New Sonoma County jail wing seeks to improve care for mentally ill inmates
The Press DemocratAug 13, 2017
Why not build a psychiatric hospital instead in
"Initially, the pushback was 'Why are you doing that? You should do it for people in the community,'?" recalled Assistant Sheriff
But "the community," Walker notes, includes everybody, even those in jail.
"It includes people in custody, and they're going to go back into the community. Shouldn't they go back better off than when they came?" he said.
Local officials say the 32,000-square-foot jail wing to house inmates with mental illness could serve as a national model that addresses the realities of mental health services across the country.
"We really believe that we've pushed the design envelope into a whole new area," said
The 72-bed facility, which will be attached to the north side of the existing jail at the county complex, will have four separate single-story units: a 12-bed high-security unit and three standard 20-bed units with ready access to exterior recreation or green-space areas. The three 20-bed units can be divided into two areas of 10 beds each for configurations that increase the amount of time inmates are outside their cells.
In all, the facility will include 48 cells, of which half are double-bunked; nine day rooms; seven multipurpose rooms; and six mental health observation rooms.
The four units surround a central open-air courtyard that designers hope will create a "village" environment. Space for group and individual counseling and basic medical examinations will also be included.
County officials said the new jail facility will allow inmates with mental illness to be stabilized rather than aggravating or worsening their mental health. Walker said the facility will include some of the same treatment programs that are available on the "outside," allowing inmates to be transitioned to community-based programs without a break in treatment.
"The goal is to do a better job in-custody so someone has a better chance at success when they get into that program out of custody," Walker said.
Lt.
"We didn't go there with the idea, 'Here's what we're building.' We went there with the idea, 'Here's what we want to build. Do you have any ideas? We're looking for suggestions,'?" Cleek said.
"The unit will offer inmates with mental health conditions access to the out-of-doors, to lawn areas and trees -- limited, of course -- and more natural lighting inside," she said. "These are design basics that help to create a sense of dignity and the hope of recovery. These basics aren't possible in the current facilities."
If Walsh's organization can secure the funding, it hopes to provide support groups like NAMI Connection, which helps individuals living with mental illness recognize things that can trigger their illness and learn coping skills to deal with them more effectively.
State funds will cover
The wing, which will be staffed with the equivalent of 38 full-time employees, is expected to cost
Last spring, the
CFMG will administer an array of psychiatric services, including mental health evaluations, group and individual psychotherapy, crisis management and psychotropic medication services.
Before CFMG, the
The new
In February, county supervisors approved the schematic design of the new jail wing and authorized the publication of a request for qualifications for the wing's construction. Officials hope to award a construction contract by December and break ground by next May, a schedule that would allow the facility to open by
The initiative, headed by the
These include collecting and reviewing data to better assess the flow in and out of jail for inmates with mental illness; assessing the county's mental health and substance abuse services; investing in programs that keep mentally ill people out of jail; developing a plan to reduce their numbers in jail; and tracking the plan's progress.
Zane said the county is already taking some of these steps with its mental health court and diversion programs that mandate treatment through the probation process.
"The way that you reduce the number of people with severe mental illness in our jails is you treat them on the outside," Zane said. "It's the early intervention and prevention approach."
This report was produced as a project for the California Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the
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