County Jail Healthcare Special Meeting Scheduled for April

Community Encouraged to Participate in Person at Study Session

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has set a special meeting to engage community members in a public forum regarding County jail healthcare services, including medical and behavioral health. This Special Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, 2024, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Direct Relief, 6100 Wallace Becknell Road in Santa Barbara. The public is invited to participate in this in-person meeting. Additionally, this event will not be livestreamed or recorded.

The Jail Healthcare Study Session on April 3, 2024, will include presentations by County departments and community groups and will focus on the following topic areas:

• Medical and behavioral healthcare services for persons incarcerated in County adult custodial facilities
• Crisis Intervention Training for custody staff
• Data sharing

The final agenda and presentation materials will be shared on Friday, March 29, 2024, at County of Santa Barbara – Calendar (legistar.com). American Sign Language and Spanish interpretation requests, sound enhancement equipment, and/or another request for disability accommodation may be arranged by contacting the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024. For information about these services please contact the Clerk of the Board at (805) 568- 2240 or sbcob@countyofsb.org.

On December 5, 2023, the County Board of Supervisors received reports from staff in response to the 2023 Grand Jury report findings regarding the County jails. Among other actions, the Board directed staff to conduct a publicly noticed study session resulting in the scheduling of the April 3 special meeting.

Following this special meeting, County staff will compile and summarize the feedback and recommendations in a subsequent update to the Board of Supervisors.

Learn more about criminal justice efforts in Santa Barbara County: Santa Barbara County Criminal Justice Reports and Data Dashboards | Santa Barbara County, CA – Official Website (countyofsb.org).