After Series of Deaths, County Jail Audit Approved

The Milwaukee County Board approved a contract Thursday for an independent audit of the Milwaukee County Jail.

The board voted 14 to three, with supervisors Justin Bielinski, Juan Miguel Martinez and Caroline Gómez-Tom voting against the contract.

Creative Corrections, LLC, a firm based in Beaumont, Texas, will audit the jail. Creative Corrections conducts audits and inspections of corrections facilities and practices all over the U.S. and internationally — through work with the U.S. State Department. The firm has been in business for the past two decades and has conducted more than 1,800 facility inspections and more than 100 death investigations, according to Jeanine Hadnot, Creative Corrections president.

After a series of deaths in the Milwaukee County Jail, the board budgeted $250,000 in the 2024 budget for an independent audit with a particular focus on the facility’s suicide prevention and mental health policies.

The firm will have a preliminary report on the jail for policymakers within approximately two months of commencing the audit. A full report with actionable policy recommendations will completed after six months, Hadnot told supervisors this month.

Earlier this month, Bielinski began questioning the county’s procurement team for their decision to select Creative Corrections. The firm scored the highest based upon the criteria officials developed for the public bidding process, but Bielinski said the firm’s lower cost—relative to the second-place firm—put it over the top.

The second-place bidder was The CNA Corporation, a frequent contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies.

“And so I just hope, I hope, that we’re not settling for second best when it comes to the thoroughness of his audit; not saying that’s the case,” Bielinski said. “But what I think the utmost importance of what has to happen is we need to make sure that we’re hearing the voices of those who are current residents of the jail, past residents of the jail, family members of past residents of the jail, because, ultimately, otherwise, what we’re doing is we’re having people who have worked in jails and worked in law enforcement investigating one another, and we know that doesn’t always work out.”

Miguel Martinez said he thought CNA would have provided “a much more thorough investigation” while explaining his opposition.

Sup. Jack Eckblad, chair of the board’s Audit Committee, said he understood his colleague’s reservations, but added, “Creative Corrections outscored CNA on the qualifications of the contractor and the project team, and also with alignment on the county vision, and, according to the county procurement team, provided a level of technical skill around mental health in particular, that CNA just did not offer.”

The board has discussed the conditions in the jail for years now, Sup. Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones said. “And I believe that we should finally move so we can get some some solutions and some answers, and then if we need to go back to the drawing board, we can do that.”

Gómez-Tom explained her opposition, saying she was “discouraged” that the community did not have more input in the process.

“But a big thing that we heard in the previous term, especially from the community, was having a voice at the table in regards to next steps because they are also invested in the care of their family and friends that are in our care,” Gómez-Tom said.

The county board approved the parameters for the jail audit in January. The county’s procurement staff used that framework to select Creative Corrections. “So our division believes that we have responded to what the county board wanted,” said Jennifer Folliard, director of the audit division, when questioned earlier this month about the bidding process for the audit.

Bielinski has also expressed frustration with the process and that the board has little authority over the county contracts, other than to approve them up or down.

Sup. Steve Taylor said the board was stripped of its authority over procurement years ago. “So when we actually see flaws in the process, that’s not our fault,” he said, adding that the board also doesn’t have authority to implement any of the audit’s recommendations. That authority lies with Sheriff Denita Ball as a constitutional officer.