Texas County Progress

The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments

Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

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By Sharon Guzman, Director of Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMI) Services – Bluebonnet Trails   On May 30, 2007, a man pulled a butcher knife on a police officer at a convenience store in Georgetown, Texas.  The incident was caught on video by the security camera outside the store.  The video, provided by the district … [Read more...] about Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

Texas Commission on Jail Standards Suicide/Mental Health Screening Form

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The Commission on Jail Standards has implemented a new suicide/mental health screening form for use in all county jails. The new form is still one page and has been updated to remove awkward questions, to add questions intended to identify mental retardation, and to clean up portions of the form following feedback from the jails. The Jail Mental Disability/Suicide Intake … [Read more...] about Texas Commission on Jail Standards Suicide/Mental Health Screening Form

Jail Diversion Programs Target Offenders With Mental Illness

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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

Texas Commission on Jail Standards Mental Health Study

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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