Ex-Inmates Will Speak About Medical Care At Essex County Prison

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Essex County. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

The Essex County Correctional Facility Civilian Task Force will host an in-person and virtual public meeting on Saturday, May 22. The focus of this public meeting will be to listen to the personal experiences from community members formerly incarcerated or detained at Essex County Correctional Facility about the medical care and services provided at the facility. Family members and attorneys may give statements on behalf of community members who currently are incarcerated.

Due to the pandemic, an in-person meeting following social distancing guidelines will be held and the meeting also will livestreamed on the Task Force’s Facebook page. A video of the meeting will be posted at a later time on the Task Force’s YouTube channel. To speak at the meeting, participants are encouraged to register in advance at https://forms.gle/T6VnqzQUuvRWQX5U9. Participants also may register throughout the meeting. Those who cannot attend the meeting may submit written remarks. No “sworn testimony” will be taken.

The meeting will be held as follows:

• Saturday, May 22, 2021
• 9:30 a.m. to noon
• NJ Reentry Corporation, 936 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ
• Livestream: facebook.com/essexcountyciviliantaskforce
• At a later time, a video will be posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5dUT5wIwyHspxjJL256Dw/featured.

“During our three public meetings last year, we listened to the corrections and medical professionals explain the health care programs, services and procedures available at the Essex County Correctional Facility. At our May meeting, we would like to hear from members of the public and their personal experiences receiving medical care at the ECCF. We will be focusing on how best to ensure and enhance the health and wellbeing of the persons we serve,” Task Force Chairman and Former Governor Jim McGreevey said.

This is the fourth public meeting scheduled by the Civilian Task Force. The previous three meetings held in 2020 focused on the medical services and mental health services provided at the ECCF.

Those wishing to contact the Civilian Task Force, submit a complaint or want more information about the public meeting should e-mail to JailTaskForce@admin.essexcountynj.org or call 973 877-8037. For more information about the Task Force, visit www.essexcountynj.org/corrections/ and click on the link for the “Civilian Task Force.”

The intent of the nine-member task force is to provide “transparency and accountability” of the ECCF staff, 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.

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