County works to reduce inmate outsourcing costs From the cover
How it started
The big picture
Hays County commissioners approved a contract with Neighborhood Defender Service, or NDS, for a public defender’s office in November 2022, which began operating in January 2023. About 61% of their cases come from Hays County, Chief Advancement Officer Shannon Anglero said. A public defender’s office represents individ- uals who are facing criminal charges—but NDS’ approach is a little different. “Our model is holistic,” Anglero said, noting that they have a team of individuals, such as social workers and investigators, who support the client, as opposed to a traditional, singular attorney- client relationship. She said the Commissioners Court has been “incredibly supportive” and understands that working on larger issues early not only yields savings for the county but also for individuals.
county’s budget o ce. This can be attributed to the county’s outsourcing contract per diem rates, or inmate housing daily rate, which increased in price during that period. For example, Comal County increased their rate three times from $65 to $85 and then to $100 per inmate per day. Hays County also entered into a contract with Haskell County in 2022 for a guaranteed monthly payment of 200 beds, according to the Hays County She ri ’s O ce. Campbell said the Pretrial Bond Program has been able to provide judges and prosecutors more comfort in releasing an individual on pretrial supervision where there were previously public safety concerns.
Hays County has spent over $35 million on contracts for outsourcing inmates to detention centers in other counties since 2018, according to data from the county’s budget o ce. Campbell explained that the county’s growth was the driving force for establishing the Pretrial Bond Program—which directly a ects the county jail’s operating costs—and the public defender’s o ce. The Pretrial Bond Program was designed to keep certain o enders out of county jail, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . Hays County spent $4.32 million in scal year 2017-18 on contracts to outsource inmates to other counties, which nearly doubled by FY 2023-24, according to data from the
Cost of contracts for outsourcing inmates from FY 2018-24
Average jail population Average pretrial population Jail population trends
Hays County public defender’s office closed mental health case outcomes
Outsourcing costs increase and a monthly contract is made with Haskell County for 200 beds.
$8M
Time served: time a defendant has already spent in jail
700 600 500 400 300 0
18%
$6M
25%
Con nement: jail, prison or other penal institution or correctional facility Community-based: focuses on fixing systemic problems and education Mental health court: for people with mental health disorders pending charges
$4M
25%
$2M
$0
32%
SOURCES: HAYS COUNTY, HAYS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICECOMMUNITY IMPACT
NOTE: EXCLUDES DECLINES AND DISMISSALS SOURCE: NEIGHBORHOOD DEFENDER SERVICE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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