Stress, burnout and mental health are listed in need for full jail staff

BRAINERD — Crow Wing County is adding four additional officers to the jail staff above the allotted number in an attempt to be closer to being fully staffed.

"It takes 44 correction officers to work the floor in order to keep the jail in operation and we never have that 44," Sheriff Eric Klang told county commissioners during their May 23 board session. Klang noted there may be a family medical leave or training or any number of other reasons why the full number isn't available at a given time.

The sheriff's office pointed to the need for mental health services for inmates and a high burnout rate for correctional officers.

Earlier in May, the commissioners heard there was a significant increase in the wait times for mentally ill, civilly committed individuals waiting in jail for proper admission to a secure state Department of Human Services facility. In Crow Wing County, there are rising numbers of people detained for a court ordered mental health or competency evaluation, called a Rule 20, to determine if a defendant in a criminal case is competent.

In 2016, court ordered Rule 20 cases numbered 23, a number that was relatively stable through 2020, ranging from 22 to 25 per year. In 2021, the number rose to 48. In 2022, it numbered 55. For the county, the more significant issue is how long people, detained for a competency evaluation in a criminal case or there for a civil commitment, are waiting in jail without receiving the full services for their mental health crisis. In May, the wait time for a state bed for those in jail was 26 days.

While in jail, the people are described as isolating themselves. They may have increased behaviors and strike out at jail staff. They do get medication.

"Twenty-six days. Twenty-six days — someone is sitting there in a mental health crisis, an acute crisis," said Tim Houle, Crow Wing County administrator on May 16. "We saw pictures yesterday, people huddled in solitary jail cells, urinating on the floor, feces on the wall. I really want to sit and have folks think about that, 26 days and the state wants to charge us 1,400 bucks a day because they think we won't get people out there fast enough. That's criminal."

On May 15, Twin Cities metro area sheriffs and county attorneys had a late-night press conference at the state Capitol opposing changes to the state's 48-hour rule that inmates be transferred to a state hospital within that time period after a commitment. The sheriffs noted the same issue for Crow Wing County is that those inmates are staying in county jails for months past the 48-hour rule. They were opposed to a proposed change in language to start that 48-hour clock not after an inmate was committed but when a bed was available.

"The state does not have enough beds," said Tami Lueck, Crow Wing County Community Service program manager on May 16. Lueck said a task force was being put together at the state level to figure out the real problem. Lueck said the bed capacity is the issue.

Last week, as the sheriff's office sought to add the four "buffer" correctional officers in order to have full staffing, Lt. Ron Imgrund, Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office jail operations, said the goals are to have trained professional staff to preserve the basic rights and dignity of those detained in the jail. Imgrund said they are also trying to address officer wellness.

"There's an increased workload in the jail and an evolving working environment, leading to high turnover, high burnout and it's affecting our correctional officers. We also are looking to increase staff retention, which should conserve some costs and potentially increase revenue."

Imgrund said an increased workload during the COVID-19 pandemic presented its own challenges and now in a post-pandemic world, the jail staff is still feeling the impact."

Court is about 95-98% virtual these days, Imgrund said, which means a correctional officer needs to get the inmates in front of the court for their appointments.

"Their attorney appointments are virtual there.Their assessments are virtual. Every single one of these virtual appointments is now an additional workload to our production staff," Imgrund said. "That used to be handled by people coming in from the outside and handling this on their own. Part of the evolving work environment in the jail is the mental health crisis that we are experiencing."

Imgrund showed photos of a recent incident where an inmate broke a shelf off a window and used it to puncture holes into the safety glass on the jail cell window. Moved to a different cell, the next day the inmate tore a shelf off the wall and broke the entire window. Another photo showed an officer in a protective Tyvek disposable body suit cleaning a jail cell.

Imgrund said resources like psychiatric hospitals are not numerous enough to manage the number of people needing those services so more people are in jail and waiting there. It's a trend, Imgrund said is continuing.

"Those are inmates waiting. Those are inmates suffering. Those are inmates in turmoil for days and days and months and months," Imgrund said. "And those correctional officers are in there with them doing the best they can. This is increasing burnout. It is causing high turnover rates. You can see from 2020 till now, we've hired 39 new employees, only 18 of them remain in custody, 11 of them didn't even make it through a field training process."

The increased workload and stress is in a career that already has a high burnout rate.

"I would ask you to imagine yourself trying to complete your daily work with someone kicking, relentlessly beating on a metal door screaming personal obscenities for you. That is trauma that our staff deal with every single day," Imgrund said, adding that comes along with the trauma of staff assaults, inmate assaults and dealing with the lives people live and then bring into the jail, all contributing to turnover.

For retention, Imgrund noted work with consultants for resilience training, mental health check-ins, but turnover continues. He said the last time the jail staff was up to its full complement with everyone trained and working on the floor was in December of 2018 and it lasted about three weeks, the longest stretch in the entirety of the jail's 16-year history.

Hiring four more officers could potentially cost $25,000 more a year, depending on staffing levels. A staffing analysis in 2019 showed the need for six additional staff and one additional sergeant, and a current staff analysis appears to line up with that earlier outcome. The jail reports bringing in $905,000 a year from Cass County, roughly $657,000 from Stearns County, and additional revenue from work release and smaller number of boarders from other counties.

Commissioner Steve Barrows said he was in support and he encouraged the sheriff's department to send an invoice to the state at the point of the 49th hour relating to the 48-hour rule as a way to elevate the issue they are experiencing in county jails. Barrows said the topic needs to be discussed at multiple opportunities to get the attention of the state and the Legislature.

Commissioner Paul Koering also said he wholeheartedly supported the sheriff's office request. Koering thanked law enforcement officers. "It's a crazy world and I grew up in the ‘80s and if somebody would have told me that all this stuff would be happening now — we have all these stupid cell phones and stupid Facebook and all this stuff — I’d have said, ‘Nah you’re crazy.’ But here it is, you know, and so we got to try to deal with it but I just want to say thank you to you guys. It's a thankless job."

Koering said he hoped younger people want to go into law enforcement.

"Because if they don't, we are in big, big trouble," Koering said.

He said the state Legislature is focusing on law abiding citizens and taking away their rights.

"I don't know, it's scary. I just hope we can defend ourselves if there's not law enforcement people."

The board voted in favor of extending offers to four officers beyond the department's budget to manage staffing levels for the efficient operation of the jail.

Looking back 24 months, the department reported the assumption is for a correctional officer turnover rate of 14 employees each year. Refilling the position, from the day of one officer's resignation to the time when a new officer is on the job, takes 105 days.

In a written report to the county, the sheriff's department reported, hiring the four "buffer" correctional officers would reduce the number of open seats while allowing the hiring process to continue even though the county employed its full time allotment for officers.

"Although on paper this may translate into additional funds needed, it should not exceed our current budgeted amount for correctional officers salaries and overtime," the report stated. "The natural attrition will more than likely keep our compensation budget in check and will be closely monitored.

"This will allow staff to complete assignments more efficiently and will also reduce the risk of danger, trauma and burnout in the jail. All of these factors will most definitely increase the morale within the jail as well."

Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @DispatchBizBuzz.

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Stress, burnout and mental health are listed in need for full jail staff