Southeast Kansas Mental Health officials told the Linn County Commission on Dec. 15 that an in‑jail mental‑health liaison pilot is producing early activity and should be tracked before making a longer-term funding commitment.

Brian Cook, crisis director for Southeast Kansas Mental Health, said the program uses a sequential intercept model to identify people at booking and offer in‑jail and reentry services. Since October the jail has sent 27 referrals — 8 in October, 10 in November and 9 in December — and staff have scheduled first appointments for several of those individuals. The program offers weekly in‑person therapist coverage at the jail, telehealth support, a dedicated crisis case manager, peer support and reentry packets designed to connect people with community resources after release. Cook said service fees are waived for anyone seen while incarcerated so that billing does not deter engagement.

Cook said the pilot will be evaluated on concrete metrics: time from booking to referral, time from referral to first outreach, time to first appointment, engagement after release, 30‑day returns to jail and severity markers such as identification of severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). He also shared early mobile crisis response figures: four mobile responses in October and five in November, with median screening assessment response times of 18 minutes in October and 15 minutes in November.

Local officials and responders described practical supports already in place: reentry packets compiled by program staff, donated backpacks and items from local churches, and community volunteers helping recently released people find services. Commissioners expressed broad support for the pilot but stopped short of adopting a formal resolution of commitment at the meeting. Instead they asked Southeast Kansas Mental Health to return with a progress report and the specific metrics Cook proposed, with follow‑up recommended on a roughly 60–90 day cadence.

The commission discussed whether to issue a formal resolution or a signed letter of support; several members said a progress report would better inform any later formal endorsement. No new county funding or contractual changes were approved at the Dec. 15 meeting.

What’s next: Southeast Kansas Mental Health will be invited back to present the agreed metrics and a progress report; commissioners asked staff to prepare wording for a potential letter of support if the commission elects not to adopt a formal resolution immediately.