Yeah. I heard it was close to a million dollars, just for this one person. And if you have just a few inmates that are end-stage positive, you know, that's... that puts a dent in your budget. And I'm for... You know, I'm for taking care of the poor and the sick, but there must be a better way of doing and not a -- you know, and not so costly. 500 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 I mean, a nursing home. I mean, why can't we put someone that is brought into your prison that's very ill... Why can't we, you know, provide... Why can't we have, you know, alternatives, instead of putting them -- housing them in our prisons?
Well, there's several things I would say to that. We do have a program for people who are that ill. That's called Compassionate Release. And that's what the prison does. We approach the judges in the Court of Common Pleas. And we say, this person is very, very ill. Looks like they're going to die. We would like for you to release them on Compassionate Release. So that means they dismiss the charges. The person is released from the prison system's custody, and they're in a hospital or somewhere.
That didn't happen 501 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 because we can't just do it, apparently. I don't know what this person did. You know, we have to get the Judge to say, okay, we're going to -- the Judge, the D.A., you know, to agree to dismiss the charges and release this person compassionately. We can't do it automatically. And that's part of the thing that I need people to think about, not only people who have end-stage AIDS, because I wonder what did she do to get into the prison in the first place if she had end-stage AIDS. I don't know. But we also have probably, I think, 1400 people now in the mental health case load. And they cost us a lot of money, you know, the per diem for the -- We have a per diem that cost, you know, just the run-of-the-mill inmate who's not ill. And then we have these mentally ill people who are up at the jail. And part of what we need to think about when we think about prison budgets and reducing things is 502 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 working with the Criminal Justice System to come up with alternatives, where we could place these people. I'll tell you the story of a friend of mine whose brother is schizophrenic. And when he's fine and he's well and he's on his medication, he's no problem to anybody. When he decides he's not going to take his medication, he goes out on to the street. He starts buying crack cocaine and marijuana. He starts becoming a problem. He then begins to terrorize his mother. She calls the police. He gets arrested. He goes to jail. And that's been a cycle that's been happening for about ten years. And every time he stays in our system for six months, we pay for it. He's discharged. Those are things that we need to think about other alternatives to put these people, so that --
We need to do something about it. 503 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04
And I've heard you propose very good ideas here this evening. And I'd like to listen to people who have got some vision, you know, of what -- how we should address these issues for the years to come, instead of how do we put a Band-Aid on today to stop the bleeding. I mean, do you have any ideas? I mean, 1100 now. That number -- You mentioned 1500 are mental health inmates.
I got that -- I got that -- I updated my numbers in preparation for the budget testimony.
And you know, one of the things that I think -- First of all, what we need to do, it can't be a Band-Aid approach in the City. It has to be a comprehensive approach in looking at the Criminal Justice System and everybody who plays a part in it. 504 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 Prisons alone... The Managing Director always reminds me that I'm the Prison Commissioner, not something else. The prison system alone can't solve all these problems. We have to have the cooperation of the courts, the District Attorney, the Public Defender, and whatnot. So we -- First we have to sit down and get these people together. We do have them together in the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. Then we have to figure out who it is exactly we have in the prison system before we start making decisions. And I'm telling you information about who we have and who we don't have, but we need more specific information coming to our fingertips a little quicker. Now when I ask for this information, it takes a little bit to get to it because of the way, you know, our MIS decision is staffed. And then once we know exactly who we 505 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 have, then we can start to think about what do we do. So, for example, if it's verified that we have 1400 inmates on the mental health case load, you know, how many of them are there like the one I just described, who has this problem who's schizophrenic. And if there are enough people in that particular category, the alternative is to put -- find a structure, maybe that the City funds, that's not jail, that would put them in to take care of their mental health needs, that probably is going to be cheaper than the $75 a day that costs to house an inmate in the Philadelphia Prisons. And like I said, it has to be coordinated and strategic, not reactive. What we've been doing in the City for a long time is being -- We're pretty good at being reactive. But for this sort of stuff, it has to be strategic, it has to be planned. There's a... I don't know which City it 506 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 is, where they have a unit in the Police Department -- and I know our police are trained on mental health issues and recognizing people. And I don't think they have a special unit like this. But they have a unit in another City where they're called to the scene, these people who are specially trained with mental health issues. Mr. Appel says it's in Pottstown, where they evaluate the situation, and they make a determination whether this person is mentally ill, you know, and this is what's causing them to act out. And if that's true, they don't bring them to whatever county Pottstown is in, the county jail. They bring them to a treatment facility. And generally speaking, you know, people... They send my friend's brother, the schizophrenic, to the Philadelphia Prisons basically for mental health treatment at $75 a day, when we could be housing him somewhere else and paying less 507 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 money. So that's one of the ideas that I have. But like I said, I want to make sure that we have accurate information about who we have in the jails before we sit down and decide what it is we should do with them. But that's just one example.
I'm starting to put the systems in place to compile that information. And I'm hoping to start actually looking at it in the next month or two. I mean, I'm this close to having the person that I've found, put my hands around, who's going to come up and specifically do this for me.
Thank you. 508 Whole - Operating Budget - 4/20/04 The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
No 7 questions? Okay. Are there any other questions or comments from members of the committee? (No response.)
Thank you for being so patient. Our last department to testify today is the Records Development. Commissioner, before you identify yourself, we do have a copy of your testimony? It has been given to the stenographer. It will be transcribed in full. May I please ask that you abbreviate your testimony.
My name is Joan Decker. I'm the Records Commissioner in the City. And I just want to thank City Council and its members for their support of the Records Department and it's initiatives. And I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.
Well, no 11 wonder we think you're wonderful. You're wonderful. Are there any questions of the Commissioner? (No response.)
Commissioner, I thank you so much for the wonderful work that you do. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Committee will stand in recess until -- until tomorrow, Wednesday, April the 21st, at 9:30. Thank you. (Hearing concluded at 6:40 p.m.) 510 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by us upon the public hearing of The Philadelphia City Council, taken on April 20, 2004, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. _____________________________ DAVID A. DEIK, RPR and Commissioner of Deeds _____________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)