The following bar chart shows the number of calls the Collin County Sheriff’s Office received that were classified 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 Sheriff’s Office 400
BOOKING
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
ARRIVAL AT JAIL
Detention officers, a psychiatrist and a representative from LifePath Systems screen the person for mental illness and risk of suicide.
300
FIRST COURT HEARING
Peace officers arrive on scene or encounter a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
Officials determine if the case qualifies for a special court hearing or a court- ordered treatment.
200
100
0
DIVERSION POINT
DIVERSION POINT
2019
2020 2021
Officers may provide mental health referral information or assist the person to a treatment facility.
Some people are taken to an emergency room or temporary mental health facility to prevent harm to themselves or others until the person is stable.
NOTE: ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN COLLIN COUNTY MAY NOT BE REPRESENTED AS THESE ARE NUMBERS SOLELY REPORTED TO THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.
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.
SOURCES: COLLIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, LIFEPATH SYSTEMS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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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 2021 to be used for infrastructure that not only supports public health, but also “people with barriers to services,” the plan stated. Community input coupled with trends observed by county officials led to the decision to expand the jail’s infirmary. 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 suffering from an addiction disorder, but it also overwhelms the treatment capacity of the Adult Detention Center infirmary 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
commonly encountered mental health conditions; effective communication skills for a person who may be in crisis; and statistics and debunking myths about mental illness. In the event that a person is arrested, officers and various medical professionals screen people during the booking process, Skinner said. Staff screen each person for signs of mental illness or disability, risk of suicide and any special medical needs. The faster the county is able to move a person with mental illness through the criminal justice system, the better, Mahan said. This is one of the reasons why screening is important. “The longer somebody’s in jail, the more unstable their community life becomes,” Mahan said. LifePath has had a jail diversion pro- gram for several years that assists peo- ple who have previously been in jail so they do not return. This year, the orga- nization opened its Living Room as a proactive approach. The Living Room is one of the places law enforcement can bring people who need mental health services, Mahan said. People can also come to the cen- ter, located off of Redbud Boulevard in east McKinney, on their own terms. Staff at the Living Room help people with job placement, food access, hous- ing needs and more. “The thing we obviously don’t want is that people go to jail just to get ser- vices,” Mahan said. A reimagined campus Until the new infirmary is built, Bilyeu said the county will manage like it has for the past 25 years.
Mahan said. LifePath Systems, the county’s designated behavioral health and disabilities authority, collaborates with the jail and its staff psychiatrist. People who have schizophrenia interpret reality abnormally, and symp- toms range from hallucinations to disorganized speech, according to the Mayo Clinic. Mahan said the way schizophrenia symptoms manifest cause people 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 sheriff’s department of [diverting] those people,” Mahan said. Diversion and treatment options The Collin County Sheriff’s Office is one of the local law enforcement enti- ties working with LifePath Systems on jail diversion. When a deputy sheriff responds to a call involving someone who may need mental health services, they have options depending on the severity of the situation, Sheriff Jim Skinner said. A deputy sheriff may provide referral information to the person or family; help the person with voluntary admis- sion into a treatment facility; or arrest the person, when justified. Texas peace officers, including police officers, deputy sheriffs and constables, receive training on crisis intervention, a methodology intended to de-escalate and assist people experiencing a mental health crisis. Skinner said crisis intervention training consists of learning about
An inmate’s case is resolved as either guilty or not guilty. DISPOSITION
JAIL
PRISON
PAROLE
PROBATION
RETURN TO COMMUNITY
Bilyeu added that once the expan- sion is complete, it likely will not be staffed with the expectation of all 450 beds being filled. “We’ll open it in stages, more than likely,” Bilyeu said. There are two other projects planned from the State and Local Fiscal Recov- ery Funds. A $54.8 million public health building and parking garage is planned for the southwest portion of the county campus. The third project is a $12 million medical examiner build- ing that will be next to the public health building. Both are set to be completed by 2026. “The benefit for the court making a good, quick, decisive answer [on use of the funds] is it’s helped us keep moving this stuff along,” Bilyeu said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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PLANO NORTH EDITION • JULY 2022
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