FAIRFIELD — The 2019-20 Solano County civil grand jury has concluded the new $25.7 million Rourk Vocational Training Center is essentially rudderless.
“The grand jury found the facility has neither utilization plans nor performance metrics and no way to gauge inmate interest in vocational training based on future workplace needs,” the summary of the report released to the public Friday states.
Sheriff Thomas Ferrara said that is not a focused picture of the situation.
“It’s a work in progress and we are going to make it a great thing,” said Ferrara, who added that when the grand jury members visited, the facility had not been open very long, and the inmate population has changed since the facility was first planned.
The sheriff said of the 680 inmates in the jail facilities as of Monday, including 120 women, maybe 7 to 11 percent are eligible or willing to participate. Eligibility includes a level of security screening, such as violent offenders, as well as making sure inmates complete substance abuse and similar programs before being allowed in the work training facility.
“So when it is all said and done, you are looking at maybe 50 to 75 inmates, men and women, who are eligible and willing to use the programs,” Ferrara said.
He said those numbers do indicate, however, the need to rethink the whole of the program and possibly allow probationers to use the training facility as well.
At the time of the grand jury tour Sept. 19, only four inmates were taking advantage of the programs, all in the forklift training class.
The grand jury report issued a single finding that, “At the time of our tour, the Rourk facility was underutilized; it has the capacity to train more than (100) inmates, but was training only four.”
There were three recommendations:
• The Sheriff’s Office fast track the development of plans to utilize the facility to its full potential.
• The Sheriff’s Office use employment data trends for the future to plan and implement offerings.
• The Sheriff’s Office seek additional partners and entities to utilize this facility.
“The grand jury members who toured the facility were impressed. It is new, well-designed and clean, with many resources available. It is unfortunate that classrooms are empty and learning (and) training spaces are not utilized,” the report states.
Civil grand juries are required by law to investigate “the condition and management of penal institutions within the county.”
The project was funded with $23.04 million through the Senate Bill 1022 Adult Local Criminal Justice Facilities Construction Financing Program. The county contributed $2.66 million, plus the land value of $1 million as an in-lieu contribution.
“The facility, designed to provide more than (100) inmates the training to develop work-related skills, has 9,940 square feet of classroom space. There are seven classrooms dedicated to computer training, life sciences, vocational training and various other programs,” the grand jury report states.
“Training bays are available for pre-apprenticeship programs in automotive maintenance, welding, carpentry, diesel mechanics, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, sheet metal work and electrician training. Sixty-thousand square feet of the facility is dedicated to driver training and heavy equipment operations. Other programs include substance abuse treatment, anger management and a pathway to obtain a high school diploma.”
While the grand jury concluded that inmate interest is necessary for the success of the facility, “available qualified staff” is also essential.
“Rourk has on-call staff that also fills positions in other county facilities. Despite the availability of these resources, staff indicated that there were no forward-looking plans which would anticipate projected job market demands,” the report states.
“The training center serves inmates who do not pose a threat to the general public. Participation in facility programs is determined by inmate interest, length of incarceration, background check and staff approval. In order to accommodate the length of inmate sentences, many programs are flexible,” the report states. “Staff indicated that the goal of this facility and its programs is to reduce recidivism.”
The sheriff said time will tell the truer story.
“I would encourage them to come back in a year and see how far we’ve come,” Ferrara said.
February 15, 2020
Fairfield Daily Republic
By Todd R. Hansen
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