IWF E-170 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND NO: E-170
FILE: IWF
EFFECTIVE DATE: 04-29-91 REVISED: 12-25-94, 10-01-96, 03-01-97, 09-01-98,
07-01-99, 07-01-01, 01-01-08, 03-10-10
AUTHORITY: Sheriff M. Mims APPROVED BY: Assistant Sheriff T. Gattie
REFERENCE: Penal Code Section 4025; Government Code Section 26202;
Fresno County Board of Supervisors Administrative Policies
Number 6; and the County Administrative Office Management
Directives 410, 420 and 430.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to legally establish, maintain and operate an Inmate
Welfare Trust Fund.
POLICY:
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that there shall be
deposited into the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund any and all revenue received from the
commissary service provider who is under contract with the County of Fresno when the
profit is attributable to the sale of commissary items that are exclusively used by
inmates in custody.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that there shall be
deposited into the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund any and all revenue received from a
telephone company or pay telephone provider who is under contract with the County of
Fresno when the revenue is attributable to the use of pay telephones which are
primarily used by inmates while incarcerated.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that money deposited
into the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund shall be expended by the Sheriff primarily for the
benefit, education, and welfare of inmates in custody. Funds not needed for the welfare
of the inmates may be expended for the maintenance of jail facilities, including but not
limited to, the salary and benefits of personnel used in the programs to benefit the
inmates, including but not limited to, education, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare,
library, accounting and other programs deemed appropriate by the Sheriff.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND NO: E-170
FILE: IWF
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that there shall be an
annual written line-item budget for the expenditure of money from the Inmate Welfare
Trust Fund. The budget shall be approved in advance of each fiscal year by the Sheriff.
Purchases made in exception to the approved budget shall only be authorized by the
Sheriff.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that there shall be an
audit of the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund on a biennial basis (in even-numbered years).
This audit may be completed by the Fresno County Auditor-Controller/Treasure-Tax
Collector's Office or other appropriate accounting firm as designated by the Sheriff.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that the Inmate Welfare
Trust Funds shall not be used to pay required expenses of confining inmates in the
Fresno County Jail system, such as those associated with inmate meals, clothing,
housing or medical services. Inmate welfare funds may be used to augment those
required expenses as determined by the Sheriff to be in the best interests of inmates.
PROCEDURES:
I. INMATE WELFARE COMMISSARY STORE
A. The Sheriff shall maintain an inmate commissary system which shall be
privatized and contracted to a service provider. The commissary system shall
offer groceries, confectionery, postage, writing materials, toilet articles and
other items deemed appropriate by the Jail Division Bureau Commanders and
these items shall be sold for cash to inmates confined in the Jail.
B. All of the revenue generated by the inmate commissary which is remitted to
the County by the contractor shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Trust
Fund.
II. INMATE TELEPHONE FUNDS
All of the revenue generated by the inmate telephone system contract which is
remitted to the County by the contractor shall be deposited into the Inmate
Welfare Trust Fund.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND NO: E-170
FILE: IWF
III. REQUEST FOR INMATE WELFARE FUNDS
A. The Inmate Welfare Fund (IWF) Coordinator shall be designated by the
Sheriff.
B. Requests or ideas for purchases, recommendations, or programs may be
introduced by any staff member via a memo or by any inmate via an Inmate
Request Form (J-146) which shall be routed through the chain of command to
the appropriate Bureau Commander. If approval is recommended, the
Bureau Commander shall submit the request to the Offender Programs
Manager who will designate the appropriate budget line item from which the
requested funds will be drawn.
C. Requests for reimbursement for any part, labor or repair shall require that a
detailed explanation of the service provided be submitted to the Offender
Programs Manager for examination and consideration. Only those requests
considered to be pertinent to the maintenance of an inmate service or
program shall be forwarded to the IWF Coordinator.
D. Requests for payment for any service or program provided for the benefit of
the inmates shall require an invoice delineating the service be submitted to
the Offender Programs Manager, who will forward the request to the IWF
Coordinator.
E. The IWF Coordinator shall review all requests for compliance with the law,
established regulations and the availability of funds. The Coordinator will
then either approve or deny the request.
F. Upon final approval, the request shall be processed by the appropriate
accounting personnel in accordance with adopted County purchasing
procedures.
IV. INVENTORY AND AUDIT OF THE INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND
A. All Inmate Welfare funded equipment shall be inventoried using an asset
listing to prevent loss or misuse of equipment belonging to the Inmate Welfare
Trust Fund. The list shall be maintained by Program staff in accordance with
County of Fresno Management Directives 410 and 420.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: INMATE WELFARE TRUST FUND NO: E-170
FILE: IWF
B. A copy of the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund financial activities and status shall
be made available to the public upon request by the Fresno County Sheriff's
Business Office.
C. An annual financial report shall be prepared and submitted to the Board of
Supervisors at the end of every fiscal year by the Fresno County Sheriff's
Business Manager.
D. The Fresno County Sheriff's Business Manager shall request the assistance
of the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office or other appropriate
accounting firm in performing an audit of the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund.
V. RECORDS RETENTION
A. All records pertaining to the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund will be retained
according to the Sheriff Office's record retention policy which is approved by
the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office.
B. The destruction of any public record must be done in strict compliance with
State law and only after authorization by resolution of the Board of
Supervisors. Under Government Code Section 26202, the Board of
Supervisors may authorize the destruction of any record which is older than
the required retention period if they determine by a four-fifths vote that the
retention of such record is no longer necessary or required for County
purposes.
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