The state Senate minority leader is seeking an immediate stop to an incentive program that offers $50 payments to inmates in Hawaii’s prisons and jails if they accept a COVID-19 vaccine.
In a letter Wednesday to the Department of Public Safety, Sen. Kurt Fevella expressed his opposition to the department’s $615,000 vaccine incentive program for qualified inmates. Fevella plans to reach out to Senate colleagues to schedule a public hearing so members can ask questions about the program and “understand the rationale and merits of this cash incentive program.”
“I would like to also know what efforts were taken to consider other options such as non-cash incentive programs and mandates to prioritize the health and safety of the incarcerated and adult correctional officers and staff in correctional facilities.”
Toni Schwartz, DPS’ public information officer, said the department is reviewing whether the payments are responsible for an increase in inmate inoculations.
Fevella agrees that the state needs to “prioritize the health and safety of the incarcerated and adult correctional officers and staff working in correctional facilities,” according to a news release.
“We were fortunate to receive these funds and it is our belief that this incentive will assist us with prevention of the spread of COVID within our facilities,” wrote DPS Director Max Otani in an email to Fevella acknowledging receipt of his letter. “While it may be too soon to determine if the incentive increased vaccination acceptance among inmates, PSD is exploring various options to promote the vaccine and to keep our inmates, staff and the community safe from the virus.”
Otani offered to speak with Fevella to answer questions and address concerns about the incentive program.
State Sen. Clarence Nishihara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, did not immediately reply to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for comment about Fevella’s request for a public hearing about the program.
Nishihara has said he supports it.
On Oct. 15 the state announced it will pay $50 to certain inmates who get fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The effort is among several across the country that aim to help increase inoculation rates in prisons and jails, where cramped conditions, overcrowding and transient populations create conditions perfect for transmitting communicable diseases.
Hawaii inmates incarcerated on or after March 3 who are still in custody are eligible. About 2,530 inmates qualify in Hawaii and at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona. The money will be deposited into the inmate’s spendable trust account.
The department received $615,000 in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to pay for the program. This incentive payment, which is not available to state employees, is scheduled to continue through Dec. 31, 2024.
According to the department, as of Monday, nine inmates had died and 2,876 inmates had been infected and recovered from COVID- 19, with 15 active cases in nine facilities that house Hawaii prisoners. Corrections staff have recovered from 392 infections, with four active cases.
Correctional centers around the country are offering various forms of incentives to prisoners, including cash, food and days off their sentence, to help encourage vaccine acceptance.
As of mid-September 66% of Hawaii inmates were fully vaccinated.
