A new Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report is trying to encourage efforts to deal with mental health issues in the county’s jail population.
For years, the jail system has by default been the largest mental health facility in the county. County Sheriff’s Office officials say nearly half of the system’s inmates have mental health issues. The new report blasted the company that had provided mental health services for inmates for the last few years. It was also critical of the Sheriff’s Office for what it calls a lack of oversight.
Corizon Health was replaced by a different provider this year, California Forensic Medical Group. The County also increased funding to attract, and keep qualified staff members, as well as to establish a better recordkeeping system.
The Grand Jury is calling on the Sheriff’s Office to conduct regular performance reviews to keep the program on track.
