Jail officials will look for new mental health provider
The Record-EagleFeb 27, 2021
Feb. 27—TRAVERSE CITY —
The sticking point was whether those receiving services should continue to be housed in one six-man cell, something jail Administrator
"Over the several months of contract talks, it became evident that
Negotiations have been ongoing since October.
"We were very close, but unfortunately we could not come to an agreement on what we believe would be needed to successfully deliver the services the jail needs and wants," said
A contract proposed by CMH would have inmates remain housed in one cell, but would offer care that would include an assessment of all inmates referred from the booking process, which Blamer said would be about 70 percent of all inmates. It would also include individual and group therapy and discharge planning.
CMH also sought to add another full-time masters-level behavioral health specialist to administer services for a total cost of
Under the former
The jail now has services only for those in mental health crisis provided by CMH under an enabling agreement that has been in place in
Jail and county officials will meet next week to determine its next steps, Barsheff said. He said another service provider will likely be sought through a request for proposals.
The county recently worked with the
Barsheff is also optimistic about a partnership with
In a recent presentation to the
Those services can be done by community partners such as Catholic Human Services, which does assessments and counseling for substance use disorder, and Keys to Freedom, a nonprofit organization that can help inmates with reintegration, Barsheff said.
Blamer said before the jail had a contract with CMH, classroom-style group sessions were held for decades.
"It has not rendered the results that they were looking for," Blamer said. "Having the group cell is where we think that we could make the most difference."
The group cell has the therapeutic component, but also allows inmates to put the skills they've learned into practice and be accountable to each other, she said. In the two years the program has been in place there has only been one verbal confrontation between inmates, she said.
"Clearly the opportunity to practice these skills while they were in the cell with each other was working," Blamer said.
But Barsheff said that there sometimes were only a few men in the group.
Barsheff told commissioners that he has done a lot of research and has reached out to other jails in
It also allows for inmates who are in differing classifications based on the severity of their crimes to participate in the program when it is offered in an open area, as they cannot be housed with those in different classifications, he said.
The CMH program was modeled after one in
The July study, done by NCCHC Resources, was commissioned by the jail about a year ago at a cost of
Blamer has said much of the report was not accurate, but agreed that more inmates could be reached.
CMH would like to focus on working with the jail in the future and with other community partners to improve the situation for people with mental illness who end up in jail, Blamer said.
The agency currently has a request for proposals out for alternatives to emergency rooms and jails, she said.
The hope is to someday develop a crisis center to treat people. The center would have observation rooms, as people are sometimes held for several days in emergency rooms, and may have a residential component, she said.
Other CMH initiatives include adding licensed mental health professionals for after-hours emergencies, establishment of mobile crisis units for families and a Juvenile Justice Diversion Program that helps divert young people from the juvenile system and connects them with needed services. So far, 49 youths have been diverted under the program, Blamer said.
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