KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. –The Kanawha County Jail Bill Reduction and Opioid Diversion Task Force is coming to fruition after commission members approved hiring individuals to lead efforts to reduce the county’s jail bill.
The task force will aim to reduce unnecessary incarcerations, improve public safety outcomes, and expand access to evidence-based supervision, treatment, and recovery services for justice-involved individuals, as the county currently pays between $4.5 million and $5 million to house offenders in jail.
Commission members approved hiring four full-time employees during their Thursday meeting: Douglas Paxton for Day Report, Tacita Hartley for the commission, Allen Chafin for Home Confinement, and Melinda Richau for the Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Kenneth Bannon with the prosecutor’s office, Paxton has 20 years of law enforcement experience and is joining from the Charleston Police Department, where he previously served as director of the Quick Response Team. Hartley has more than a decade of experience in advocacy across both community- and system-based roles. Chafin has 20 years of experience in corrections and rehabilitation, along with 10 years in home confinement, and is coming from the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office. Richau, who joins from the West Virginia State Police, has 19 years of experience in the legal field.
Bannon said he believes the selected individuals are well qualified and will be able to perform their duties as intended.
“This task force is composed of people of various backgrounds for the dual purpose of addressing the opioid epidemic and effects in the community and reducing the burden on Kanawha County taxpayers as to incarceration,” he said.
The task force will review nonviolent offenders who are incarcerated and unable to make bail and recommend potential release to a judge.
The task force was announced in early March, and Commission President Ben Salango said about 65 applications were submitted for the positions, along with additional volunteers.
He said they sought individuals with a specific skill set.
“We need folks with your backgrounds that can really get involved, who understand the process, who understand the assignment and work to reduce this jail bill,” Salango said.
The goal of the task force is too safe $1 million during its first year.
Salango said he is glad the four individuals were willing to take on the job, noting that it will not be easy.
“I have said this and I’m going to say it again publicly, there will be people who get out on the recommendation of this task force that are going to repeat, there are going to be people that are going to get out on the recommendation of this task force that are going to repeat on the same day they get out and that’s okay we still got to plug along because there’s a lot that will not,” he said.
The task force will officially begin work on April 20.
Bannon said they already have a system in place that will help them when they begin reviewing these incarcerations.
“We’ve had a couple of meetings on the task force, I think we’ve got an operational plan in place, we’ve got a training program starting to be laid out, and I think we’ll be able to hit the ground running,” he said.
The task force is being funded with $300,000 from the Opioid Settlement Fund.