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Program aims to help inmates

Many have mental health issues

A new program at the Webster County Jail aims to not only help inmates who may be suffering from mental health issues, but also prevent them from committing more crimes and ending up back in the facility.

The Jail Diversion program has been a part of the Webster County Jail for about three weeks.

Alison Hauser, County Social Services intensive care administrator, said the goal of the program is to put a cap on recidivism of inmates by offering services that will help the inmates both while they’re in jail and once they’re released.

She said the main focus of the group will be on inmates suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues.

“We would offer support and services for those individuals,” Hauser said.

Sheriff Jim Stubbs said, on average, about 60 percent of the jail’s population suffers from mental health ailments.

While the Jail Diversion program is new to Webster County, it’s not new to the state.

He said Black Hawk, Linn, Johnson, Lee and Henry counties all participate in the program as well.

The Jail Diversion staff in Webster County also operates out of Cerro Gordo County.

Besides Hauser, who is a supervisor within the program, there is also Deborah Schmehr, the County Social Services integrated care manager as well as Jail Division coordinator.

Schmehr spends two days a week in the jail.

“I review the daily population report and look at the records that the jail has as far as how people answer some mental health screening questions to see if they have a history of mental health problems,” Schmehr said. “I also look to see if we, as a region, have any records on them, if we’ve provided any services to them in the past. And then I meet with those people or anyone the jail staff has identified that mentions mental health issues or seems to be having mental health problems while they’re in jail.”

Hauser said her responsibilities include helping to train Schmehr as well as work on diagnostic information, support and services.

She’s also going to be working on tracking the outcomes of the services.

Although the program just started and it’s too early to tell how effective it has been, Webster County Jail Sgt. Shawna Dencklau said the inmates have had a positive response to it.

“Inmates, between male and female, really like the program,” Dencklau said. “They like having someone to talk to and help them out with finding medication and getting the help they need.”

In fact, she said some inmates, after speaking with Schmehr just once, will request to see her again for more services.

Hauser said the ultimate goal is to make sure the inmates don’t end up back in prison.

“There’s probably a gap with their services in terms of mental health and substance abuse,” she said. “How can we close that gap and make them more successful?”

Stubbs added that many of the inmates that suffer from mental health issues end up committing crimes because they are suffering from ailments.

“It’s not that they’re out there committing all these crimes,” he said. “It’s just the mental illness is getting them back in the jail, and the jail’s not where they need to be.”

He’s hopeful that, with the help of Jail Diversion, people with mental illnesses will be kept out of the jail and instead get the treatment they need.

Stubbs went on to say that this service is at no additional expense to taxpayers.

It’s funded through the 22 counties that take part in the County Social Services region.

“The public pays their taxes and that’s where the region gets the money,” he said.

The only expense the public would pay is if people suffering from mental illness end up back in the jail.

“The expense is if these individuals do not receive their help,” Stubbs said.

Hauser added that, if Webster County doesn’t have a service for the inmates, they can utilize any of the other services offered in the 22-county region.

She went on to say that, as the program develops, she would like to add more services, such as literacy classes and possibly even high school equivalency programs to help inmates secure jobs when they’re released from jail.

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