New charges added making someone eligible for Mental Health Jail Diversion Center
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas) - Marijuana possession and misdemeanor theft are among a list of new crimes that will make someone picked up by police in Tarrant County, eligible to avoid jail and instead be taken to a mental health diversion center.
County commissioners approved the eligibility expansion Tuesday, a week after a report showed admissions to the center were far short of capacity.
Disorderly conduct, false report and terroristic threat are also on the list of eligible charges. They join criminal trespass, which was the primary charge that determined eligibility since the center opened in January 2022, and applied most often to people who are homeless.
Any charges involving violence, or if the person has a history of violent charges, would continue to make them ineligible for admission to the diversion center.
In addition to the new charges for police to consider, the commission also voted to allow booking supervisors at the jail to divert people to the center when appropriate. They would consult with a mental health employee, and the arresting agency. If all three are in agreement the person would be transported to the center, and any pending charges would be dropped.
Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks said eligibility could be expanded further over time, including letting additional agencies such as paramedics determine if someone is better suited for the diversion center, rather than a hospital.
The county is trying to increase the use of the center before its initial funding runs out at the end of 2023. Data presented by operators though showed the center is admitting fewer than 30 people a month, although it has the capacity to do that in a single day.
In a letter from Sheriff Bill Waybourn to diversion center committee members last week, he said there were more than 80 inmates in the jail on misdemeanor charges, judged to be incompetent to stand trial. At one point that same week Waybourn wrote, there was just one person staying at the center.
Tarrant County spent nearly $20 million in 2021 to buy the Mental Health Jail Diversion Center in Fort Worth and cover operating expenses through the end of 2023.