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Fulton County officials describe mental-health court co-responder, navigator and cite drop in jail population
Summary
Justice and behavioral-health representatives told Fulton County commissioners that a mental-health court co-responder and a recovery supports navigator have increased deferrals to community treatment and reduced the number of people jailed at the Bedford County Correctional Facility; officials said next steps include resource mapping and exploring supported housing.
Fulton County commissioners on Jan. 20 heard from justice-system and behavioral-health representatives about steps the county has taken to divert people with behavioral-health needs from incarceration.
The representatives said the county has implemented a mental health court co-responder and a recovery supports navigator, and that those initiatives, supported by blended funding from County Mental Health resources and grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, have increased referrals to community-based treatment. According to the presentation to commissioners, those changes have coincided with a measurable reduction in the number of people incarcerated at the Bedford County Correctional Facility and associated cost savings for the county.
Commissioners present included Chairman Randy H. Bunch, Commissioner Hervey P. Hann and Commissioner Steven L. Wible (participating by telephone). The update to the board did not list a formal vote; commissioners recorded the project as an item for continued collaboration and next-step planning.
Officials said the immediate next steps are to map available resources to support training for the new responses and to explore supported housing options for people exiting court diversion or community treatment. The presentation identified funding sources as county mental-health resources supplemented by grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency; no dollar amounts tied to the initiatives were provided in the meeting record.
The commissioners also were told that the strengthened systems have led to more deferrals to treatment rather than incarceration. That claim was presented by the justice and behavioral-health representatives; the meeting minutes record it as an observed change rather than as an independently verified statistic presented at the meeting.
No formal policy action or contract award was recorded during the update; commissioners directed staff to continue mapping resources and exploring housing options as part of ongoing coordination between courts and behavioral-health partners. The board entered executive session for personnel matters later in the day and adjourned at 1:36 p.m.
