Public must have chance to assess jail diversion programs
Travis County has at least two dozen programs intended to steer people toward mental health support, substance abuse treatment and other services instead of assigning them a bunk at the county jail.
But are those programs working?
Before spending $97 million on a new wing of the Travis County jail, the public deserves to know.
The various agencies involved in administering these jail diversion programs — from the Project Engage program for older teens to the renowned DWI Court — carefully track the enrollment, completion and overall success rate of their efforts.
But as the Travis County Commissioners Court discussed the proposed jail addition earlier this month, it became clear that advocates for criminal justice reform and members of the public did not have access to that data, let alone a broader understanding of what these programs are accomplishing. Commissioners Brigid Shea and Jeffrey Travillion rightly pushed for a one-year delay on the jail decision — so the community could have time to assess the diversion programs, look at retooling or shuttering the ones that aren’t up to par, and identify resources for those that should be expanded.
Such a wholesale review in the public eye is welcome.
In February the Statesman’s Ryan Autullo highlighted concerns over the county’s Jail Reduction Docket — recently revamped as the Bond Reduction Docket — with defense attorneys saying some inmates felt pressured to take bad plea deals — and possibly confess to crimes they didn’t commit — just so they could end their jail stay.
In addition, the steep drop in drug court enrollment, particularly among African-Americans, has continued since the Statesman’s Jazmine Ulloa first reported on the issue in 2015. Last year, the program served 51 people — half its capacity — and only 7 percent of participants were African-American, down from 23 percent in 2014. Consider that in 2009, nearly a third of drug court participants were black — and that overall, African-Americans still account for a disproportionately large number of defendants arrested on felony drug charges.
The dwindling drug court enrollment is particularly troubling, considering officials recently cited the growing number of second- and third-degree felony drug possession cases among the higher-level charges producing longer jail stays. It’s worth examining why more of these cases aren’t going to drug court, and whether the program should be adapted to better help those whose crimes are rooted in addiction.
We should note that some programs have made a significant difference. For instance, the Emergency Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, which is dispatched when a person is having a mental health crisis, has saved an estimated $3.4 million a year by preventing arrests or visits to the emergency room. And among the 205 graduates who have successfully completed the Veterans Court program since 2010, only 24 have been arrested on new charges.
This one-year pause on the jail addition also gives commissioners some time to size up the potential impact of newer diversion programs. The county attorney’s marijuana diversion class that launched in November has already prevented more than 300 people from being booked at the county jail, while the sobriety center — expected to open in August to handle people accused of public intoxication — could divert 2,500 people a year from the jail.
County officials are still putting together the public review process for the diversion programs. County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said it could look similar to the approach taken with the forensic lab review: A panel with technical expertise would assess the situation and outline options; then a citizens advisory group could add suggestions and recommend action. Meetings with stakeholder groups on the forensic lab have not been open to the public, so we urge the county to make review of the diversion programs an open book, with public meetings and reports posted online for anyone to read.
Sheriff Sally Hernandez is understandably concerned about delaying the jail addition, a proposed 411-bed building that would bring all the female inmates under one roof. Women are currently dispersed across four buildings at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle — an inefficient setup that makes it difficult for women to access programs, such as behavioral counseling or GED prep sessions, offered in other buildings. If the proposed facility is built — a process that likely would take three to four years — officials would be able to knock down several older, deteriorating buildings at the jail complex.
Thankfully, the jail is not facing the kinds of overcrowding issues that plagued Travis County from the 1970s to 1990s. In fact, the overall jail population has held steady since 2009. But it is a daily challenge for jail officials to match inmates to the right kinds of cells, particularly given the growing need for beds in units equipped to handle inmates with medical or mental health issues. Adding the new building would free up more of those beds for men and women alike.
Travis County deserves a criminal justice system that helps people put their lives back together. The diversion programs and the jail both play important roles in that mission. The question of improving them shouldn’t be an either/or proposition. But getting a better handle first on the diversion programs will help ensure the jail addition has the appropriate scale — and price tag — to house those whose crimes demand an arrest.
We have time to get this right.