Overview
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD) was unable to provide evidence that it completed annual reviews of the needs of its sentenced inmates to ensure that its social service programs met these needs.
If SCSD does not annually review the needs of its sentenced inmates in relation to the social service programs it offers, SCSD has a higher risk that it may not provide its sentenced inmates with programs essential to their needs in order to set them up for successful reentry.
Authoritative Guidance
Section 936.03(2) of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) states,
Written policy and procedure shall provide that the county correctional facility staff identify at least annually the needs of the inmate population to ensure that the necessary programs and services are available.
Section V of SCSD’s Social Services Policy S470 states,
An annual needs assessment . . . shall be conducted to ensure that the necessary programs and services are available, including those designed to meet the needs of inmates with special types of problems.
Reasons for Issue
SCSD officials stated that, due to the informal nature of the reviews being conducted, they did not have evidence (such as documented notes) of their annual review of the needs of their sentenced inmates to ensure that the necessary social service programs were available.
Recommendation
SCSD should ensure that it conducts annual reviews of the needs of its sentenced inmates to ensure that necessary programs and services are available and ensure that these annual reviews are documented.
Auditee’s Response
SCSD program administrators review all programs provided to the incarcerated population on a regular basis. Additionally, at the end of each calendar year in accordance with the legislative mandate, SCSD submits the Program Services Inventory (PSI) Matrix. This report includes all programs provided to the incarcerated individuals during that year. This allows SCSD to review all current programs, population(s) served, number of individuals served, etc. Moving forward SCSD will be requesting curricula from all internal and external partners to more formally review the programs provided and needs of the population. The review will be done by program and administrative staff in a committee format.
Auditor’s Reply
We encourage SCSD to document the annual reviews it performs to ensure that it is in compliance. As part of our post-audit review process, we will follow up on this matter in approximately six months.
| Date published: | December 24, 2025 |
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