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Many concerned about inmate conditions in Del Valle during COVID-19 lockdown
Family members and significant others of inmates at the Travis County Correctional Complex have been voicing concerns to FOX 7 Austin about conditions during the COVID-19 lockdown.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - Ever since the Travis County Correctional Complex reported its first COVID-19 cases in the general population earlier this month, family members and significant others have been voicing concerns to FOX 7 Austin about conditions in the jail.
"My husband has been at the TCCC since the beginning of this pandemic and just recently tested positive for COVID-19," said a woman named Alyssa in an email. "The way he describes to me how people are being treated is unacceptable."
Erica, another woman with a significant other in the Del Valle jail, said he has complained to her about everything from a lack of hand sanitizer to the limited time they are allowed out of their cells while their unit is in quarantine - which happens anytime an inmate in that housing unit tests positive.
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"For instance, he was calling at 3 in the morning, because that was his 30 minutes out, and then they would give one to him at night, so they’re still spending 23 hours in their cell," said Erica.
Erica’s significant other has even complained about the way jail staff goes about their cleaning.
"When they’re spraying down the cells they have no sense of care, they’re saturating everything, getting pictures wet, Bibles wet," said Erica. "These are things they value when they’re in there."
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Along with limited time out of the cell, a common complaint has been the food. According to family members that FOX 7 spoke to, for multiple days straight inmates got nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - for all three meals.
"The topping on the cake was when one of the guards came to the door to drop off a sack lunch or pick one up, and he told him, ‘I feel sorry for y’all, but there’s nothing I can do," said Cindy, whose son is an inmate in the jail.
The meals have improved slightly in the past few days. According to Kristen Dark, senior public information officer with the Travis County Correctional Complex, they’re now able to offer a larger variety of food like breakfast items and deli meat sandwiches. She said the food became an issue when one of the kitchen staff tested positive for COVID-19, almost fully shutting the kitchen down temporarily.
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15 Travis County inmates test positive for COVID-19 in Del Valle
Along with the 15 inmates, 19 TCSO employees also tested positive for COVID-19, with eight of those being employees at the jail.
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"What we did was go into a mode of operation with minimal staffing," said Dark. "So we switched to sack lunches and sandwich meals for the inmate population because we didn’t have enough kitchen staff to run at full capacity."
She said they plan to start offering hot meals soon, but it’s unclear when the kitchen will be fully up and running.
That’s not the only adjustment they’ve had to make at the jail. Dark says they clean common areas between inmate rotations, and each cell also gets its own cleaning products. In regards to when quarantined inmates are allowed outside their cell, Dark said the small window of time is due to having to stagger each inmate and clean in between.
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"We are doing our best to maximize their time out of the cell, but the bottom line is our first goal is to protect the safety and protect people from being exposed to this virus," she said.
Their efforts seemed to work for a while. Through all of 2020, the jail reported zero COVID-19 cases among its general population. Currently, around two percent of inmates are active positive cases.
The most recent numbers from the TCOJS show that there are 59 active positive cases among inmates and 29 active positive cases among staff. "Our three-tiered approach did a fantastic job of keeping COVID from coming into the general population, but we knew it wasn’t foolproof," said Dark.
When it comes to standards on time out of the cell, food quality, and cleanliness, Dark said they are in line with the Texas Commission On Jail Standards and they are trying to do the best they can under the circumstances. "We’re doing everything we can to minimize the ability of this virus to spread," she said.
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However, those with people on the inside think it’s at the cost of their loved ones’ well-being - mental and physical.
"They’re already in jail," said Cindy. "They’re still men, they need to be treated humanely."
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