| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
|---|---|
| Date published: | March 4, 2024 |
Executive Summary
In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022. The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:
- whether DCSO provided its inmates with admission medical screenings1 upon admission, in accordance with Section 932.06 of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR);
- whether DCSO provided health assessments to all sentenced inmates with a stay of over 30 days, in accordance with 103 CMR 932.07(1);
- whether DCSO provided mental health assessments to all inmates in custody2 for 30 days or more, in accordance with 103 CMR 932.13;
- whether inmates at DCSO received medical care after the submission of a sick call request form and the medical care its inmates received was documented, in accordance with 103 CMR 932.18(2)(h), (j), and (k) and Section J10-09 of the Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule; and
- whether DCSO held quarterly meetings with the contracted healthcare provider and reviewed quarterly reports, in accordance with 103 CMR 932.01(3)(a) and (b).
Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.
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Finding 1 |
DCSO did not complete health assessments for inmates on time. |
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Recommendation |
DCSO should implement policies and procedures over its health assessment process to ensure that the contracted healthcare provider completes the health assessments for DCSO inmates on time. |
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Finding 2 |
DCSO did not retain copies of sick call request forms. |
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Recommendations |
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1. An admission medical screening is an assessment of an inmate’s health needs, including mental health and/or medical conditions. It is conducted upon an inmate’s arrival at the Dukes County Correctional Facility.
2. DCSO informed us that if an inmate is in custody, it means that DCSO has the authorization from a court to incarcerate an inmate until the court orders their release.