Davis County to host Utah State Hospital competency restoration unit; sheriff requests two deputies

Davis County officials said July 29 that an agreement with the Utah State Hospital will place a hospital-run competency restoration unit inside the county jail, increasing local treatment capacity for defendants found mentally incompetent to stand trial and generating roughly $1.4 million a year in contracted revenue for the county.

Sheriff Kelly Sparks told the County Commission the agreement — which the commission approved last week — does not require Davis County to hire additional staff under its terms. "This agreement does not require us to hire additional staff," Sparks said, but he emphasized the program will increase daytime workload for deputies assigned to the unit and help reduce long waits for treatment that have kept defendants in jail for months.

The unit is designed to provide evaluation, medication and therapy to restore defendants’ competency to stand trial. Sparks described two recurring problems: long waits for an available bed at the state hospital, and relapse after patients return to the jail because the jail could not continue the hospital’s treatment regimen. "People sitting for months in a jail in a diminished state of mental health is a management issue to say the least," Sparks said.

The agreement will prioritize Davis County inmates for treatment slots, Sparks said, and the state will reimburse any required remodeling of office and treatment space in the jail. The county will receive a contracted bed rate substantially higher than the rates the jail receives from the U.S. Marshals Service or the state prison system; Sparks said the partnership will bring "over $1,400,000 into the county's general revenue each year." He added the program will free the county from funding a separate in-county restoration program staffed entirely by county hires.

Todd Unsinger, the county’s managing public defender, described the change as a "huge win" for both the criminal justice system and the defendants. "From a defense perspective ... this segment of our population is one of the most underserved," Unsinger said, adding that having restoration services in-county will reduce travel time for lawyers and families and keep patients closer to local services.

Sparks asked the commission to note that, despite the contract not requiring new hires, the program’s success depends on operational support in the jail. He said he will request additional funding for two deputy positions in the next year's budget to have specially trained personnel available during daytime treatment hours. Sparks estimated the combined wages for those two deputies at about $145,000 annually and framed that as less than 10% of the program’s expected annual revenue.

Commissioners voiced support for the plan and for seeking the two deputies. Commissioner Croft and Chair Lorene Kamalu both praised the interagency cooperation and emphasized the program’s humanitarian and system-wide benefits. Kamalu noted the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and community reentry partners as resources that will be important to program success.

Commission staff and the sheriff said this arrangement will reduce transport burdens, allow more consistent continuity of care and shorten the time defendants remain in jail awaiting competency restoration. The contract was approved by the commission at a prior meeting; the sheriff’s presentation on July 29 provided operational detail and a request for two deputies as a budget item for the next fiscal year.

The commission did not take a new vote on the contract during the July 29 meeting; Sparks said he will request the two deputies in the upcoming budget process.