In May 2022, county o cials put together a steering committee composed of experts in law, psychiatry, homelessness and public safety to nd solutions to the county’s growing mental health crisis. The team came to the following conclusions:
PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES
THE SOLUTION
THE PROBLEM
Instead of sending individuals accused of nonviolent crime to jail, the county is working on a 32- to 70-bed center that would provide them mental health resources.
Many Travis County residents who need mental health care are going to jail or an emergency room after committing nonviolent crimes or showing mental health disorder-related behaviors.
HOW THE DIVERSION CENTER WORKS
An officer brings an individual accused of a nonviolent crime to jail to get booked and go through a mental health evaluation. 1 mental health resources, such as a peer support specialist, psychiatric help or medication. 3 At the center, the individual will be given
If the individual is deemed eligible for diversion, they will be relocated from jail to the nearby diversion center. 2
40% of the Travis County Jail population reported mental illness.
150 Travis County Jail inmates are waiting for state mental health beds.
420 DAYS the longest time for an inmate to be transferred to a non-maximum security mental health facility
If the individual completes the mental health program, their records will be expunged, which means they are unavailable to the public. 4
STUCK IN JAIL
Indecent exposure Evading arrest Burglary Criminal mischief Possession Resisting arrest/search/transport Assault*
In a sample of 2,231 inmates, 106 had a mental illness and were repeatedly going to jail between 3 and 89 times; 75% of the crimes committed by this group were misdemeanors.
SIGNS OF SUCCESS
Property theft Miscellaneous Criminal trespassing
2,231
106 sent to jail 3-89 times
The Sobering Center in Travis County has redirected almost 8,000 people from entering the hospital or jail since 2021.
People who go to the Nashville mental health Diversion Center are 70% less likely to go back to jail .
Miami’s Crisis Intervention Teams saved roughly $12M annually in taxpayer dollars after closing one of the jails due to diverting arrests.
*VIOLENT CRIME
SOURCES: TRAVIS COUNTY, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
A safer county When people with mental illness receive treatment instead of jail time, it creates safety for family members and the community as a whole, said Terra Tucker—the Texas director for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, a public safety solution organization, and steering committee member. “Breaking cycles of crime and doing prevention are things that actually make us safe, right? So
report. The county will also need to reinstate the counsel-at-first-appear- ance program, which was active for 13 days last spring and then canceled due to staffing shortages. “If it is done in isolation, nothing will change; it will just back up and be another jail,” Strakowski said. If the county successfully imple- ments all five components, it will still need to fully staff the center, which has historically been a struggle for both
we’re not just being reactionary to what’s already happened, but pre- venting new things from happening,” Tucker said. Strakowski said diversion programs also create safety for people with men- tal illness as they are often subject to violence and assault themselves. “We have an obligation to care for our citizens who can’t care for them- selves,” Strakowski said. “And we are failing in that.”
city and county law enforcement. Quiana Fisher, the homelessness response system strategy director for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, added that to be effective, the diversion center will need staff who can adequately provide mental health resources to people experienc- ing homelessness and Black residents as Black people have historically been underserved in mental health systems.
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN - DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • MAY 2023
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