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Huerfano County approves amendment to jail-based behavioral health program and names program manager
Summary
The Board approved Amendment No. 5 to the jail-based behavioral health (JBS) agreement, authorized the sheriff to sign, and approved contracting Nancy Windsor to manage the program subject to financial reporting to the county CFO and semiannual updates to the Board.
Huerfano County commissioners on an otherwise routine agenda voted to approve Amendment No. 5 to the county’s jail-based behavioral health (JBS) agreement and to contract a manager for the program.
County staff said the JBS program has operated since September 2021 with funding from the Correctional Treatment Cash Fund under Colorado Revised Statutes 18-19-1035(c)(5). “The goal of the JBS program is to provide appropriate behavioral health services to inmates while supporting cognitive care within the community after the use of incarceration,” a staff member told the board during the meeting.
The amendment, presented as Amendment No. 5, makes program changes and continues the county’s partnership with the sheriff’s office and local community providers that supply in-jail services and post-release supports. County staff said the approach is intended to shorten jail stays and reduce recidivism by better identifying and treating behavioral health needs.
The board also approved a separate agreement to have Nancy Windsor manage the JBS program on behalf of the sheriff’s office. The motion approving Windsor’s contract included two explicit conditions requested by a commissioner: that Windsor submit financial reimbursement reporting to the county’s chief financial officer, Jim Perdue, and that she provide semiannual reports to the Board of County Commissioners on the program and its results. The motion passed.
Commissioners did not provide a detailed vote tally on the record beyond indicating the motion passed. No changes to the funding source cited in the staff presentation were announced at the meeting.
The JBS program remains dependent on the Correctional Treatment Cash Fund and on contracts with community providers; staff said additional provider agreements are expected to come forward in the weeks before July 1.
What’s next: The sheriff was authorized to sign the amendment, and county staff will proceed with contracting steps and reporting as required by the conditions set by the board.
