Slowly but surely, the state of Texas is trying to turn a complicated, costly, and often heartbreaking saga into a coordinated, comprehensive service delivery system – and counties are right in the thick of it. Anywhere from 16 percent to 20 percent of offenders in the Texas criminal justice system have a mental health diagnosis, said Leon Evans, director of the Center for … [Read more...] about Jail Diversion Programs Target Offenders With Mental Illness
jail
Bexar County Jail Diversion Program
The Bexar County Jail Diversion Program Model (BCJDPM) has been designed and developed through an expansive effort of community leaders and stakeholders to address the practice of utilizing the jail system for the inappropriate “warehousing” of individuals with substantial mental health issues and to minimize the use of the arrest/booking process of adult offenders with mental … [Read more...] about Bexar County Jail Diversion Program
Texas Commission on Jail Standards Mental Health Study
The 78th Legislature’s House Bill 1 directed the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) to conduct a study relating to mental health screening and treatment practices of inmates with mental illnesses. To accomplish this, the TCJS and the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI) identified a number of stakeholders to participate as … [Read more...] about Texas Commission on Jail Standards Mental Health Study
Texas County Jails: Current Events
County Progress asked Terry Julian, Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), to address some of the relevant issues facing county jails. Q: What level of involvement should the commissioners court have with the county jail? A: County commissioners should have oversight of issues affecting the sheriff’s jail budget. County commissioners are also … [Read more...] about Texas County Jails: Current Events
County Indigent Health Care Programs
Twenty Texas counties received approximately $5.6 million in state matching funds in 2004 to help offset the cost of indigent health care, said Jan Maberry, County Indigent Health Care Program (CIHCP) manager for the Texas Department of State Health Services. The Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act of 1985 requires counties that are not completely covered by a hospital … [Read more...] about County Indigent Health Care Programs