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Chesterfield outlines expanded pretrial behavioral health team and treatment courts; officials cite transportation as barrier
Summary
County presenters described a new Behavioral Health Integrated Services pretrial team and steady demand for treatment courts, reporting about 2,600–2,700 people under community supervision and early enrollment figures for the new pretrial team; board members raised transportation as a barrier to program participation.
Gary Hughes, director of community correction services, and Sahid Brown, program administrator for treatment courts, briefed the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors on adult supervision, pretrial services and treatment court operations.
"We tend to average about 2,600 to 2,700 individuals under community supervision," Hughes said, describing pretrial monitoring options (GPS, remote breath or drug testing) and specialty units such as a domestic-violence probation team and peer recovery specialists.
Hughes introduced Behavioral Health Integrated Services, a new collaborative pretrial model that pairs two pretrial officers with two clinicians from Chesterfield Mental Health to screen people arrested and, where appropriate, recommend community-based treatment and supervision before initial court appearance. He said the program had identified nearly 40 individuals as appropriate and about 15 had been ordered into the program as of early May. "It's brand new... that number is almost up to 40 now individuals found appropriate, and I think it's 15 ordered to the program," Hughes told the board.
Sahid Brown described the recovery and veterans treatment dockets, noting recovery court has served more than 700 people since 2000 and the veterans docket (established in 2023) has enrolled 22 veterans with eight completions. Brown said referrals originate with the Commonwealth's Attorney's office and that the dockets integrate judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, mental-health services, community corrections and peer-recovery specialists.
Board members praised the programs but raised access challenges. Dr. Hilton cited an example of a participant biking 17 miles to treatment and warned that unreliable transportation can lead to missed appointments and, in turn, temporary incarceration for lateness. Brown and Hughes said county funding helps with limited measures — "we're able to provide a Lyft gift card at times to participants" — but members urged exploring public-transportation solutions to reduce barriers to participation.
No formal actions or votes occurred during the briefing; presenters asked the board to consider support for program resources and transportation policy as demand continues.
