The American Jail Association has selected the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility to receive the 2023 Innovation Award for medium sized facilities. Chief Daniel Engert, who oversees the FCSO’s detention and court services, and Sheriff Rick Staly will be in Omaha, Nebraska on May 23rd to receive the award.
Only 3 Innovation Awards are given out every year to governmental or tribal facilities. One award goes to each size division, large, medium and small facilities. The chosen facility has to demonstrate that their programs and innovations have made a difference in the industry.
In 2022, our Detention Facility here in Flagler County teamed up with Flagler Technical College to implement the homeward bound initiative. This initiative offers three course selections that will help provide inmates with skills that can be used in the job force.
The three courses are a 120 Vinyl Graphics application course, an HVAC pre-apprenticeship program, and a 120 hour Culinary/Food Service Management course. These courses help inmates obtain jobs and prevent them from ending up back in the detention facility.
Along with the Homeward Bound Initiative, our detention facility also offers the S.M.A.R.T. Program (Successful, mental health and addiction recovery treatment) which is a 90 day program that is geared on helping inmates recovery with success upon release. This program helps them build treatment plans from post release, so that they can lead successful lives after they are released from jail.
A recent graduate of the S.M.A.R.T. program stated during her graduation, “when you offer your
inmates – or individuals – substance abuse treatment, mental health therapy, social skills, and job
training skills, we are given opportunities of hope and healing. You are not only helping us heal and
strengthen ourselves as individuals, but also helping to heal and strengthen the community.”
“This is a huge honor for our detention team, FCSO, and the community to be recognized and selected
as a model for jails across the country to emulate,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “I commend Chief Engert and
his team for taking my vision and implementing an award-winning detention facility and the inmates
that are taking advantage of our programs to turn their lives around to become productive citizens in
the community. I also want to thank our community partners. Without them, this would not have been
possible.”
