TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Shawnee County detention facility has plans to work with a mental health agency for juvenile inmates in need of those services.
The Shawnee County Commission on Thursday approved a one-year, grant funded contract with the Family Service and Guidance Center agency. The contract will involve staff in the Shawnee County jail’s juvenile detention center working with a mental health professional to identify at-risk juveniles and then placing them in short-term therapeutic programs, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported (https://j.mp/2fFv0Dk).
“This is a tremendous step in the initiative and vision in Shawnee County to have quality mental health services,” Brian Cole, director of the county’s department of corrections, told the commission.
Cole said that of the 30 juvenile inmates, about 15 percent to 20 percent need mental health services. Cole said the contract, which would also involve serving the mental health needs of female offenders, is part of a larger department push to focus on mental health services.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Cole said.
The department will work with Family Services and Guidance to find future funding, he said.
Shawnee County corrections officials are also preparing to ask the Shawnee County Commission for authority to adopt in 2017 a program to better identify inmates with mental-health challenges, intensify adherence to medication schedules and engage those juveniles and adults counseling.
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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, https://www.cjonline.com
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