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Sheriff’s office urges county-funded mental‑health liaison to address large in‑custody need
Summary
Chief Whitney told commissioners the county jail holds about 625 people and an estimated 100–150 have mental‑health needs; he asked the board to fund a county employee to link inmates to community behavioral‑health services and probate court to reduce repeat bookings.
Chief Whitney told the Troup County Board of Commissioners that the jail is housing people with mental‑health needs at scale and urged the board to approve a county-funded mental‑health liaison.
"I currently have 625 individuals incarcerated in our facility," Chief Whitney said. He added that although only about 60 inmates are formally diagnosed, correctional staff estimate "roughly 100 to 150 folks" require behavioral‑health support. Whitney said the liaison would be a county employee with correctional certification and behavioral‑health training, acting as a bridge between the jail, community providers and probate court to seek evaluations and alternative placements where appropriate.
Whitney cited Muskogee County’s program as the model and said the position could help reduce what he called a "revolving door" of frequent users of jail services. Commissioners asked about cost and existing resources; Whitney said the current health-care provider supplies one mental-health liaison but that person is employed by the contractor and not positioned to coordinate across the jail, courts and community in the way the county needs. He said some current jail staff could be shifted to accommodate the new role, potentially limiting the net budget impact.
The board did not take a final vote during the work session; staff flagged the item to appear on tonight’s meeting agenda for formal consideration.
