Douglas County sheriff—s office details jail reintegration efforts and homelessness data

Sergeant Brian Briggs of the Douglas County Sheriff—s Office told the Douglas County HEART Committee that the office—s reintegration work seeks to reduce recidivism by connecting people booked into the jail with housing, treatment and other services.

Briggs said the office uses self-reported data collected at booking to identify unhoused people and to target resources. "This is not a cure all," Briggs said, characterizing the effort as a set of basic services and supports rather than a single solution. He told the committee that, as of a recent Tuesday, 50 people in the jail self-identified as unhoused: 10 were recorded as unhoused and residing in Douglas County and 40 as unhoused but from outside the county.

The presentation described patterns the jail sees: people arrested near regional transit lines and at the end of light-rail routes often end up in Douglas County because they ride transit and leave service at the line terminus. Briggs said those trends produce a higher share of out-of-county residents in the jail—s unhoused population.

Briggs and reintegration staff provided additional operational details. The sheriff—s office reported that people who identify as unhoused average about 30 days in the jail, compared with roughly 20 days for other inmates; staff stated an approximate current housing cost of about $67 per inmate per day and said finance is recalculating that figure and it may increase. Briggs noted additional medical and treatment costs can make the effective taxpayer cost higher than that base number.

Son Castillo Jones, who oversees JBBS and reintegration teams in the sheriff—s office, described services the reintegration unit provides and the community partnerships that support them. Her team—s 2024 intake data, she said, showed 84% of participants reported needing housing assistance and 59% reported literal homelessness; the team also collected self-reported prevalence of other risk factors: 80% reported a substance use disorder, 61% reported a mental health diagnosis, 85% reported trauma and 29% reported a traumatic brain injury.

Castillo Jones described a multi-pronged approach: two substance-use-disorder clinicians, four case managers, assistance replacing identification documents (booking IDs and DMV waivers), direct transport into inpatient or outpatient treatment, sober-living placements with the program paying the first 30 days—rent using JVBS and Correctional Treatment Board grant funds, and partnerships with Arapahoe Douglas Works for employment readiness. She said the reintegration deputy often transports clients directly from the jail to treatment or sober living and that the office negotiated court orders with the public defender and district attorney offices allowing deputy transport into treatment placements in order to improve the rate at which people actually arrive and check in.

Briggs and Castillo Jones described follow-up case management in the community after release: the reintegration deputy and clinicians make in-person visits, sometimes driving long distances, to meet clients "where they're at," check on progress and reduce the chance of relapse. Briggs said those face-to-face follow-ups improve long-term outcomes compared with people who simply walk out the jail door with no coordination. "We don't want them to come to jail," Briggs said, describing diversion into HEART and CRT as the preferred option when appropriate.

Briggs and Castillo Jones also described operational resources: a Lyft contract used for hundreds of rides, RTD bus passes, busing passes and Uber gift cards for clients with smartphones, plus coordination with federal contract beds such as U.S. Marshals placements. They said the reintegration deputy also supports problem-solving courts (sobriety, recovery, veterans courts), work release and employer partnerships to connect clients with jobs.

The reintegration staff described broader system benefits when specialty programs exist locally. Briggs said an upcoming mental-health competency court through the 20th Judicial District is expected to shorten the time people wait for restoration and evaluation, which he said has previously required transfers to Pueblo and added months to case processing.

Committee members praised the collaboration among law enforcement, clinicians and community partners and encouraged continued support for reintegration staffing and transportation resources. Commissioner Layden said the county had backed the reintegration deputy a decade ago and characterized the program as an example of pairing public safety with social services. "We are not arresting our way out of homelessness," Layden said, urging the committee to continue investing in diversion and reintegration work.