St. Joseph County Jail absorbs state prisoners without more money

The law is supposed to shift the focus away from incarceration, which hasn’t proven to be effective at reducing recidivism.

But the state has provided more funding only for county community corrections programs — not county jails.

At the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend, the number of inmates has climbed since the law took effect, said Bill Thompson, assistant county police chief. Sometimes inmates with drug problems start in community corrections programs, he said, but end up in jail after failing them.

State funding for county jails has been stagnant for numerous years. For each day a low-level felon lives in a county jail, the Indiana Department of Correction provides $35, plus medical expenses. But Thompson said the actual cost is $51 per day at the jail, based on food and staff costs.

“For every bed, we’re running a deficit of $16 a day,” he said. “It’s hurting the budget of the county, which runs the jail. A fix for us would be getting more money from the state.”