State, counties not following all requirements for boards overseeing jails and prisons

Maine State Prison | Maine Morning Star

In 2023, Maine policymakers updated the requirements for county jail and state prison boards of visitors. But even though the law was enacted in July, some of its provisions are still not being followed, including a mandate that each state prison board of visitors have a formerly incarcerated member.

Boards of visitors are panels tasked with inspecting and reviewing the management of correctional facilities across Maine and providing recommendations for their operations. 

Despite the requirements under the 2023 law that each board of visitors for Maine Department of Corrections’ facilities include a person who has been incarcerated, DOC spokesperson Samuel Prawer confirmed that none of the four boards, which oversee a total of six prisons, include a person who has been behind bars. 

While county sherriffs appoint members to serve on each jail’s boards of visitors, Gov. Janet Mills names those who serve on the panels for prison facilities. Mills’ office did not respond to a request for comment about why the governor has not filled the slot for formerly incarcerated people on any of the state DOC boards. 

Several members of county jail boards of visitors told Maine Morning Star that issues exist on those panels as well — including how much autonomy boards have and their inability in certain cases to speak regularly with those behind bars — that can hamper their effectiveness.

“It’s not working optimally,” Jan Collins, who is on the Franklin County Jail board of visitors, said of the overall system. 

Collins, who also serves as the assistant director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, said having a strong board of visitors is no trivial matter.

“The idea is to look at things and think about ways that [we] could improve both the working conditions for people who work there but also the outcomes for people who are incarcerated,” she said. “How can we make this the best system?”  

Still, Collins acknowledged that the boards are limited in how much they can accomplish. While the panels have many duties, she said members don’t have the ability to directly enact changes.

“Boards of visitors have no power … it’s advisory,” Collins said.

Concerns with gaps in board membership 

Per the 2023 law, the boards overseeing county jails have a number of different responsibilities, including facility inspections, communicating with those who are incarcerated, making recommendations to the sheriff regarding services for people with mental health issues and writing an annual report with overall recommendations, among other duties. 

There are supposed to be seven members on each county jail board of visitors, with each person’s term lasting three years. 

For the DOC prison boards, members are required to ensure that the management of correctional centers is consistent with the overall philosophy, mission and goals of the department and the facility. Like their county jail counterparts, boards of visitors for DOC prisons are tasked with preparing an annual report and touring the facility they’re assigned to at least four times a year. 

But with Mills failing to appoint a formerly incarcerated member to any of the DOC boards of visitors, the panels are not in accordance with the 2023 law. 

In addition, according to information provided by Prawer in June, none of the DOC boards of visitors has the full seven members required by the statute — in fact, the most members any of the boards have is five. And the board overseeing Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston and Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport doesn’t have a member licensed in Maine to provide mental health services, which is also required by statute. 

State statute also calls for specific boards of visitors for the DOC facilities housing women, of which there are two, subject to the same requirements as other panels and also tasked with ensuring that services are designed to meet the gender identity needs of those incarcerated. 

In addition, those boards must include one member formerly incarcerated in a DOC prison who has “prior child welfare experience” with the Office of Child and Family Services, one member representing a sexual and reproductive health care provider, one women’s sexual and reproductive health care practitioner, and one person with understanding of or experience with domestic violence.

Prawer said Mills’ office is working to identify people who can serve on those boards.

Some county jail boards of visitors also don’t have the full number of members required by law or include a formerly incarcerated woman (a mandate for county jail panels).

Franklin County, Androscoggin County, Aroostook County, Cumberland County and Oxford County are all missing various members required by statute (or the full seven members), according to information provided by local officials. 

In response to emails from Maine Morning Star, county leaders said they are working to fill the vacancies.

Officials from Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington counties did not respond to Maine Morning Star’s request for a breakdown of the membership of their boards of visitors. 

Other issues with the system 

Several panel members praised the intentions of those leading Maine’s carceral facilities but also said they have noticed shortcomings within the board of visitors system. 

Sarah Johnson, a member of the York County Jail board of visitors, said she’d like the panel to have more access to those who are currently incarcerated. 

“Visitation is everything,” Johnson said, noting that it’s difficult for the board to provide oversight and suggestions if members aren’t frequently talking to those behind bars.

For her part, Collins said Franklin County Jail leaders have made a point to offer frequent access to that facility and those incarcerated within it.

Another member of the York County Jail board of visitors, Janet Drew, expressed concerns about the panel’s autonomy, arguing that boards should be setting their own agendas. 

“There needs to be a balance and there’s not,” Drew said. “There’s not enough of a balance between the people in power and the people with none.” 

Luca Mellon, a board of visitors member for the Knox and Waldo County jails, also cited the need for more oversight to ensure the statutory requirements around the board of visitors are being followed. Mellon also wants to see more training for boards.  

York County Sheriff William King.

In an interview, York County Sheriff William King acknowledged that some board members have expressed frustration with their access to the jail and to those incarcerated. However, King said one issue is that he doesn’t always have enough staffing to accommodate more frequent visits, citing the need to ensure board members’ safety. 

“We’ve got to be careful with folks,” he said. 

Still, King pledged to make an effort this year to provide more regular access. 

Overall, King praised his board of visitors, saying they have provided him with helpful feedback, including when it comes to issues with mental health treatment. 

“I’ve got a pretty good board of visitors. It’s a very independent board,” he said. 

In Franklin County, Sheriff Scott Nichols also commended his board of visitors, saying he looks at them as an “autonomous group that will come in and give an independent review of whatever we’re doing.”

In an effort to recognize the group’s independence, Nichols said that although the law officially gives him the power to appoint people to the board, he allows the panel to suggest members to appoint and will “rubber stamp” those candidates. Currently, he said Franklin County is looking to fill the position on the board for a person with an understanding of issues related to the incarceration of women. 

Going forward, along with adherence to statutory requirements, Mellon said there are additional reforms that could improve the board of visitors system. A first step would be to create opportunities for various boards to meet and compare notes about how they’re operating, he said. 

“Every county jail is run by a different person … so they’re all very different administrations, different leaderships,” Mellon said. “And I think there could be something really beneficial that lets all these people in all the county jail boards of visitors across all these different facilities and counties connect with people about how to do this thing we’re doing.” 

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