Ripley County jail joins Social Security prisoner reporting program

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

DONIPHAN, Mo., (KBSI) — The Ripley County Detention Center will begin participating in the Social Security Administration’s Prisoner Reporting Program, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday.

The program suspends certain Social Security benefits while a person is incarcerated. Benefits paid to a prisoner’s family members or dependents are not affected, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Social Security Administration directs a portion of the program’s savings to participating detention centers to help offset the cost of housing inmates. The sheriff’s office said the payments are expected to be modest but will help reduce costs for Ripley County taxpayers.

Sheriff Mike Talburt said the county waited about three months without receiving a response to its application. He then contacted U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, whose office helped move the application through the approval process within a week, according to the sheriff’s office.

Talburt thanked Smith for his support of rural communities and law enforcement agencies.