurors found that the Merced County Board of Supervisors
has no plan in place for the statewide Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which was
created in California in 2001 and signed permanently into state law in 2006.
The jurors found that the Merced County Board of Supervisors
has no plan in place for the statewide Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which was
created in California in 2001 and signed permanently into state law in 2006.
The county does not have a hotline or a website specifically about the law,
though the state has both.
The county’s Human Services Agency administration staff “had
very little knowledge about” the law, the report stated.
The fire departments that are overseen by the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through a contract with the county
also had no policies regarding the law, the report stated. The jurors found
that those departments, which include county stations and the Atwater Fire
Department, were never mandated by the Board of Supervisors to have a policy.
In contrast, jurors found, fire departments and hospitals in
Merced and Los Banos were equipped with a plan.
Merced County has had three babies surrendered since 2001,
the report stated. Abandoned baby deaths still occur within the state, and at
least three have happened in the past couple of years in surrounding counties,
according to the report.
The jurors recommended the Board of Supervisors immediately
adopt a “Safely Surrendered Baby” policy that includes surrender sites at all
county fire stations, and a hotline and website. The plan should also include
signs and fliers in several languages for use by county offices.
“It’s a matter of trying to make awareness of what should be
happening or what could be happening to make it a safer place for babies that
are unwanted,” Jackson said.
The jurors also recommended the board free up funding for
transportation for parents who plan to surrender a baby.
It’s a matter of trying to make awareness of what should be
happening or what could be happening to make it a safer place for babies that
are unwanted.
The grand jury declined to investigate several complaints,
mainly because of a lack of information provided or because the agency did not
come under jurors’ purview.
While inspecting the county’s four detention facilities,
jurors determined all areas met the minimum standards of the Board of State and
Community Corrections. But, jurors did recommend improvements for all four
sites – Merced County Sheriff’s Department Main Jail, John Latorraca
Correctional Center, Iris Garrett Juvenile Correctional Complex and Los Banos
Police Department Jail.
Jurors found a high rate of work-related injuries at the Los
Banos jail of 33 percent of employees last year, according to the report. The
jurors recommended training, posted instructions and regular inspections to cut
down on injuries, which can lead to higher insurance premiums, lost work time
and higher medical bills.
For the John Latorraca Correctional Center, jurors
recommended officials install toilets, wash basins and drinking fountains in
exercise areas, which are required by law but missing from those areas.
Inmates in Merced’s main jail should be required to pick up
their trash before leaving holding cells, jurors recommended. At the juvenile
facility, jurors found a closet that was improperly locked, which could allow people
to access dangerous materials.
The jurors also looked into the county’s Registrar of Voters
Office after a mistake last year sent out more than 900 incorrect voting
ballots to absentee voters. According to the report, the jurors were satisfied
with subsequent actions taken by the office to correct the mistake.
July
12, 2015
Merced
Sun-Star
By Sun-Star
Staff
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