Texas County Progress
The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas
In many counties, the jail has become a de facto mental institution, housing mentally ill inmates awaiting due process without their medications and/or life-sustaining therapies. The situation is lose-lose-lose; the inmate, fellow inmates and jail staff, and the taxpayers are all affected. The statistics have been quoted for so long that one wonders if they have lost their … [Read more...] about Mentally Ill Inmates
When I was appointed six years ago by Gov. Greg Abbott to be the chairman of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (the Commission), I had no idea of the complexities of what this position involved. I knew as a County Judge that you did not want your county jail to be out of compliance with the Commission. I did not realize the challenges Texas counties faced to stay in … [Read more...] about Challenges To Our County Jails
For many years, the State of Texas has shamefully neglected its mentally ill citizens. The state allocates $45.23 annually per citizen for mental health services, ranking 46th among the states. Without access to services, the most severely impaired are forced into the criminal justice system for the protection of themselves and others. County jails are the largest mental health … [Read more...] about The Continuing Mental Health Disgrace
Mental Health: The more services, the better. While mandates require us to provide mental health services, it is the right thing to do. The mental health population inside our jails is not going down anytime soon. It is something all jails and we administrators are experiencing. So my solution is, the more help and services I can provide these citizens, the better … [Read more...] about County Jail Telemental Health Care
The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) awarded more than $5 million in Improvement Grants to establish regional public defender offices serving nine counties, create specialized defender programs to help defendants with mental illness, and streamline attorney appointments. “This regional collaboration grant is a game-changer for our five Hill Country counties,” said … [Read more...] about TIDC Funds Public Defense Improvement
