Rutherford County will establish a Mental Health Court by December or January once state funding arrives to hire a therapist and two case workers, an official said.
General Sessions Court Judge Barry Tidwell will preside over the Mental Health Court, Recovery Court Director Trey King told the County Commission Public Safety Committee Monday night.
With a goal of reducing people returning to crime and abusing drugs and alcohol, King will oversee the Mental Health Court along with the county's DUI Court, Drug Court, Veterans Court and probation services. His office also will be offering pre-trial release monitoring to begin in September after the Aug. 4 election of a fourth General Sessions Court judge being added with a courtroom to be based at the overcrowded jail.
King told the committee that Recovery Court is working to help those without jobs obtain the skills needed to pursue work.
"We are doing everything we can to try to get them employed," King said.
When it comes to the planned Mental Health Court, the funding from the state will be up to $140,000 to pay for a therapist who will also serve Veterans Court, as well as two case workers with each of these courts getting one, King said.
King also updated the committee about probation services added in April after the County Commission ended the contract with PCC, which is also known as Pathways Community Corrections Inc. and formerly known as Providence Community Corrections Inc. PCC and the county face a federal lawsuit accusing them of extorting low-income and disabled people for the company's — and county's — financial gain.
Middle Tennessee U.S. District Court Chief Judge Kevin Sharp ordered the county to release 13 inmates in December held because they couldn't afford to pay PCC fees. The case is currently in mediation.
King said his Recovery Court had about 2,900 probation cases when the public service began, and this number has since grown to 3,422.
The goal of the Recovery Court is to reduce the 53 percent recidivism rate in which inmates return to the county jail on charges within a year of being released, said King, whose services includes free anger management classes as well as life-skills courses to help people, such as with parenting, living sober and training for job skills.
Jail faces overcrowding
The added General Sessions Court judge is needed for preliminary hearings to handle cases faster to relieve overcrowding of inmates, Rutherford County Sheriff's Office Capt. Chris Deal said.
"The goal is for them to have court every day," said Deal, who added that the county also needs another Circuit Court judge to handle criminal trials faster for inmates. "I've got people in here who have been waiting for trial since 2014."
The jail had about 811 inmates Monday with 14 males in protected custody sleeping on floor mattresses, Deal said in an interview after speaking with the committee.
Another 12 female inmates were having to sleep on the floor, Deal said.
The jail has been able to transfer some inmates to state prison, he said.
"We took seven female inmates to Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville (Monday)," said Deal, noting that the state usually accepts prisoners who are pregnant or have major medical needs.
The state taking inmates to prison only offers temporary relief at the jail, added Deal, who is second in command in overseeing the inmates.
"We're going to start creeping back up again," Deal said. "The population is going to continue to rise."
Although the jail is overcrowded, the Correctional Work Center is not at this time with 152 inmates, Superintendent Bernard Salandy said. His center can handle up to 250 non-violent offenders, and seeks to give them job and life skills.