Johnson County supervisors heard a presentation June 25 on the annual reimbursement agreement the county uses to support hospitalization referees who handle mental-health commitment hearings.

The agreement, the county attorney told the board, allows the courts to hold hearings three days a week rather than the once-weekly magistrate schedule common elsewhere in Iowa, which county officials said shortens the time people wait for hearings. "With that commitment from the board, the courts are able to serve some of the most vulnerable citizens of this community, in a much more efficient manner," Kelly Cortez, District Court Administrator for the Sixth Judicial District, said.

Why it matters: Johnson County is the only county in Iowa that funds a hospitalization-referee agreement, court officials said. That increased local capacity reduces waiting times after emergency holds or family-filed commitment applications, according to presenters.

How the system works: County funding supplements part-time magistrates by creating two part-time hospitalization-referee positions who focus exclusively on commitment hearings. County Attorney Rachel Zimmerman Smith called the arrangement a long-standing collaboration that helps ensure hearings and paperwork are scheduled more frequently and handled efficiently.

Concerns and limits: Cortez and Zimmerman Smith told the board there are emerging staffing challenges unrelated to the county agreement. By statute, the state judicial branch sets reimbursement rates for court-appointed counsel in commitment cases; presenters said the low statutory reimbursement has left only two local attorneys willing to accept court appointments for these cases in Johnson County. "There are only two lawyers in Johnson County who are signed up to take court appointments for mental commitments," Zimmerman Smith said, and that raises concern for timely access to counsel.

Board response and next steps: Supervisors asked practical questions about where people wait for hearings and about downstream impacts if the county did not maintain the agreement. Staff and presenters said hearings can occur within days when the county funds referees, whereas in other counties people may wait longer. Supervisors agreed to place the hospitalization-referee agreement on the July 3 formal agenda for board action.

No formal vote was taken during the June 25 work session; staff indicated the item would return for formal consideration on July 3.