ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION OF COSTS AND SERVICES RELATED TO ALCOHOL ADDICTION IN THE NORTHERN ARIZONA REGION

Minutes of the Meeting

Monday, July 11, 2011, 1:00 p.m.

Coconino County Law Enforcement Administration Facility

Flagstaff, Arizona

Members Present:

Senator Sylvia Allen	Leonard Gorman
Senator Jack Jackson, Jr.	Mark Jackson for The Honorable Jeff Hill
The Honorable Robin Boyd	William Pribil
Brad Carlyon
Kelly Clark

Members Absent:

The Honorable Lyle Dimbatt

Tour of Jail Facility and Exodus Program

The hour and thirty minute tour of Coconino County Jail was led by Coconino County Sheriff Bill Pribil.  Members of the committee were provided a comprehensive look at booking procedures, classifications of inmates, housing and confinement procedures and costs.  All major functions of the jail were viewed and the tour concluded with a discussion regarding the Exodus Program.  Exodus is a high intensity detoxification and substance abuse course that is provided to inmates who volunteer for the program.  Male and female inmates participate in the program and are put through a screening regime before they are admitted to the program.  Members of the committee were given the opportunity to speak to the male and female members who were currently participating in the program.  

POST TOUR DISCUSSION

Members voiced that their general impression of the tour was that the information was timely and productive. 

Senator Allen requested information on the Exodus program itself and the costs associated with running it.  Sheriff Pribil agreed to provide specific information to the members. He estimated costs by Coconino County (without actual data) were $350K above what it would actually cost to house the same inmates in a normal pod without the Exodus Program in place.

The Committee discussed the following points:

• The estimated cost of regular pod inmates v. cost of inmate in the Exodus program (however, members pointed out that it is difficult to estimate the cost savings to society when trying to determine the value of the program because we cannot quantify all the variables).

• General detention costs.  Savings of significant dollars comes from the closure of a unit/section of the jail only.  Without closing a section of a jail you do not realize savings. 

• How to sell this program to the taxpayers.

• The historic approach in Coconino to implement .3 cent sales tax with a proven record of success over ten years.  Thereafter, they requested an additional .2 cent tax.

• Possible tactic is to sell the program as a life skills tutorial/program that will reduce recidivism and lower overall costs.  This is difficult to quantify. 

• Doing something different to address the problem compared to what has been done in the past.

• The historical success in Coconino County that came from convening a citizen’s commission.  This tactic was convened to improve public support.

• Are there two separate issues (Public Intoxicants v. Traditional Inmates).

• What to do?  Detox the public intoxicants and provide them treatment.  Is there some other option.

• General consensus is that we need to focus a solution on those who can be reached and make attempts with those who are less likely to have success due to lengthy intoxication and mental illness. 

• Do we criminalize intoxication.  If so, how will that impact the costs related to the criminal justice system.

Sheriff Pribil made the point that if we are going to ask the jail system to take on the responsibility of processing public intoxicants, then they need the resources to do the job correctly.

The Committee agreed that they do not want to criminalize public intoxication and that the focus should be not to criminalize, but how to remove individuals from a negative situation to provide help.  The problem posed is the voluntary nature of programs like Exodus and how to keep an individual in the program long enough to be effective if they have the ability to leave whenever they wish.

The members of the Committee agreed that the focus of the committee needs to be statewide and that cultural considerations need to be made to accommodate the Native American communities.

The Committee continued the discussions on the following subjects:

• Historical Data.

• Exodus program consisting of 243 male participants and 121 female participants.

• Gallup Program was discussed which treated 18,000 inmates on an involuntary basis according to the Navajo Nation’s Department of Behavioral Health.

• Is there interest in modeling this program without more research.

• Medical expenses involved with taking intoxicated persons into custody.

• Hospital visits.

• State Medical Assistance.

• Rural Detoxication Facilities (RDF).

• Possibility of facilities on tribal lands. 

• Tax on alcohol: .05 cents a gallon would raise $8 million.  Can this amount cover the counties of Arizona.

• How to deal with the question on scale, timing, and amount of the tax given the political climate and likelihood of passing legislation that is geared towards addressing public intoxication.

• Will $8 million be enough for what is needed.

• Data from Navajo Nation case-loads: Number of intoxication related cases is in the 1000’s.

• Revenues that are generated in the border towns are not finding their way back to the Navajo Nation.  Navajo Nation would like to see funds return back to assist with their issues.

• Emphasis on cultural considerations.

Sheriff Pribil stated that the Coconino Sheriff’s office will have an officer attending a conference in Colorado and provide feedback to the group. 

It was decided that the next meeting will be focused on a trip to Gallup, New Mexico on August 8^, 2011.

Mr. Gorman of the Navajo Nation will set the appointment for Gallup, New Mexico.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

(Audio recordings and attachments are on file in the Secretary of the Senate’s Office/Resource Center, Room 115. Audio archives are available at http://www.azleg.gov)

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AD HOC COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL

COORDINATION OF COSTS AND SERVICES RELATED

 TO ALCOHOL ADDICTION IN THE NORTHERN ARIZONA REGION

July 11, 2011

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