Sheriff Javier Salazar and Center for Health Care Services CEO Jelynne LeBlanc-Jamison are advocating for a diversion center in Bexar County to address jail overcrowding driven by untreated mental illness and substance use. San Antonio City Council’s Public Safety Committee advanced a Council Consideration Request calling for a joint city-county ad hoc committee to explore a centralized diversion and recovery system, with a feasibility study briefing scheduled for February 11. According to Sheriff Salazar, the Bexar County Jail has become a de facto mental health provider for hundreds of people who do not need to be incarcerated.
How Diversion Centers Would Function
A diversion center would serve as a therapeutic alternative to jail for people with mental health or substance use issues engaged by law enforcement for low-level offenses such as criminal trespassing. Instead of mandatory incarceration, individuals would have the option to voluntarily choose between jail or diversion treatment, beginning treatment at the appropriate time. According to Salazar, “I’m a fan of the concept. I can tell you at any given time we’ve got several hundred people that don’t need to be here.”
Systemic Barriers to Current Diversion
The Center for Health Care Services was recently removed from the assessment process at jail intake in Bexar County. LeBlanc-Jamison stated that prior to October 1, CHCS would make hundreds of recommendations for diversions but fewer than 100 would be approved. After the October 1 change, “no one is being diverted for treatment.” She emphasized that only individuals eligible for personal recognizance bonds are released; otherwise they remain jailed. “One would really have to question their values at that point,” she said.
Population and Safety Benefits
Early diversion would prevent individuals from entering the system in the first place, avoiding the problem of mental health needs going undetected for days, weeks, or months into incarceration. Sheriff Salazar noted that without early intervention, “it’s harder to undo what has already been done at that point.” LeBlanc-Jamison emphasized that the current approach is unsustainable: “Every commissioner’s court meeting there’s always talk of either overtime or the cost to house out inmates in other jails,” and both costs would decrease if the county stopped “relying on the jail to fix all of society’s issues.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/sheriff-salazar-and-ceo-of-mental-health-authority-say-79455801