HONESDALE, PA — Wayne County’s commissioners have been working on statewide jail reforms, technology changes in how the Penn State Cooperative Extension delivers information to farmers and dairy people, and getting more resources for tourism marketing.

Newly returned from a gathering of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP), on August 11 they reported on the initiatives considered at the session.

Commissioner Wendell Kay, who is an attorney, spoke of proposals to change the handling of drug-addicted and mentally ill inmates. “We all knew of the problem in the jails,” he said.

CCAP is proposing changes both to help those inmates and the taxpayers by reducing recidivism. The public is spending some $40,000 annually for each inmate.

“We’re working with Human Services to find a pre-sentencing diversion with the training of police and magistrates to recognize mental illness and identify those in need of hospitalization rather than jail,” he said.

The need to develop a uniform system for determining bail is also an issue. Currently there is none, said Kay. “It’s up to the magistrate, except in the most serious of criminal cases… Bail is not punitive; its role is to guarantee a future appearance.”

Post-imprisonment handling of offenders with drug issues is another problem. Those in treatment for drug abuse continue to get treatment and medication while in the system, but their meds are cut off when they leave prison. It may take weeks or longer for those offenders to get back into treatment, and they are at serious risk during that period. “We need treatment to be coordinated in a more effective way, and that will take coordination of several agencies,” Kay said.

Commissioner Brian Smith attended breakout sessions on agriculture. One of these involved a move by Penn State toward the use of YouTube videos to address many of the questions farmers come to the Penn State Cooperative Extension office to address.

Many of these already exist, he said. “When my sons-in-law wanted to take down a silo, they looked at YouTube and found the directions. You can find directions to fix a tractor or change the ball joints on a pickup,” he said. “It’s good, but not same,” he said.

He recognized the value “at both ends,” as cooperative staff needs are reduced and “you don’t have to drive 15 miles to get answers,” he said.

Another session involved a move by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to “re-boot” county conservation districts into a greater enforcement role. DEP is seeking memorandums of understanding for their policy changes and the conservation districts are opposing it, Smith said. “I think DEP is using this as a way to push the Clean Water Act… There’s no credit given farmers for their efforts with best-management practices, fencing and crop management,” he said.

Commissioner Jonathan Fritz, a candidate for a state Assembly seat, attended tourism and infrastructure breakout sessions. He said he learned that the 2016-17 state budget “woefully underfunds tourism” and that recreation is also underfunded.

As to infrastructure, the state’s rapid replacement of deficient bridges has been a success, but in the process, “the contractors have been overwhelmed. There’s not enough of them to go around,” he said.

CCAP recommendations are not legislative measures. Their changes are only reports for legislators to consider.