Under a federal program, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has been reimbursed $17.2 million for housing undocumented inmates since 1998 — a comparatively tiny award that doesn’t even cover the costs for the last two years.
Additionally, the department is routinely awarded less than it budgets to receive from the U.S. Department of Justice’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, according to a staff report included in Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors agenda.
In response, officials have been forced to reduce overtime costs to offset the shortfalls.
Supervisors on Tuesday are expected to approve an application for fractional reimbursement of the cost to incarcerate undocumented immigrants in either of the county’s four jails during fiscal year 2014, which sheriff’s officials estimate to have carried a $13.3 million price tag.
But if recent awards are any indication, the department will be reimbursed well less than $1 million.
In fiscal year 2012, county jail inmates who were in the country illegally represented an estimated $11.6 million strain on sheriff’s resources, but the department was only reimbursed $875,360. Officials had expected $64,640 more from the award.
In fiscal year 2013, such detention costs jumped to an estimated $15.2 million, while the award provided just $478,472, or a mere 3.15 percent of those expenses. Officials had budgeted to receive $396,888 more than they did.
“The Department anticipates receiving similar funding in 2015-16 and will budget accordingly,” Tuesday’s report said.
Meanwhile, SCAAP funding has steadily decreased over the last few years, spurring some lawmakers to call for it to remain funded.
“Compensation to local law enforcement agencies under SCAAP typically covers less than 18 percent of the actual cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal offenders.” Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, said in a statement last month. “Further reducing federal SCAAP reimbursements is irresponsible and forces state and local law enforcement agencies to absorb a greater portion of the costs of a federal responsibility.”
According to the county’s 2014-15 adopted budget, SCAAP funding is listed as the eighth most significant source of revenue for staff and operation costs at the Sheriff’s Department’s jail facilities.
SCAAP provides payments for incurred correctional officer salary costs. As an award qualifier, the undocumented inmates must have at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. Inmates must also be incarcerated for at least four consecutive days during the reporting period.
Data collected from applicants nationwide are used to determine each applicant’s relative percentage of allocation.