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Corrections presenters say $700,000 treatment fund remains unchanged as in-house clinician credits fewer ER runs
Summary
Correctional presenters told commissioners the $700,000 treatment fund is not being increased; psychiatric nurse practitioner Ashley Delino described intake assessments, medication-assisted treatment and a drop in emergency transfers attributed to new in-house clinical services.
Presenter (Corrections) told commissioners the supplemental treatment fund remains at $700,000 and that the county is not seeking an increase for 2027. Ashley Delino, the facility's psychiatric nurse practitioner, walked the group through intake procedures, clinical services and outcome measures and said every resident is assessed within seven days of arrival.
Delino said her team conducts psychiatric assessments, prescribes medication and makes referrals; she described the difference between her role and a psychiatrist as supervisory oversight for a small sample of cases but said the day'to'day clinical work and medication management are functionally the same. "Every defendant gets an assessment," she said, adding the program offers medication-assisted treatment including injectable buprenorphine and Vivitrol when clinically appropriate.
Commissioners heard data comparisons intended to show cost and service differences between county jail housing and the corrections residential program: the presenters cited a daily cost per person of about $138 in the county jail versus roughly $27.40 in the corrections program and said 35 people on average receive medication-assisted treatment through the facility. Presenter (Corrections) and Ashley Delino attributed a reduction in ambulance/ER runs to in-house clinical monitoring: the group reported 139 ER runs in 2024 and 79 so far in 2025 and said first responders and the local mayor have praised the reduction.
Officials said the facility obtained presumptive Medicaid approval in January, allowing immediate enrollment at intake; they cautioned billing and coding issues remain under review (for example, denials on certain injections that may require different modifiers). Casey, who tracks the program's data, said the county is still analyzing the financial impact of presumptive Medicaid enrollment and billing workflows.
The presenters stressed limits on scope: without a general medical provider (the building currently has psychiatry-only coverage) the facility must sometimes return individuals to the county jail or hospital for medical conditions it cannot treat in-house. Presenter (Corrections) asked commissioners to weigh the program's outcomes and urged continuing to track measurable impacts of the dollars appropriated to the treatment fund.
The meeting moved on after a line of questions about capacity, liability and the composition of services; presenters said the facility has roughly 130 beds and is pursuing modest increases in therapist hours and other resources to accept referrals more quickly.
