House committee hears testimony on HB 1337 to fund jail mental‑health services; sponsors seek $10 million appropriation

The North Dakota House Human Services Committee opened a public hearing on House Bill 1337, a bill to appropriate state funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for county grants to provide mental‑health and substance‑use disorder services in county jails, and closed the hearing after hearing testimony from county officials, providers, correctional staff and the Department.

Representative Karen Anderson, sponsor of the bill and a Walsh County commissioner, told the committee the measure would “provide dedicated funding for mental health services in county jails,” and said the goal is to expand access statewide after Walsh County used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to run a three‑year pilot. Senator Tim Mathern, a licensed social worker with decades of behavioral health experience, and several Walsh County officials and providers testified in support.

Testimony described a Walsh County program run in partnership with Walsh County Health District and Agassi Associates PLLC that operated for three years with ARPA funding. Alan Anderson, director of the Walsh County Health District, said the county contracted Agassi Associates to provide group therapy, individual counseling and reentry services; Walsh County dedicated roughly $750,000 over the three years to the program. Agassi representatives and correctional staff said 294 inmates enrolled in behavioral health treatment through the Walsh County program over three years; about half of those who completed a post‑treatment questionnaire returned it, and those respondents reported the treatment was beneficial.

Witnesses and county representatives said the SUD (substance use disorder) voucher program — a state program established in 2016 — can fund addiction services for qualifying inmates, but the voucher is income‑based, excludes telehealth group sessions and is difficult to use for incarcerated people who lack documentation of income. Pam Segnus, Executive Director of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, described an existing state contract for integrated telehealth psychiatry that began this calendar year and provides assessment and medication management; Segnus and others emphasized that the telehealth psychiatry contract is not a comprehensive mental‑health treatment program.

Several witnesses said jail settings are an important point of access because many incarcerated people lose Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance while jailed (the Medicaid inmate‑exclusion policy), and local jails currently face funding gaps for sustained therapy and reentry services. Testimony cited research and program outcomes: witnesses stated roughly 60% of people in prisons and jails have a substance use disorder and about 44% of those in local jails have a history of mental illness; they pointed to reduced recidivism and public‑safety benefits from in‑jail treatment and to suicide risk among the incarcerated.

Representatives asked operational and fiscal questions: how many facilities could be funded with a proposed $10 million appropriation (witnesses estimated a per‑facility ballpark of about $250,000 per year for a biennium calculation), how many jails exist (the North Dakota Association of Counties said there are 19 jails, including regional facilities), and whether statewide provider capacity exists to scale programs. Witnesses said telehealth will be part of the delivery mix and that in‑person contact often helps engage harder‑to‑reach inmates.

Correctional staff described program benefits and cost context: Captain Adam Trahan of the Walsh County Sheriff’s Office said the county program produced measurable reentry engagement and argued the investment could reduce recidivism and correctional costs. Witnesses noted an estimate that it cost roughly $84,000 per year to house one incarcerated person in the state in 2023 (roughly $230 per day), and argued treatment that reduces reincarceration could produce savings.

Pam Segnus said DHHS would coordinate with existing programs to avoid duplication if the bill passes and offered to provide additional detail and documentation requested by legislators. The committee closed the hearing on HB 1337; no committee vote on the bill was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.

Votes at a glance: The transcript shows committee opening and closing of the HB 1337 hearing; no committee passage or roll call on HB 1337 appears in the excerpt.