Sled Beds Used For Crowded Cells, Female Population At Clarion County Prison

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published June 22, 2015 4:40 am
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Sled BedCLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Clarion County Prison’s female population continues to rise, forcing some cells to house an additional prisoner instead of the normal two inmates.

Warden Jeff Hornberger told members of the Clarion County Board of Prison Inspectors at the group’s June 11 meeting that females currently comprise about a third of the jail’s population of 107.

“We did buy some sleds to put extra people in, “said Hornberger. “Our female population continues to rise and we ran out of beds a number of times. Sleds are state approved temporary bedding.  We only had 24 bunks for females in the cells. They are basically oversize blue toboggans.”

In order to expand the number of female inmates in cells when needed, the prison has purchased a number of “sleds,” portable plastic sleds with a four-inch mattress inside the sled and added to the floor of a cell for a third occupant.  The “sleds” cost approximately $200.00 each at Clarion.

“Prior to that, a maintenance guy had to tear bunks down from one area of the jail, move them all out, and move them to another area of the jail,” said Hornberger. “It was every other day we were moving these big 100 pound steel bunk beds back and forth.  This is just much easier. I was talking with probation the other day, and four of the females were homeless, and they said they may be sleeping on the floor (in the sled), but it’s a lot better than what they would be sleeping in on the street.”

Other prisons throughout the United States facing overcrowding have also gone with this option, with some newspapers describing them as “coffin-like.”

According to Hornberger, Clarion’s capacity is 129, and the average daily population is 105.55.  The average April population was 94, and the past 12-month average was 98.

As the population varies from day to day, Clarion has been recognized with outstanding management of the facility.

Clarion County Prison is fully compliant with state regulations, according to the preliminary findings of a recent Title 37, Chapter 97 inspection by the Department of Corrections, Office of County Inspection and Services. A full report will be issued in the future, but there were no findings.

Greg Faller, chairman of the Clarion County Prison Board, read a letter from the inspectors at the board’s June 11 meeting, stating that there were no concerns and the board’s plan of action was acceptable.  The compliance status also means that the jail will not face another such inspection until 2017.

Under expenses for May, Faller noted that approximately $7,900.00 was spent on new showers.

A cost management report presented to the board by Cost Management Plus, Inc. of Harrisburg revealed that there were 51 inmates on medication during April, and the past 12-month average was 57.  The average cost per inmate was $44.28, and the past year’s average was $55.44.

Warden Hornberger reported a balance that was in check, and expenses were at 43 percent at the end of May or at $1.04 million of a $2.34 million total annual budget.

“Training is up a little bit. We have not only done a lot of internal training, but we’ve also done some outside training,” said Hornberger. “We had Clarion Hospital come in and do CPR training. Even though our nurse is certified to do all of that, every two years she has to be recertified to train.  We had Clarion Hospital come in on five different occasions, and they did an excellent job.”

The entire staff completed CPR, First Aid, and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training weeks before the state inspection.

A support services review listed a counselor met with 227 inmates; there was one suicide watch, and 15 meetings with a psychiatrist. The nurse met with 36 inmates, 34 met with Seneca Medical, and medical visits out of the facility included two to Adagio, one to the dentist, three for hospital testing, and one for surgery.

The next meeting of the Clarion County Prison Board of Inspectors will be held on Thursday, July 9, at 9:00 a.m. in the County Administration Building on Main Street.

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