GOVERNMENT
Travis County takes first steps on mental health alternative to jail
The study, which was completed in March, led to a recommendation to build a diversion center that will bring nonviolent offenders to a facility with mental health services instead of jail or an emergency room. The center—an estimated $30 mil- lion endeavor that will take at least two years to build—was met with wide- spread support from local government and the community. It was also a prom- ising step forward for Staley, who said individuals struggling with mental health issues often end up in jail or on the streets. The need for care As of April 18, the Travis County Jail population had reached almost 2,200 inmates, up from the early stages of the pandemic, when the population was in the 1,400s, Brown said. About 40% of the county’s jail population self-reported having a mental illness, up from about 21% in 2020. Brown said if a quarter of that pop- ulation were eligible for the diversion program, it would relieve pressure from corrections officers as the depart- ment is down about a third of its staff with 263 vacancies as of March. A report compiled by Dr. Stephen Strakowski, a professor at The Univer- sity of Texas Dell Medical School, and other members of the Forensic Mental Health Project identified that out of a sample of 2,231 arrested individuals, 106 both self-reported mental illness and cycled through jail system at least three times. One individual had been arrested 89 times. Of the crimes com- mitted by this group, 75% were misde- meanors, and over half of those were criminal trespassing. “As law enforcement, our capacity to really affect [mental health] has been affected by our inability to do
anything other than to take people to jail,” Austin Police Department Chief Joseph Chacon said. Signs of success The diversion center will not be the county’s first effort to redirect those accused of a nonviolent crime from jail. The Sobering Center has provided intoxicated individuals a safe place to detox since it opened in August 2018, according to county documents. Further, mental health diversion centers in similarly populated cities have shown signs of success. Nash- ville’s center led to a 70% drop in repeated offenses since it opened in 2020, according to the report. Taxpayer impact The mental health diversion center will cost about $30 million to build and between $2.5 million-$5 million annually to operate. The center will likely be funded through a variety of sources, including federal, state, city and county dollars; Central Health, the county’s health care district; and some private sources of funding. Diversion efforts have saved tax- payers dollars in other cities, such as the Miami-Dade program, which diverted enough arrests between 2010-18 that the county was able to close one of its jails, saving an esti- mated $12 million in taxpayers dol- lars annually, according to the report. Long road ahead The diversion center is just one component of a five-part plan to reform the county’s jail system. To effectively address mental illness in the county, technology upgrades, bridge support housing programs and increased peer support services will need to be in place, according to the
BY KATY MCAFEE
stores [are] these repeat offenders,” Staley said. “They’ll get arrested for breaking into a store or shoplifting. And we’ll track them in Travis County [Jail], and then we’ll see that they got out, and they’ll return to our store.” When Staley reached out to Travis County Judge Andy Brown about the issue last fall, the county’s Forensic Mental Health Project—a 10-month study to identify solutions to the county’s growing mental illness prob- lem—was already in full swing.
Craig Staley knows firsthand what the impact of the mental health crisis has been in Austin. Over the past couple years, Staley’s Royal Blue Grocery stores in down- town Austin have become a target for shoplifting and break-ins. Staley noticed serving jail time was not deterring shoplifters as many of them seemed to be experiencing homeless- ness, mental illness or a substance use disorder. “What we have seen in some of our
FUNDING THE FACILITY
The diversion center will cost about $30 million to build and about $2.5 million-$5 million annually to operate. Travis County Judge Andy Brown said an official cost will be known when the county decides the extent of services the facility will offer. HOW MUCH WILL THE PROJECT COST? HOW WILL THE PROJECT BE FUNDED? The project will likely be funded through a variety of sources, including:
• Central Health, the county’s health care district for low-
• Travis County • State and federal dollars • Private sources
income residents. • The city of Austin
The diversion center will be funded through taxpayer dollars; however, officials do not know how much it will impact the tax rate at this stage. The center will be in Travis County's fiscal year 2024-25 or 2025-26 budget. WILL THE PROJECT IMPACT TAXPAYERS?
SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
TIRED OF HIGH ELECTRIC BILLS? WE NOW DO ROOFING, SOLAR, BATTERIES, & GENERATORS
(512) 995-ROOF MYDIVIDEDSKY.COM
16
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook