The Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility receives national recognition for implementing inmate rehabilitation and skill-building programs designed to give inmates the job skills and health treatments they need so they can become successful and productive citizens of the community instead of returning to the jail.
The facility – also known as the ‘Green Roof Inn’ and run by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) – was honored with the 2022 Innovation Award from the National Institute for Jail Operations -NIJO last Thursday (August 18, 2022), the final day of the JAILCON22 Southern Region Corrections Conference in Huntsville, Alabama.
The NJIO Innovation Award goes to the detention facility which demonstrates exceptional achievement in developing or enhancing a particular aspect or feature in the facility or its operations.
“We have implemented a lot of inmate programs in the jail since I became Sheriff in 2017,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “While we are tough on criminals, if we can help them become productive citizens by giving them job skills, education and fighting their addiction to get their lives back on track so they won’t come back, then it helps the community overall. I would like to thank our many community partners and our detention deputies for making our programs a success.”
One of those inmate programs is the Homeward Bound Initiative (HBI). In partnership with Flagler Technical College (FTC), HBI offers two certificate courses – Vinyl Graphics Application (VGA) and HVAC Pre-Apprenticeship – for inmates at the Green Roof Inn. HBI will soon offer a third certificate program in Culinary Arts & Food Service Management.
Those who opted for the VGA course got practical experience by printing, cutting and applying FCSO graphics on many of the agency’s marked vehicles, while the HVAC Pre-Apprenticeship Program provides classroom and hands-on training in FTC’s technology lab. Four inmates have already graduated from the VGA and HVAC courses.
Another inmate program – the Successful Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Treatment (SMART) Program – is provided in collaboration with EPIC Behavioral Healthcare and funded by a grant from the The United States Department of Justice.
All Green Roof Inn inmates are screened by medical and mental health professionals for potential issues with mental health and substance use. Inmates may then be placed in individual or group counseling designed to target any issues found during the screening.
“The goal is to treat and prevent repeat actions which could cause them to be arrested and lose their freedom or even their life,” Sheriff Staly added. “It’s about giving the inmates every opportunity to succeed once they are released from the county jail so they can be productive citizens in the community instead of a negative.”
SMART uses evidence-based therapy curriculums and offers daily structured sessions led by specialists to keep the inmates’ focus on improving themselves and helping each other during their incarceration. Once they’re released from jail, the inmates receive additional support from EPIC in the hopes that they don’t fall back into the same patterns that led to their initial incarceration.
Media Release: Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
