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After an hours-long meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a plan on how to spend nearly $650 million in American Rescue Plan funding in San Diego County.
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Sheriff Bill Gore has withdrawn his proposal to outsource the balance of medical and mental-health services to jail inmates, determining after more than a year of exploration that county employees do the job better.
In a memo to the Sheriff’s Department medical services division staff, Undersheriff Michael Barnett said he recommended that Gore reverse course.
He also said the department should consider issuing a new round of bids from companies that might be willing to assume control of the diverse group of contractors now delivering specialty services in the county’s seven jails.
“I firmly believe it is our nurses, clinicians and associated staff as MSD that are the heroes of inmate patient care,” Barnett wrote. “All of you work tirelessly and under difficult conditions to provide for the medical and mental health needs of a most challenging population.
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The union that represents 300 nurses, mental health counselors and other San Diego County jail employees has lodged a complaint with state officials accusing the Sheriff’s Department of violating the law related to collective bargaining.
According to the complaint to the Public Employment Relations Board, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to bargain in good faith with Service Employees International Union Local 221 abouta proposal to outsource healthcare in the county’s jails.
“The county has long sought to privatize this union work and over the course of the past year has unilaterally acted on this desire in violation of state law,” the complaint states.