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Sheriff says Young County cleared to use grant funding to add nurses, behavioral-health response
Summary
Sheriff Robert Babcock told the commission the county received approval to set up grant reimbursement and will use funds to hire two nurses, buy vehicles and equipment, and fund a social worker to respond to mental-health crises in the community.
Young County Sheriff Robert Travis Babcock told the Commissioners Court the county has cleared administrative requirements to begin using a federal grant that will fund additional medical and behavioral-health staffing and equipment for the jail and community response.
Babcock said the county received the "go ahead" to be set up in the grant system and that the grant will be reimbursement-based: the county will purchase and administer services up front and then submit expenses for reimbursement. He said planned uses include hiring two additional nurses, purchasing vehicles and computer/networking equipment, and adding a social worker whose role will include responding to mental-health crises in the community.
"We got the go ahead on Friday that all the paperwork and all the administering and it's ridiculous what you have to go through to accept these grants. But we accomplished it," Babcock said. He told the court the nurses will respond to mental-health crises and that the county will move forward to implement the funded positions and equipment.
Court members asked procedural questions. Commissioner Jimmy Wiley asked whether the grant funds would be distributed directly to the county or reimbursed; Babcock confirmed the grant is reimbursable. The sheriff and county staff discussed coordination with regional providers and a plan for nurse response both in the jail and in the field.
The discussion also referenced existing county initiatives such as work with Celebrate Recovery and the desire to incorporate referrals to community substance-abuse programs into probation or sentencing where appropriate. County officials said they will research whether particular programs can be made part of a jail sentence or incorporated into probation conditions.
No formal vote was required on the item; the sheriff's report was informational and the court provided direction to proceed with administrative steps needed to implement the grant-funded program.
