Editor’s Note: The video at the top of this story shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County staff are working to put out a request for qualification related to the county's upcoming mental health diversion center, an initiative designed to divert people with serious mental health complications or drug addiction away from serving jail time for minor offenses.
Travis County commissioners unanimously voted back in March to move forward on recommendations from a forensic mental health project conducted by Dell Medical School. That project report included five "high priority" recommendations, including the creation of a mental health diversion center.
On Tuesday, county staff said officials have been hosting bimonthly meetings and undergone site visits to diversion centers elsewhere. They have also held meetings with City of Austin officials on possible site options and pathways forward. Now, the county is pursuing an RFQ to identify an architectural and engineering design team to assist with updating a downtown campus plan, analyzing potential sites and completing work on the programs and design of the facility.
During Tuesday's briefing, Travis County Sheriff Sheriff Sally Hernandez said the Travis County Jail currently has 2,343 people in its population — substantially higher than it's been in years. Officials also clarified that the mental health diversion center discussion also pertains to work underway with a new TCSO booking facility.
Tyronne Jolly, senior program manager working on the mental health diversion program, told commissioners Tuesday it's critical to view this upcoming center as part of a "continuum" of care diverting people with extreme mental health or drug abuse complications from ending up in the prison pipeline.
"A mental health diversion center would be an important part of the continuum or system that I've been referencing, and could add much needed capacity where individuals, again, with serious mental health challenges can get the care they need in a safe, therapeutic environment," Jolly said.
The specifics of the program and operating costs are yet to be determined, county staff said Tuesday. Once work begins, officials estimated the project could take five-and-a-half years to fully complete the design and contractual work, construction and its transition to opening for use.
Staff are poised to return to commissioners for further discuss on the project scope and RFQ before it's put out to bid.
