County jail seeks $60K mental health counselor

April 22--An increase in the number of inmates with mental health issues has prompted Crawford County jail officials to ask county commissioners for another mental health counselor.

At Tuesday's work session, jail Deputy Warden Ken Saulsbery made a pitch to commissioners to bring on a 40 hour-a-week licensed mental health worker to counsel inmates for $59,241.82 a year.

"We want to make sure while they're in jail, (inmates) get mental health help," Saulsbery said. "We're hoping through counseling we can help them a little bit better."

This would not add a new county employee, as medical services to the jail are provided by an outside company -- Prime Care Medical. A new mental health worker would be a Prime Care employee.

Currently, the only mental health professional at the jail is a psychiatrist employed by Prime Care. There are two county employees who make appointments for inmates with mental health professionals and assist with mental health administration, but don't do any mental health counseling, Saulsbery said.

Statistics from March 1, 2014, through Feb. 28 showed that 851 inmates were in need of psychiatric services. The average daily jail population for the time covered is 241.

Saulsbery said that 44.5 percent of the jail's population are prescribed psychotropic medications. Psychotropic drugs are substances that alter mood, perception or consciousness.

There were 91 inmates on suicide watch during the year studied. Saulsbery said this presents a unique problem for the jail.

An inmate who is coming into the jail on or is put on suicide watch cannot be released until they have met with a mental health professional, Saulsbery said. This is true even if the individual makes bail, Saulsbery said, or the jail would be liable if something happens.

Commissioner C. Sherman Allen asked if the mental health worker could assess mental health. Audience member Merton Simons asked what the qualification of the mental health worker would be. Saulsbery was unable to answer those questions and said those would be questions for Prime Care.

County Administrator Mark Lessig recommended to Saulsbery that a Prime Care representative attend the next jail board meeting to make a presentation and answer questions.

Saulsbery told the Tribune the number of inmates with mental health diagnosis now is higher than previous years. Saulsbery said he did not have the numbers with him, but he said the number wasn't significantly higher. Prison officials expect the number of prisoners with mental health issues to continue going up.

When asked why the numbers of mental health inmates are going up, Saulsbery speculated that facilities such as North Warren are closing and people normally sent to those type of facilities are now being sentenced to jail.

Earl Corp can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at ecorp@meadvilletribune.com.

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