Logan County to offer qualifying inmates general life skills instruction

 

[January 21, 2021] 

At the Regular Logan County Board meeting on Tuesday, January 19, one focus of discussion was funding for a pilot Life Skills Program for inmates held at the Logan County Safety Complex.

Planning and Zoning/Economic Development Committee Chairman David Hepler brought forward a motion to approve an expense of $5,000 for the Life Skills Pilot Program from the line item for Community Support.

Hepler then amended the amount to $2,500.

Last week, Hepler said he spent some time talking to an Invenergy representative about their wind farm project in the early planning phases and some other county activities. The Invenergy Representative thought it would be something his company would like to support. Invenergy then got authorization from their senior management to match up to $2,500 for this program.

At the Planning and Zoning/Economic Development Committee meeting earlier this month, CAPCIL Director Alison Rumler-Gomez, Rod Boyd, who works in the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers shared details about the program with committee members.

The program is something Sheriff Landers and Rumler-Gomez have been discussing for the past six months.

Through the program, CAPCIL plans to offer anger management classes, parenting classes and substance abuse classes. The intent is to provide those individuals with an opportunity to try to change their ways and their path.

Hepler asked Rumler-Gomez to explain more about the program. Rumler-Gomez said CAPCIL looks at different domains when they help families. CAPCIL offers life coaching to families in poverty or in crisis. There, coaching happens over the course of a year to develop family stability.

As part of the Mental Health Advisory Board, Rumler-Gomez said she and the others on it are working on the preventative side to help people with mental health issues.

Rumler-Gomez said in the program at the Safety Complex, they could offer some general life skills instruction over a period of five or six months. They would then follow up with some individual life coaching.

Board members had some questions about the program.

Chairman Emily Davenport asked whether all detainees would qualify for the program or whether they needed to be in jail a certain length of time first.

To get into the program, Landers said inmates would have to go through a screening process and interview. He wants to do everything he can to intercede whether it be through the parenting classes, anger management classes, help for mental health or addiction counseling.

Board member Steve Jenness asked what security there would be for individuals coming in to work with the program and what would happen if someone was attacked. He also asked what they would do if no one wanted to participate.

Landers said he would ensure the program would be in a secure location of the facility. Rod Boyd, who is helping to set up the program, has thirty years of experience with the Department of Corrections, so that will be beneficial.

Many in the jail stay an average of five months before trial. Regardless of whether they are released back in the community, Landers said they could have the connection to CAPCIL and go right into finishing the program.

These classes can help inmates better themselves and gives them something to hold on to. If the program helps keep just one person from coming back into the system, Landers said that makes the program worth it.

While Jenness likes the idea of giving the inmates life skills, he would like to see a tracking process to show the success of the program.

Both the amendment and main motion as amended to supply $2,500 for the pilot program passed.

Board members present were Chairman Emily Davenport, Vice Chairman Scott Schaffenacker, David Blankenship, Janet Estill, Cameron Halpin, David Hepler, Steve Jenness, Keenan Leesman, Bob Sanders, Annette Welch and Jim Wessbecher. Bob Farmer was absent.

[Angela Reiners]