Why is only part of the Tarrant County Mental Health Jail Diversion Center being used?
TARRANT COUNTY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – After more than a year of operation, a jail alternative in Tarrant County is admitting about as many people each month, as it has the capacity to admit in a day.
County leaders fast-tracked the Mental Health Jail Diversion Center in 2021, intending for it to reduce the number of people picked up for low-level, non-violent crimes, in jails, court rooms and hospitals.
However, after the center opened in January 2022, it admitted an average of about 14 people a month. Since November, admissions have more than doubled, to about 29 people per month.
The center has the capacity though to admit 30 to 40 people, per day, according to Ramey Heddins, the Chief of Behavioral Services for MHMR Tarrant County, which operates the center.
Asked if there was some urgency to increase admissions, with funding for the center only approved through this year, Heddins replied "Absolutely."
County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks said he met with MHMR, the county sheriff and county administrator to sketch out a possible expansion of acceptable charges that would make someone eligible to be transferred to the center. Right now it's people picked up for criminal trespassing, or experiencing mental or behavioral crisis who can go.
Their admission is voluntary, and they are connected with treatment services and housing assistance during the average three-day stay.
Brooks said there may also be a way for jail staff to determine if someone is eligible for transfer to the facility. He emphasized there would be no change to restrictions on eligibility for anyone accused of violent offenses. The ideas will be presented to a committee for consideration, possibly by next week.
While a lack of awareness of the facility was offered as an explanation for lack of admissions, County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, a law enforcement veteran, suggested officers may also be hesitant to make the decision on who should go there.
"Because right now, if an officer makes a discretionary call, its risky for them," Ramirez said. "They fear personal liability. They fear department liability, because they're making a decision that there's no clear black and white answer."
Individual police departments may also need to make clear rules, he said, on when someone would be eligible for an officer to take them to the diversion center, instead of jail.
Heddins also said officers need to feel comfortable that the center is an appropriate place to take an individual.
Tarrant County spent nearly $20 million in 2021 to buy the facility in Fort Worth and cover operating expenses through the end of 2023.
Tuesday, commissioners appeared to express optimism in the long-term future of the center, approving a $1.3 million construction project at the building, for a garage and remodeling to add more offices and workspace.