REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 13, 2026
FROM
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator
SUBJECT
Title
Inmate Welfare Fund Annual Expenditure Report for 2024-25
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Receive annual expenditure report for the Inmate Welfare Fund for 2024-25.
(Presenter: Carolina Mendoza, Chief Deputy Director, 387-0640)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Receipt of this annual expenditure report, including its Exhibits A and B, is non-financial in nature. As referenced in the report, total expenditures funded by the Inmate Welfare Fund for 2024-25 were $6,983,458. These expenditures include salaries, services/supplies, contract services and equipment. Funding for the Inmate Welfare Fund is derived from proceeds of inmate commissary and telephone services.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Penal Code section 4025 requires the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator (Sheriff) to maintain an Inmate Welfare Fund, primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of incarcerated individuals, and for the maintenance of County jail facilities. Penal Code section 4025 further requires that an annual expenditure report of the Inmate Welfare Fund (Exhibit A) be submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Board). Lastly, Penal Code section 4025.5 requires that an annual expenditure report detail how funds were spent on reentry services within the 30 days following an inmate’s release (Exhibit B), be submitted to the Board.
Under Penal Code section 4025, inmate welfare funds are used to support several programs, including the Inmate Rehabilitation Through the Occupational and Academic Development System program, which includes academic, vocational, parenting, and life skills training. During the reporting year, expenditures also included funding for chaplains, workforce development staff, enhanced healthcare, law library services, administrative costs, and related expenditures necessary to manage the various programs.
The Inmate Welfare Fund Committee is comprised of six citizens appointed by the Sheriff to oversee the use of the Inmate Welfare Fund, and acts as an advisory panel for inmate educational and vocational programs. The Sheriff has sole discretion on Inmate Welfare Fund spending in accordance with the Penal Code; however, the Inmate Welfare Fund Committee meets regularly to review and approve the budget and expenditures in consultation with County Counsel.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Grace B. Parsons, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 11, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Erika Rodarte, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on December 23, 2025.