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Council backs county general transfers for Court Services health insurance and opioid‑funded mental‑health assessments
Summary
Council approved a $30,000 county general transfer to cover Court Services health insurance shortfall and approved $15,000 from restricted opioid settlement funds to pay Encompass Health for pretrial mental‑health assessments to inform defense hearings.
The Dearborn County Council on Nov. 24 approved two funding requests to support court‑related services.
Court Services director (Speaker 15) asked for an additional $30,000 from county general to cover a shortfall in health insurance costs for grant‑funded staff; the total health insurance obligation cited was $243,534 and the requested $30,000 would carry the department through 2025. Council moved and approved the $30,000 transfer by voice vote.
Speaker 15 also requested $15,000 from restricted opioid settlement funds to contract with Encompass Health for on‑site mental‑health assessments at booking. The assessments are intended to identify severe mental‑health needs (speaker cited roughly 22% of the booked population) and provide reports to defense counsel and judges to inform bond and release decisions; council approved the transfer from the restricted opioid fund by voice vote.
Both measures were presented as targeted, limited‑term uses of county funds: the insurance transfer addresses immediate invoicing needs for 2025, and the opioid‑funded assessment program is a programmatic match for the restricted funds’ allowable uses.
Next steps: auditors and department staff will execute transfers and contract with Encompass Health; the court services director will report outcomes and usage back to council as the programs proceed.
