Meeting New Jail Standards in 2026: What’s Changed Since 2025 and What Jails Must Prepare For

What's Changed Since 2025 and How Should Jail Leaders Prepare 

If it feels like jail standards have been "coming soon" for a while, 2026 is the year they’ve officially arrived.

The updated NCCHC Standards for Health Services are now in effect, and for facilities seeking or maintaining accreditation, the focus has shifted from planning to day-to-day execution. Over the past year, many jails have been adjusting policies, training staff, and updating documentation practices. Now, the question is no longer what's coming, but how well are we keeping up.

So, What Actually Changed?

The short answer is that 2026 didn’t bring a complete rewrite of the rulebook. Instead, it raised the bar on consistency, follow-through, and proof that required steps are actually happening day to day.

Under the updated National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) Standards, which took effect on January 1, 2026, jails and prisons are now operating under clearer and more detailed expectations. These updates represent some of the most meaningful changes to correctional healthcare in years, and they’re getting a lot of attention in 2026 as facilities work through implementation.

A few areas stand out. Mental health screenings and follow-up are now more closely scrutinized. Intake screenings still matter, but facilities are also expected to show what happens after someone is flagged as needing additional care. The standards call for improved intake processes and ongoing mental health assessments, not one-time checks.

Suicide prevention practices also received more focus. The updated standards place greater emphasis on clear procedures, staff training, and consistent observation for people identified as high risk. Enhanced protocols now require direct observation by qualified mental health professionals.

For chronic medical care, the expectation is continuity. Long-term conditions must be tracked and managed over time, rather than addressed only when problems escalate. New protocols for managing ongoing health conditions are now mandatory.

Documentation is another major theme. If something isn’t documented, it’s much harder to show it happened. The 2026 standards expect clear, verifiable records for healthcare, safety checks, and emergency responses. Facilities are required to maintain more comprehensive health records, including specific documentation for mental health visits, medications, and discharge planning.

That expectation carries over to emergencies as well. Simply stating that staff responded is no longer enough. Facilities must be able to show when staff responded and what actions were taken.

Finally, the updated standards include expanded interpretive guidance, which spells out compliance expectations in more detail. The goal is to reduce guesswork and make it clearer what meeting the standard actually looks like in practice.

As Amundsen Davis Law has noted, while NCCHC is an accrediting body rather than a regulatory agency, its standards are widely treated as a benchmark for legally adequate healthcare in correctional settings. Falling short doesn’t just affect accreditation, it can create real legal and operational challenges.

Mental Health Standards

The separate NCCHC Mental Health Standards (effective April 1, 2026) go even further with key updates to include:

• A stronger push for trauma-informed care.

• Required mental health orientation and ongoing education for staff.

• A shift to modern, person-first language replacing outdated terminology.

• Stronger requirements for treatment planning and clinical accountability.

Major Federal Changes Affecting All Facilities

Beyond the NCCHC standards, several federal-level changes are now in effect that impact every jail in the country.

Federal Medicaid Suspension Requirement

A major operational change mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 went into effect on January 1, 2026. The previous policy meant states could terminate Medicaid coverage when individuals were incarcerated. Now, states must suspend, not terminate, Medicaid coverage upon incarceration. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, this requirement applies to all incarcerated individuals, with $113 million in federal funding allocated to help states implement this change.

What this means is faster reinstatement of benefits for incarcerated individuals upon release, improvement in the continuity of care, reduction in healthcare coverage gaps, and it may reduce uncompensated healthcare costs absorbed by county health systems. To actually implement these changes, jails will need to update intake and release workflows for Medicaid suspension/reinstatement. Facilities should establish data-sharing systems with state Medicaid agencies and look into federal grants available to cover technology costs.

Some facilities are ahead of the curve. Amundsen Davis Law notes that Illinois facilities like Cook County Department of Corrections are already enrolling people in Medicaid upon arrival.

Prison and Jail Phone Rate Changes

The Federal Communications Commission made significant changes to phone and video call regulations that directly impact facility operations and budgets.

In November 2025 an FCC Decision was made, voting to modify rate caps that had been established in 2024, raising them in response to concerns from facilities and telecom companies. The new interim rate caps effective April 6, 2026 are:

Audio Call Rates (per minute):

• Large prisons/jails (1,000+ inmates): $0.10

• Medium jails (350-999 inmates): $0.11

• Small jails (100-349 inmates): $0.14

• Very small jails (50-99 inmates): $0.16

• Extremely small jails (<50 inmates): $0.18

Video Call Rates (per minute):

• Large facilities: $0.18

• Rates increase for smaller facilities (up to $0.41 for extremely small jails)

It’s important to note that the FCC also reinstated the ban on site commissions (kickbacks) that telecom companies previously paid to correctional facilities. According to Stateline, facilities must now decide whether to maintain lower rates or raise them to the new maximums. This change could impact facility budgets that previously relied on telecom revenue, requiring administrators to adjust financial planning accordingly.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines Updates

These changes technically sit in the federal court system, but they don’t stay there. Once sentencing rules shift, detention facilities tend to feel it, and in some cases state and local practices follow the same direction. The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s updates, which took effect on November 1, 2025, make a few notable adjustments to how sentences are decided.

One of the bigger shifts is around supervised release. Judges are no longer expected to default to maximum terms. Instead, they now have to make individualized decisions based on the person and the case in front of them. The guidelines also clean up the sentencing process itself, replacing the old “departures” framework with a simpler three-step approach that’s meant to be easier to apply in practice.

There are also changes in motion for drug offenses. The Commission has proposed updates to how methamphetamine purity is treated and how fentanyl-related enhancements are applied, with the public comment period running through February 10, 2026. While those details play out in courtrooms, they can still affect how long people sit in pretrial detention or how populations fluctuate over time.

As the National Law Review points out, these updates give judges more room to tailor sentences to individual circumstances. For jails and detention facilities, that added flexibility can mean changes in length of stay, population flow, and planning assumptions. Even though these rules start at the federal level, they’re worth keeping on the radar.

Bipartisan Policy Initiatives for 2026

Not everything shaping jail operations in 2026 is coming from regulators or accrediting bodies. A number of bipartisan policy initiatives are also moving through Congress, and while they’re federal proposals, they tend to set the tone for what shows up later at the state and local level.

The Justice Action Network’s 2025–2026 policy agenda highlights several efforts that are gaining support on both sides of the aisle. One is the Federal Prison Oversight Act, which would give the Department of Justice Inspector General broader authority to conduct comprehensive prison assessments and establish a Bureau of Prisons ombudsman. While that proposal focuses on federal facilities, expanded oversight at the federal level often leads to similar expectations elsewhere.

Mental health and substance use are also front and center. The proposed Improving Mental Health in Re-Entry System Act would provide additional resources for mental health screenings and referrals for people leaving incarceration, aiming to improve continuity of care during one of the highest-risk transition periods. Alongside that, several other bills focus more broadly on reentry support, with the goal of reducing barriers to care and helping individuals connect to services once they return to the community.

These initiatives apply directly to federal systems and their influence rarely stops there. Over time, they often shape funding priorities, inspection standards, and policy conversations at the state and county level, which is why they’re worth watching closely in 2026.

States Are Raising the Bar Too

These changes aren't just happening at the national level. Individual states have implemented their own significant reforms that jail administrators need to track closely.

New York - Omnibus Prison Reform Act 

New York headed into 2026 with one of the biggest correctional reform moves in the country. On December 19, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Omnibus Prison Reform Act (A8871/S8415) into law, following the murders of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi in DOCCS facilities. The state’s Board of Correction called it “the most sweeping prison reform package enacted in the decades since the Attica prison uprising,” which gives a sense of how far-reaching it is.

While much of the law focuses on state prisons, several provisions land squarely on local jails, especially when it comes to transparency, oversight, and recordkeeping.

One of the biggest changes is mandatory camera coverage. All state and local correctional facilities are now required to install full audio and visual camera systems, including in transport vehicles. The law also extends how long video must be stored and speeds up access, requiring footage to be disclosed more quickly to incarcerated individuals and their legal counsel.

The Act also tightens timelines after serious incidents. Facilities must provide video footage related to deaths to the Attorney General’s Office within 72 hours, or within 24 hours if the footage is discovered later. DOCCS is now required to post notice of an incarcerated person’s death online within 48 hours of notifying next of kin. Autopsy requirements were expanded as well, with reports now required to include photographs and x-rays.

Oversight is another clear focus. The State Commission of Correction was expanded from three to five commissioners, and at least one commissioner must now be formerly incarcerated. The Commission has also been tasked with conducting a comprehensive study of DOCCS deaths over the past ten years. On top of that, the Office of Special Investigation (OSI) must submit quarterly data reports, adding another layer of ongoing transparency.

The law also opens the door to more outside access. The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) now has expanded access to facilities, and incarcerated individuals have more ways to contact CANY privately. A new window for post-release claims allows individuals to file claims for harms suffered during incarceration.

Many of these changes are already moving from paper to practice. DOCCS has begun rolling out reforms statewide, including body-worn cameras with mandatory activation requirements and regular audits to make sure the new rules are being followed.

California - Multiple Jail and Prison Changes (2025-2026)

California has been busy on the jail and prison reform front over the past year, and the changes haven’t been subtle. Between court action, voter-approved measures, and new operational requirements, the state is clearly signaling that jail operations are under closer watch.

One of the clearest examples came in 2025, when California sued the Los Angeles County jail system. According to CalMatters (December 2025), the state cited “inhumane conditions” and a “shocking rate of deaths.” While the lawsuit focuses on Los Angeles County, the message lands statewide: the state is prepared to step in when conditions cross the line.

Voters also reshaped the landscape through Proposition 36, which passed in 2024 and went fully into effect in 2025. The measure allows third-time drug offenders to be charged with treatment-mandated felonies, giving individuals a choice between behavioral health treatment or up to three years in jail or prison. Early numbers show how this is playing out. In the first six months, through June 2025, about 9,000 people were charged, and 15 percent, or 1,290 individuals, chose treatment. Proposition 36 also reversed course on some earlier reforms, reclassifying certain theft and drug offenses that had been reduced under Proposition 47 back to felonies.

Conditions inside facilities are also getting attention. In 2025, California launched a $38 million air conditioning pilot program at three prisons after summer temperatures hit 95 degrees. Results are expected in mid-2029. While the pilot focuses on prisons, it could shape future expectations for jail facilities, especially as extreme heat becomes a more common concern.

The state has also tightened rules around involuntary medication in jails. Under updated guidance summarized in California’s Legislative Digest (2025), counties that administer involuntary medication to people awaiting trial between January 1, 2025 and July 1, 2028 must submit reports to state committees by January 1, 2029. Requirements around documenting efforts to find community-based treatment options have also been updated.

Looking ahead, some proposals are still on the table. Legislation that would require single-occupancy cells in prisons didn’t make it through in 2025, but it’s expected to resurface in 2026. 

Florida - Model Jail Standards Updates (Effective January 1, 2026)

Florida officially rolled out its updated Model Jail Standards Manual on January 1, 2026, and for most facilities, the shift has been about tightening the details rather than learning an entirely new system. The updates set clearer expectations for how jails operate day to day and how compliance is evaluated during inspections.

The revised standards touch nearly every part of jail operations. They update requirements around operations and construction, refine medical care standards, and clarify expectations for housing and space. There’s also renewed attention on food services and sanitation, along with clearer guidance on how disciplinary procedures should be handled.

One update that’s getting a lot of attention is the rule on holding cells. Under the 2026 standards, inmates can’t be held in holding cells for more than eight hours, which has pushed some facilities to rethink intake and classification flow. The standards also double down on staff supervision requirements, reinforcing the idea that consistent oversight is a core part of staying compliant in 2026.

Texas - Updated Minimum Standards and Federal Partnerships

Texas has been adjusting its jail standards in stages, and by 2026, those changes are starting to stack up. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) updated its minimum jail standards in March 2025, and those requirements continue to shape operations across the state.

The current standards cover the fundamentals of jail operations, including construction and facility requirements, classification and separation of inmates, health services, and supervision expectations. They also address day-to-day necessities like sanitation, food service, and recreation, reinforcing baseline conditions that facilities are expected to meet consistently.

TCJS also signaled more changes last year. According to the Texas Jail Project (June 2025), the Commission published proposed updates to the minimum standards on May 31, 2025, focusing on fire safety, lighting, and sanitation. While the public comment period closed on June 22, 2025, these proposed changes give a sense of where enforcement and inspection priorities may continue to head.

On top of state-level standards, Texas is also moving forward with a significant federal partnership requirement. Under Texas Senate Bill 8, passed in September 2025, sheriffs operating county jails must, beginning January 1, 2026, request agreements with ICE to enforce federal immigration law. All county jails are required to adopt these agreements by the end of 2026, adding another compliance consideration for jail administrators already juggling evolving standards.

Other States Advancing Updates

Other states, including Colorado, Tennessee, and Ohio, have also advanced updates that focus on stronger oversight, better reporting, and clearer accountability. Oversight is increasing, and expectations are becoming more consistent across states.

What Facilities Are Still Working On in 2026

Even with the new standards officially in place, most facilities are still in the middle of adjusting how things actually work day to day. The challenge isn’t understanding the rules, it’s making sure policies, documentation, and training line up consistently across every shift.

One common focus is tightening up policies so they clearly match current requirements. That often means reviewing and updating written procedures to align with the latest NCCHC healthcare standards, mental health protocols, Medicaid suspension and reinstatement processes, and any state-specific rules that came into effect over the past year.

Another ongoing effort is making documentation more consistent across shifts. With higher expectations around recordkeeping, facilities are working to ensure information is logged the same way every time, especially for mental health visits, medications, discharge planning, and emergency responses. Inconsistencies from shift to shift are one of the fastest ways to run into problems during audits or reviews.

Facilities are also investing time in refresher training for frontline staff. New mental health screening procedures, updated suicide prevention protocols, trauma-informed care approaches, Medicaid enrollment workflows, and camera system requirements all require staff to be on the same page. This has been especially important in states like New York, where new camera and disclosure rules leave little room for error.

Many administrators are taking a closer look at whether their current tools actually support compliance. Electronic health records, monitoring systems, and documentation platforms need to be able to handle time-stamped records and comprehensive tracking. This kind of evaluation is particularly important for facilities dealing with staffing shortages or high turnover, where systems need to work reliably even when personnel change.

Preparation Recommendations

As facilities settle into the realities of 2026, preparation has become less about big-picture planning and more about tightening the basics. Guidance from Amundsen Davis Law points to a few practical steps that continue to matter most:

• Conduct practice audits
  Review current processes against the updated NCCHC standards before formal inspections. These dry runs help surface gaps early, when they are easier to fix.

  
  

• Update documentation systems
  Many facilities are moving toward electronic health records to meet higher documentation expectations and reduce reliance on handwritten logs.
  
  

• Refresh staff training
  Ongoing training is key, especially around new mental health screening procedures, suicide prevention protocols, and Medicaid suspension and reinstatement workflows.
  
  

• Invest in technology where it makes sense
  Secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth systems are increasingly being used to support mental health services without overloading in-house staff.
  
  

• Coordinate Medicaid workflows
  Establishing clear connections with state Medicaid agencies helps streamline suspension and reinstatement processes and reduces delays at release.
  
  

• Ensure camera system compliance
  In states with new video requirements, facilities need to confirm systems are installed, functioning properly, and that staff are trained on correct use.
  
  

Some facilities are also using monitoring tools, such as Cell-Guardian, to support observation and documentation without adding extra steps to already busy shifts. These tools can include continuous observation, fall detection, inactivity detection, real-time alerts, and time-stamped records. The goal is not to replace staff, but to help close gaps between required rounds and create clearer records when incidents occur.

• Staying aware between rounds
  No facility can have eyes everywhere at all times. Continuous monitoring can help staff stay aware of potential issues in medical watch, detox, or other higher-risk housing areas, which are exactly where the updated mental health and safety standards place more emphasis.
  
  

• Faster awareness, faster response
  Alerts tied to falls or prolonged inactivity can help staff respond sooner. That time matters during medical events or emergencies, and the new standards require facilities to show not just that they responded, but when and how.
  
  

• Clearer documentation
  The 2026 standards put heavy weight on proof. Time-stamped records help show what happened, when it happened, and how staff responded, which is especially important during audits, investigations, and video disclosure reviews.
  
  

• Supporting staff
  With many jails stretched thin, having another layer of situational awareness can reduce missed observations and ease pressure during busy shifts. This becomes even more important as facilities take on new Medicaid processes, expanded mental health screenings, and additional documentation requirements.

Bottom Line

For sheriffs and jail administrators, success in 2026 comes down to consistency. Clear procedures, solid documentation, ongoing training, and the right operational support all play a role. The convergence of NCCHC healthcare standards, federal Medicaid requirements, FCC telecom changes, and individual state reforms means facilities are navigating more requirements than ever before. Facilities that stay proactive: conducting practice audits, investing in appropriate technology, training staff thoroughly, and establishing strong coordination with state agencies are better positioned to meet today's standards and whatever comes next.

The standards have arrived. Now, it's about execution.