Although the Vigo County Jail is only two years old, it’s already in need of reinforcements when it comes to inmate beds.
Therefore, Vigo County commissioners have proposed a new work release/diversion center that will cost between $15 million and $30 million, according to Commissioner Chris Switzer.
Vigo County for years had limped along with an outdated and overcrowded jail, and a lawsuit was filed in 2016 by a group of inmates alleging deprivation of constitutional rights.
In 2018, U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled conditions were indeed unconstitutional, and she required the county to provide updates that monitor capacity at the jail and other progress being made in terms of personnel.
In August 2018, the Vigo County Council approved an increase of the county’s local income tax to 2% from 1.25%, largely to fund the new jail. Construction of the new jail began in December 2019, with a budget of $67,046,529.
Although the lawsuit was settled, Judge Magnus-Stinson has continued to monitor the situation at the new jail.
In late April of this year, the county told her that commissioners had contracted with two architectural firms for plans for a proposed 200 to 250 bed work release and diversion center. One set of drawings has been submitted and the other is expected in July or August.
The jail currently has a rated bed count of 450 and operates legally up to 80% capacity, or about 360 beds filled.
It hit that number practically upon opening in 2022. Currently, Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse reported, there are 353 inmates in the jail and 57 in other counties, which costs the county $35 a day.
There is also one juvenile being held outside the county, at the cost of $135 a day. Last year, Plasse reported, the county spent $100,967.50 to house inmates out of county.
Of the proposed project, Plasse said, “I approve of any efforts to lower the jail population and approve of this.”
“Of course, this new building will help reduce our jail population,” Switzer said. “Some might say we are just moving people from one place to another. It’s much more than that.”
Many therapeutic services are provided for those who are currently in Community Corrections, he added. His hope is that with more beds, those with substance abuse issues would be assigned to the work release/diversion center rather than being incarcerated full-time.
“With the Vigo County Council’s help, funding has been made available to continue the programming, treatments and dual diagnosis program,” Switzer said.
“Our dual diagnosis program within Community Corrections is seeing great results,” he said. “We are able to clinically diagnose inmates, provide services or treatments, get insurance to cover the medical expenses/prescriptions and get people back into a working lifestyle.”
He added, “We cannot rely [solely] on our community mental health center. We have to think creatively and outside the box.”
Bill Watson, Vigo County’s community corrections director, likes to emphasize the therapy being offered for those staying in the building in downtown Terre Haute — the new facility will include a more specialized treatment center for those suffering from substance abuse and mental illness.
Watson also approves the fact that the new facility will have nearly double the 130 beds Community Corrections now has. Community Corrections itself has been at capacity for the last five or six months, he said.
Watson said, “Day to day, you never know how many beds you’ll have.”
When the blueprints are ready, Watson will help determine which design best meets the county’s needs, Switzer said.
Watson said he’s “looking for a lot of classroom area and space for treatment for in-house mental health. I want the living space are to look like it’s more treatment oriented and less like heavy detention.”
County Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard said Community Corrections occupies the entire ground floor of its current building, while the adult probation department occupies about a third of the second floor and would most likely also be relocated to the new building.
Community Corrections’ second floor also includes 911 dispatch offices and a courtroom. When the new diversion center is completed, the entire building downtown would be converted to county office space, Clinkenbeard said.
The project could be completed as soon as late 2026 or early ‘27, Clinkenbeard suggested.
“If approved, we could possibly start mid next year,” he said. “I think we’d be looking at an 18 month build.”
Switzer said the county is currently under contract with the Indianapolis architectural firm DLZ, who designed the new jail, as well as RQAW Corporation of Fishers.
Funding for the project “will most likely come from the County’s existing Local Income Tax funds,” Switzer said. “We will meet with our municipal advisory team, Baker Tilly, over the next few months to navigate an anticipated bond and payment.”
Clinkenbeard added, “I just want to stress that this potential project would not result in any new taxes.”
How much the new work release/diversion center will alleviate the jail’s capacity issue is “a crystal ball question,” Plasse said.
“It all depends on how many people the court wants to sentence to community corrections,” he said.
“Then, they have to be found appropriate by the facility before they will accept them, even if that is where they are sentenced. If they violate rules or abscond, they are sent back to the jail and stay there until they have a hearing to send them to prison or try another option.
“In the end, jail is the catchall which is why the numbers there are high,” he concluded.
