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Fulton County officials report fewer jail stays after new court–behavioral health partnerships
Summary
County commissioners heard that a new mental-health court co-responder and recovery supports navigator have increased deferrals to community treatment and coincided with fewer people jailed at Bedford County Correctional Facility; officials said funding is blended from county mental-health resources and grants but did not specify savings amounts.
FULTON COUNTY, Pa. — Representatives from the county’s justice system and behavioral-health providers told the Fulton County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 20 that recent coordination efforts are diverting more people from incarceration into community-based treatment.
The meeting record described two recent initiatives: a mental health court co-responder and a recovery supports navigator. According to the minutes, those changes — supported through a mix of county mental-health funds and grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency — have led to notable reductions in the number of people incarcerated at the Bedford County Correctional Facility and to “measurable cost savings.” The minutes did not specify the dollar amount of those savings.
Commissioners were told the next steps include mapping available community resources to support training and exploring options for supported housing for people exiting the justice system. The minutes say officials will continue to coordinate funding streams, training and referral pathways to increase treatment placements instead of jail stays.
The update was presented as part of routine agenda business; the record lists the participants as representatives from the justice system and behavioral-health services but does not name the individual presenters. The commissioners did not record further formal action on the initiatives during the Jan. 20 meeting.
Background: the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency was identified in the minutes as a source of grant funding for the collaborative work. The minutes also reference the Bedford County Correctional Facility as the local detention site where the drop in incarcerated individuals was observed.
The commissioners adjourned the meeting at 1:36 p.m.
