Pubdate: Sun, 03 Mar 2002 Source: Dayton Daily News (OH) Copyright: 2002 Dayton Daily News Contact: http://www.activedayton.com/partners/ddn/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/120 PUT DAYTON'S REHAB CENTER UNDER SHERIFF Dayton's Human Rehabilitation Center, the city-owned and -operated 459-bed minimum-security facility on Gettysburg Avenue, can be a resource for the region. But it could collapse from neglect unless Dayton and Montgomery County begin serious, fast-track negotiations designed to get it consolidated under the management of Sheriff Dave Vore. For consolidation to work, the rehab center has to be put on good footing and its 100 or so employees have to land on their feet. But consolidation, done right, would represent a victory for both the city and the county. Montgomery County would get an ideally located facility that could meet long-term needs for jail space at a fraction of the cost necessary to develop another site. For Dayton, consolidation would provide immediate relief from the financial and administrative burdens of running a full-service correctional facility, a business the police department doesn't want to be in. Moreover, consolidation presents the best chance for both governments to realize their shared interest in providing a secure, community- based institution that gives low-level offenders a chance to get help--drug or alcohol counseling, or high-school-equivalency courses, for example--here in the community. Montgomery County has the greatest legal and financial obligations for providing short-term detention. But Dayton, on the other hand, has wanted a facility that does more than just lock up people for 90 days or six months. And Dayton has been especially sensitive to the need to keep offenders who aren't dangerous here in the community, rather than sending them miles from their families. Both Montgomery County and Dayton have challenges that complicate their ability to do right by the community and prisoners. Montgomery County has the money but lacks space in its jail to handle all the prisoners in the sheriff's custody. It sends overflow prisoners to other facilities, for years sending them to the rehab center and paying Dayton a per-diem rate. The shortage of beds makes it hard for the county to offer a broad rehabilitation program, something Sheriff Vore knows should be part of what he does. The city has the opposite situation. It has space but lacks money. Dayton depends on outside referrals to keep the rehab center filled. In some years, the county's business has amounted to $3 million to $3.5 million annually for the city, representing half or more of the rehab center's budget. But running a secure institution can't depend on fickle business relationships. Moreover, running the rehab center has been piled on to the police department's already-full plate. And the department's not getting the substantial, additional resources it needs to do the job well. Not surprisingly, all of this has taken a toll on the rehab center. Sheriff Vore can't decide one month, or one year, at a time where he's going to put his prisoners. He can't--and shouldn't--just hope Dayton will turn its facility around. Understandably, he has moved his prisoners out of the rehab center until the city gets a better handle on the facility's operation. Thus, while city-hired consultants inspect the rehab center, it's only housing 50 or so prisoners. Meanwhile, about 100 employees are on the payroll, and there's little money coming in to support them. Sheriff Vore favors the idea of consolidation and is interested in participating in serious talks. From the city, Mayor Rhine McLin is well suited to lead. As a state legislator, she was on top of corrections issues; she and Sheriff Vore can speak the same language. Equally important, she has the respect of the union at the rehab center. To lead effectively, Mayor McLin will need breathing room from both Sheriff Vore and the rehab center union. They each have to give. Sheriff Vore, for instance, needs to hear her concerns about labor issues. The union and rehab center employees, on the other hand, have to know it's going to take money and expertise to make the center into a first-class facility. Consolidation can and should get done. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens