909-prescribed-diets

Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/ 30, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Prescribed Diets - 1 Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Custody Manual Prescribed Diets 909.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE The purpose of this policy is to ensure that incarcerated persons who require prescribed therapeutic diets as a result of a diagnosed medical or dental condition are provided with nutritionally balanced therapeutic meals that are medically approved and meet nutritional and safety standards. The Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff shall ensure the chaplain receives and accommodates all religious diet requests consistent with the security and management of the jail(s) (See Religious Programs Policy). 909.2 POLICY It is the policy of the Sheriff's Office to provide therapeutic diet meals as prescribed by Adult Custody Healthcare Services (ACHS) and religious diets approved by the chaplain. 909.3 PROCEDURES The Food Services management staff, under the direction of the Division Commander and in conjunction with the Executive Medical Director shall (15 CCR 1248): (a) Develop written procedures that identify individuals who are authorized to prescribe a therapeutic diet. 1. The therapeutic diets utilized by the jails shall be planned, prepared, and served with consultation from a registered dietitian. (b) Comply with any therapeutic diet prescribed for an incarcerated person. (c) Ensure that the diet manual, which includes sample menus of therapeutic diets, is available to both ACHS and Food Services workers. The diet manual shall be reviewed by a registered dietitian on an annual basis. Approval of the diet manual is the responsibility of the Executive Medical Director. All therapeutic diet prescriptions should be reviewed and rewritten, if appropriate, during scheduled medical appointments. This is to reduce the risk of an incarcerated person developing an adverse medical condition or nutritional defect as the result of a diet that is inconsistent with the incarcerated persons current medical needs. Pregnant or lactating incarcerated persons shall be provided a balanced, nutritious diet approved by a physician (15 CCR 1248). The jail(s) chaplain shall be consulted to assist in the establishment of a special religious meal which shall conform as closely as possible to the regular menu. 909.4 STAFF COMMUNICATION/COORDINATION It is the responsibility of ACHS staff to complete therapeutic diet orders and submit to Food Services management staff. It is the responsibility of the jail(s) chaplain to provide a list of Policy 909 Docusign Envelope ID: 61AEA69F-AF4F-4DDD-B255-7719BA02E989 Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Custody Manual Prescribed Diets Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/ 30, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Prescribed Diets - 2 incarcerated persons authorized to receive religious diets to Food Services management staff. The diet orders should contain the following information: (a) Incarcerated person's name (b) Personal file number (PFN) (c) Housing location where the meals will be delivered (d) Diet type (e) Special remarks or instructions 909.5 PREPARATION AND DELIVERY OF MEALS The Food Services management staff is responsible for reviewing therapeutic and religious diet orders, counting the number and type of diet meals to be served, and preparing the food according to the menu designed by the registered dietitian. Therapeutic diets may include snacks and oral supplements. Snacks and supplements should be distributed with regularly scheduled meal service or may be distributed with medications. Individual labels or written documents containing the following information should be prepared by Food Services staff, clearly identifying each meal and any included snacks: (a) Incarcerated person's name (b) PFN (c) Housing location where the meals will be delivered (d) Diet type Sworn staff responsible for meal distribution shall ensure that any incarcerated person who has been prescribed a therapeutic diet or ordered a religious diet, receives the respective diet. If an incarcerated person refuses a medical or religious diet meal, sworn staff shall document the reason for the refusal. Unless a therapeutic diet was prescribed with a specific end date, only the Responsible Physician may discontinue the order of a therapeutic diet. Incarcerated persons with incompatible religious and therapeutic diet requirements may choose their preferred option in consultation with ACHS and Chaplaincy. If prescribed by the Responsible Physician, supplemental food shall be served to incarcerated persons more frequently than the regularly scheduled meals. 909.6 THERAPEUTIC AND RELIGIOUS MEAL RECORDS All meal records shall be retained in accordance with established retention schedules and applicable statutory regulations. Docusign Envelope ID: 61AEA69F-AF4F-4DDD-B255-7719BA02E989 Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Custody Manual Prescribed Diets Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/ 30, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Prescribed Diets - 3 Therapeutic meal orders should be retained in the incarcerated person's medical record. All information regarding a therapeutic diet is part of an incarcerated person's medical record and is therefore subject to state and federal privacy laws concerning medical records