SCORE jail works to address mental health issues

South Correctional Entity (SCORE), a multi-jurisdictional jail in Des Moines, has worked collaboratively with the AVID Jail Project of Disability Rights Washington since January 2015 to make swift and significant changes to improve conditions for inmates with mental illness.

These changes are the result of a cooperative effort by the AVID (Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities) Jail Project, SCORE administration and the jail's member cities, including Tukwila, to achieve sustainable reform through collaboration rather than litigation.

Over the course of the past 20 months, AVID Jail Project staff have conducted regular monitoring visits at SCORE, provided information and assistance to inmates with mental illness and discussed concerns at regular meetings with SCORE staff.

"By meeting with inmates in their housing units and reviewing jail records, we were able to present SCORE with a clear and verified picture of our concerns," Kayley Bebber, AVID Jail Project staff attorney, said in a media release. "This helped give our meetings more of a problem-solving, rather than adversarial, spirit."

A recent report on the project's progress highlights changes that SCORE has made to provide better mental health care and housing for inmates with mental illness.

"Over the last year, SCORE has worked with DRW to implement several changes to improve the conditions of confinement, especially for those inmates with disabilities that are disproportionally represented in local jails," SCORE director Penny Bartley said.

By increasing mental health staffing and committing resources to this effort, SCORE has been able to open three designated mental health units, provide daily therapeutic programming, and improve provision of psychiatric medication. SCORE has also greatly reduced the use of restricted housing, or solitary confinement, particularly for inmates with mental illness.

"We get more hours out of our cell now," inmate Shawntekia Seymour said describing the new women's mental health unit. "We get to talk with other people in the groups. In the groups, we can share what has happened to us and share ideas that can help us get out of the situations that brought us here."

In light of the positive changes that SCORE has already made and its commitment to continued improvements, SCORE and DRW's AVID Jail project signed a Memorandum of Collaboration, released with the report.

The memorandum outlines SCORE's ongoing goals, such as exploring alternatives to restricted housing, increasing hours out of cell and therapeutic programming, creating individualized treatment plans that include reentry planning and reforming SCORE's disciplinary policies and procedures.

The AVID Jail Project will continue to work with SCORE to monitor these improvements and to continue providing assistance to SCORE inmates with mental illness.