Mental Health resource program for inmates to be pushed through City Council

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A bill focusing on mental health resources for inmates at the Duval County jail is being pushed forward by City Councilmember Ron Salem.

The bill is essentially the approval of the Mental Health Offender Program, a misdemeanor pre-trial diversion program. It would be a nine-month pilot program that would give people with misdemeanor arrests who are suffering from mental illness and provide them support. The support would include access to medical, dental, and behavioral health, substance abuse resources, housing, job counseling/training, and other community services.

The program costs a total of $400,000. Half of the cost will be paid by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the other half would be paid through the City Council’s Social Justice and Community Investment Committee. The costs would primarily go to the Sulzbacher Center to help provide the above resources.

“It does save a lot of money in the system because what happens is, rather than a person who commits a misdemeanor because they have an untreated mental health illness, they now have an opportunity through the public defender, state attorney and judges to enter into this program, which in essence will provide all of the wraparound mental health services that the person actually needs and will get that person stabilized back on their feet and into the economy,” Cindy Funkhouser, CEO of the Sulzbacher Center, said to councilmembers Monday morning.

The program is being backed by JSO, the State Attorney’s Office, the Sulzbacher Center, and is approved by Chief Judge Mark Mahon.

Here is how the program would work: when a person gets arrested and qualifies for the program, Sulzbacher staff (Psychiatric ARNP or other mental health professional) will attend the first court hearing with the person. They will then advocate with the judge for MHOP enrollment. People who do decide to enroll in the program will be on supervision throughout the time they are in the program. After the court hearing, and being placed officially into the program, the person will be immediately connected to Mental Health Services through the Sulzbacher Center’s Federally Qualified Healthcare Center, located directly across the street from the jail. There they will be provided with all medications necessary and if needed will be housed in a hotel/motel.

According to JSO, from January through September, 658 arrestees have had mental health flags. 242 of those were homeless. The number of inmates that have mental health struggles and were homeless have increased by over 300 percent from 2019, according to the Sulzbacher Center.

Council member Ron Salem expressed in the Neighborhoods Committee meeting Monday morning that due to all of the canceled City Council meetings that happened a few weeks ago and with the closure of City Council for the upcoming holiday break, he would like to get this bill passed.

If the bill passes the Rules, Finance, and Social Justice Committees in the next week, Salem says that it will be up for a final vote next Tuesday in City Council.

Cox Media Group