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DESIGNED BY CHELSEA PETERS COMPILED BY BROOKLYNN COOPER
The following bar chart shows the number of calls the Collin County Sheri ’s O ce received that were classi ed as mental health subjects. A GROWING RESPONSE
STEPPING IN FOR DIVERSION There are various points in which local entities can help divert people with mental illnesses from jail and into appropriate programs. 911 Dispatchers, police and county deputies have an opportunity to divert people with mental illnesses when a 911 call is received by collaborating with county health service providers.
Key
Other Collin County emergency departments Collin County Sheri ’s O ce 400
BOOKING
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
ARRIVAL AT JAIL
300
O cials determine if the case quali es for a special court hearing or a court- ordered treatment. FIRST COURT HEARING
200
Detention o cers, a psychiatrist and a representative from
Peace o cers arrive on scene or encounter a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
100
LifePath Systems screen the person for mental illness and risk of suicide.
0
2019
2020 2021
NOTE: ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN COLLIN COUNTY MAY NOT BE REPRESENTED AS THESE ARE NUMBERS SOLELY REPORTED TO THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT. Between January 2019 and December 2021, 1,476 related to mental health. reports were generated
DIVERSION POINT
O cers may provide mental health referral information or assist the person to a treatment facility.
DIVERSION POINT
Some people are taken to an emergency room or DIVERSION POINT
LifePath Systems Competency Restoration Program: People in jail who are not competent to stand trial receive medication and education until they understand their charges.
temporary mental health facility to prevent harm to themselves or others until the person is stable.
Frisco police said many calls are related to a disturbance, a welfare concern, etc., and it is later found to be related to mental health.
SOURCES: COLLIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, LIFEPATH SYSTEMS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCE: COLLIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
An inmate’s case is resolved as either guilty or not guilty. DISPOSITION
during commissioners’ meet- ings when deciding how to
when these individuals are brought to the jail,” the recovery report stated. About 25% of the county’s average daily inmate population have mental health needs, according to a county analysis that spanned from 2015-19. These needs range from people on court-ordered medication, any level of suicide watch or alerts for mental ill- ness, according to the report. Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses seen in the jail, LifePath Systems Director Tammy Mahan said. LifePath Systems, the county’s designated behavioral health and disabilities authority, collaborates with the jail and its sta psychiatrist. People who have schizophrenia interpret reality abnormally, and symp- toms of the disorder range from hallu- cinations to disorganized thinking and speech, according to the Mayo Clinic. Mahan said that the way schizophre- nia symptoms manifest cause peo- ple with the disorder to frequently be charged with lower-level crimes. “That’s one of those issues we’ve been trying to work with, both with all of our local law enforcement as well as the jail and the sheri ’s department of [diverting] those people,” Mahan said. “If they’re not a danger to the com- munity and a terrible crime wasn’t
With an expected completion date of 2025, the expansion will convert the 24-bed in rmary at the detention cen- ter to a 450-bed facility, according to the county’s 2021 recovery plan. About 75 of the beds will be dedicated to inmates who need detoxes from alco- hol or other substances. The county has selected an archi- tect for the $134.1 million building, and o cials are in bimonthly meetings with county sta to nail down the proj- ect scope. County Administrator Bill Bilyeu said the project will go out to bid in fall or winter of this year to begin construction. Identifying the need Collin County received just under $201 million from the American Res- cue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. County commission- ers approved of these funds in August to be used for infrastructure that not only supports public health, but also “people with barriers to services,” the plan stated. This group includes people of color, low-income families and those with limited English pro ciency. County o cials considered com- ments from community members
use the federal funds, according to the recovery plan. Frequent topics of dis- cussion were COVID-19 contact tracing and mental health of both the general public and inmates at the jail, the plan stated. Community input coupled with trends observed by county o cials led to the decision to expand the jail’s in rmary. “When we were trying to separate out people that either were testing posi- tive for COVID[-19] or had close contact, it was hard to get them isolated out, and that made us really recognize even more so how small our in rmary was,” Bilyeu said, adding that many county jails also use their in rmaries for men- tal health purposes. The county’s recovery plan refer- enced the need to socially and phys- ically distance inmates due to the pandemic. Personal quarantines and isolation also resulted in an “unprec- edented escalation” of the opioid epi- demic, the report stated. “This crisis not only burdens the fam- ilies and individuals of those su ering from an addiction disorder, but it also overwhelms the treatment capacity of the Adult Detention Center in rmary
JAIL
PRISON
PAROLE PROBATION
RETURN TO COMMUNITY
committed, if there’s any way they can- not arrest them, but take them into one of our services [instead].” Diversion and treatment options The Collin County Sheri ’s O ce is one of the local law enforcement enti- ties working with LifePath Systems on jail diversion. When a deputy sheri responds to a call involving someone who may need mental health services, they have options depending on the severity of the situation, said Sheri Jim Skinner. A deputy sheri may provide referral information to the person or family,
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