Essex County Prison Task Force To Hold Meeting On Health Care

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The Essex County Correctional Facility Civilian Task Force will host a public meeting on Saturday, Oct. 2 to discuss health programming at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

According to a news release from county officials, the meeting will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, 936 Bergen Street in Newark.

The task force will be inviting health care providers from Essex County to share their ideas on how health programming at the Essex County Correctional Facility can be improved. Health care providers who are interested in participating can contact the task force at JailTaskForce@admin.essexcountynj.org, or complete the form at this link: https://forms.gle/3xMrHU3xcyreHT9H8.

“We look forward to members of the health care field sharing their ideas on what could done better to ensure that everyone housed in the Essex County Correctional Facility has access to first-class health care,” task force chair and former governor Jim McGreevey said.

The intent of the nine-member task force is to provide “transparency and accountability” to protect the “lives, health, safety and rights of all people confined at the ECCF” and ensure the “conditions of their confinement are safe, sanitary, respectful and humane,” according to language in the ordinance. It will act independently of County government and have the authority to inspect the ECCF, interview corrections officers, inmates, detainees, and review systematic issues and concerns.

Members of the task force were nominated by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. and appointed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders in June 2020 through an established advice and consent procedure that is used to fill vacancies on all county boards and commissions.

• See related article: Task Force Could Protect Inmates At Embattled Essex County Prison
• See related article: Former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey Joins Essex County Prison Task Force

This will be the sixth public meeting scheduled by the Civilian Task Force. The previous five meetings focused on medical and mental health services provided at the ECCF – women’s health issues and treatment of substance use disorders included – the experiences shared by former residents of the facility, their family members or representatives, and grievance procedures.

People who want to contact the Civilian Task Force, submit a complaint or want more information about the public meeting can email JailTaskForce@admin.essexcountynj.org or call 973 877-8037. For more information about the task force, visit www.essexcountynj.org/correcti... and click on the link for the “Civilian Task Force.”

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