Jail receives $748,536 SCAP award; budget to be adjusted

Finance staff reported to the Prince William and Ashley Regional Jail Board on Jan. 18 that the jail received an unexpected State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAP) award of $748,536 for the year and that the budgeted SCAP line—historically around $200,000—will be adjusted in accordance with county grant policy.

The finance presenter said the jail's commissary account balance is around $2,400,000 and that the SCAP award depends on the federal pool of funds and applicant pool size; because the county treats SCAP as a grant, the jail will move the line from the $200,000 estimate to the awarded amount. The presenter clarified that SCAP is federal money provided to local jurisdictions to help defray the cost of housing certain noncitizen detainees and that the county and city submit separately for their portions.

The board asked for a definition of SCAP and for confirmation whether the figure included both city and county shares; finance staff confirmed the $748,536 was the county portion only and that the city receives a separate allocation. City prisoner-days had increased while county prisoner-days had decreased, which affected revenue shares. The presenter said there were no other immediate budget concerns to report.

The board will receive an adjusted budget reflecting the SCAP award in a subsequent packet and staff responded to follow-up questions about revenue pages and grant accounting.