Arizona DOC, Rehabilitation, and Reentry – Changes to Protocols Due to COVID 19

19Dec 2020

Dec 19, 2020

Arizona DOC, Rehabilitation, and Reentry – Changes to Protocols Due to COVID 19

The general trend in Arizona is increasing exponentially with a second waive and a current positivity rate approaching 10% (AZDHS, 2020). The highest number of positive cases are reported in the heavily populated Maricopa County with a positivity rate of 10.6%. All counties are above 5% with Yuma County having the highest positivity rate of 14.7%.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) suspended work release programs in March 2020 including restricting transfers of inmates from county jails to the state jail system (ADCRR Measures, 2020). The ADCRR facilities did not have COVID-19 cases until early April 2020, which coincided with the order to suspend all inmate visitation, including family and friends as well as legal counsel on April 1, 2020 (ADCRR Measures, 2020). In person visitation remains suspended as of October 22, 2020 with no fee video visitation allowed for inmates with privileges.

County Jails

The following counties were selected based on population and/or position in the state.

Maricopa County, includes the City of Phoenix and the surrounding communities plus the Gila River area. In addition, it includes portions of the Tonto National Forest and a portion of the Tohono O’Odham National Reservation plus borders the Gila River Indian Reservation. Maricopa County has the highest number of deaths (AZDHS, 2020). AZDHS identifies the setting of infections such as assisted living facilities and correctional facilities. The correctional facilities represent a small percentage of the active cases, and as of November 12, 2020 was approximately 0.01% of the total cases within Maricopa County (AZDHS, 2020).

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office conducts extensive screening including supplemental screening and testing if needed to determine COVID-19 status prior to placing in the general population (Maricopa County, 2020). Anyone who may potentially have COVID-19 or contact with someone is placed in observation and/or isolation including any housing units that may be on an inmate’s contact list.

Yuma County, includes the City of Yuma and is in the southwest corner of the state. It is bordered by Mexico to the south and California to the west. For Yuma County, correctional facilities represent a slightly higher percentage of the active cases, and as of November 12, 2020 was approximately 0.1% of the total cases within Yuma County (AZDHS, 2020).Yuma County Sheriff’s Office manages the county jail, which is maximum security (YCSO, 2020).

Coconino County, is the largest by county by area located in the northern portion of the state. It includes the City of Flagstaff with several national forests, national monument, and the Grand Canyon National Park. Portions of the Hopi and Hualapai Indian Reservations are included in this county. For Coconino County, correctional facilities represent 0.03% of the active cases as of November 12, 2020 (AZDHS, 2020).

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office manages the detention facility (CCSO, 2020). They have a main facility and a temporary holding location. None of the COVID-19 policy links are active.

	Policies
Type of Facility	Family Visitation			Attorney Visitation	Commissary/Money for Expenses	Other Programs
Type of Facility	General Information	Hours and Parking for Visitation	Inmate Property Release	Attorney Visitation	Commissary/Money for Expenses	Other Programs
State-Run Correction Facility	In person visitation suspended as of April 1, 2020 No fee video visitation is allowed. All adult visitors must be pre-approved including a $25 fee for the background check. Phone call visitation does not require the background check.	Each facility has separate visitation hours including special days such as food visits where visitors can bring food items to the inmate.	No specific information provided	No specific information provided but appears attorneys must use video visitation but are exempt from the background check and associated fees.	ADCRR uses JPay and Access Corrections for inmate accounts and sending money ADCRR uses GTL for phone charges.	There are a number of work release and job skills building industries available to eligible inmates
Maricopa County	Remote and onsite video visitation is offered. Inmates initiate remote video visitation with a cost of $0.25/ minute. Onsite video visitation is free for the first 20-minute visit each week but $7.95 for each subsequent weekly visit.	Remote visitation is available from 7am to 10pm every day. Onsite video visitation is available between 9am and 4:30pm and must be scheduled ahead of time.	Inmates can release all of their property to a single person including their legal team.	Video only visitation but it is not recorded and there is no charge for these visits.	Uses TouchPay services for inmate accounts for expenses.
Yuma County	All in person visitation and onsite video visitation suspended. Inmates receive one free 30-minute remote visitation per week and received one 5-minute phone card.	Visitation must be scheduled through the video visitation provider.	All items collected at the time of arrest must be released to the authorized third party	Must be scheduled ahead of time and available between 7:45am and 7pm with the exception of between 2p and 3pm Monday through Friday. Some Saturday and Sunday visitation may be permitted between 8am and Noon. The availability of in person visitation was unclear.	Deposits to inmate accounts can be made at a kiosk, via phone, on the internet. Note that there are fees ranging from $3 to $11 associated with most deposit transactions through the various providers. Special food packs are available through Securepak.
Coconino County	Video visitation is permitted with 60 minutes per week free with visitors either remote or in the jail lobby. Phone visitation for a fee permitted	The main jail in Flagstaff permits video visitation daily from 8am to 11:30am, 1 to 4:30pm, and 7pm to 8:30pm. The temporary holding facility in Page permits video visitation between 7pm and 9pm Tuesday through Sunday.	No specific information provided.	No specific information provided.	Inmate trust accounts can take up to 72 hours to fund after a deposit. Deposits can be made via kiosk, onine, or with prepaid phone accounts. Inmates can order up to $80 per week in commissary orders. Basic meals and hygiene are provided so this is for additional items, which can take 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Infection Rates and Death Rates

Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) provides statistics for testing and inmate status by facility (ADCRR COVID Dashboard, 2020). As of November 10, 2020, 41,380 inmates had been tested with a positivity rate of just under 7%. This includes the 18 state-run and privately-run/partner facilities. All facilities have reported at last one positive test result except for Maricopa Reentry Center (MRC), Pima Reentry Center (PRC), Florence West (private-run), and Phoenix West (private-run) has reported only 1 positive case. ADCRR is reporting approximately 58 active cases of COVID-19.

Five of the 18 facilities have a confirmed death directly or indirectly related to COVID-19 with an additional facility with a potential death (ADCRR COVID Dashboard, 2020). The confirmed deaths have occurred at CACF (private-run), Yuma, Kingman (private-run), Florence, and Tucson. A suspected death due to COVID-19 occurred at Eyman. When these deaths occurred is not provided and are cumulative. Tucson has the highest number of deaths with 10 confirmed and 1 suspected. This is followed by Florence with 6 confirmed and 4 suspected.

ADCRR provides positive reports for employees only (ADCRR COVID Dashboard, 2020). Through November 10, 2020, 769 employees have been confirmed as positive for COVID-19 although another 86 have self-reported a positive test.

County Jails

Yuma County, includes the City of Yuma and is in the southwest corner of the state. It is bordered by Mexico to the south and California to the west.

Coconino County, is the largest by county located in the northern portion of the state. It includes the City of Flagstaff with several national forests, national monument, and the Grand Canyon National Park. Portions of the Hopi and Hualapai Indian Reservations are included in this county.

Type of Facility		Infection		Death
Type of Facility		Number	Positivity Rate	Number	Death Rate of Positive Cases
State Jails	Inmate	2667	6.95%	28¹	0.01%
State Jails	Employee	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined
Maricopa County	Inmate	1,913²	11.1%³	0	0%
Maricopa County	Employee	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined
Yuma County	Inmate	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined
Yuma County	Employee	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined
Coconino County	Inmate	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined
Coconino County	Employee	Not disclosed	Not determined	Not disclosed	Not determined

References

ADCRR COVID Dashboard. (2020, November 10). COVID-19 Dashboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020 from Arizona Department of Correction, Rehabilitation, and Reentry: https://corrections.az.gov/adcrr-covid-19-dashboard
ADCRR Measures. (2020, October 22). COVID-19 Management Updates. Retrieved November 13, 2020 from Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry: https://corrections.az.gov/covid-19-management-updates
AZDHS. (2020, November 12). COVID-19 Dashboard. Retrieved November 12, 2020 from Arizona Department of Health Services: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/covid-19/dashboards/
CCSO. (2020). Detention Facility. Retrieved November 13, 2020 from Coconino County Sheriff’s Office: https://www.coconino.az.gov/328/Detention-Facility
Maricopa County. (2020, November 10). COVID-19 in County Jails. Retrieved November 13, 2020 from Maricopa County: https://www.maricopa.gov/5574/COVID-19-in-County-Jails
YCSO. (2020). Detention Bureau. Retrieved November 13, 2020 from Yuma County Sherrif’s Office: https://www.yumacountysheriff.org/detention.html