Tarrant County’s proposed budget for next fiscal year doesn't include funding for the Mental Health Jail Diversion Center, but officials are looking for money to keep the program going.
The Diversion Center opened in 2022, in a former assisted living facility in Fort Worth’s Fairmount neighborhood. People suspected of low-level, nonviolent crimes, who also have mental health issues, can get treatment there instead of jail time.
Democratic County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks told KERA News Friday he's confident the county will find the funding to keep the center open.
“It's a crucial part of our mental health infrastructure, and we don't intend to let it go away,” he said.
A spokesperson for Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare’s office echoed Brooks, saying there’s no intention to close the Diversion Center.
The county’s original plan was to fund the Diversion Center for two years using federal pandemic relief money, contracting with My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR) to run it.
That funding is set to run out in April or May, according to the county’s budget chief, Helen Giese.
When asked why the proposed 2025 fiscal year budget did not include funding for the Diversion Center, Giese said, “I don't have the funds for it, period." A dip in revenue led to a budget proposal that is $50 million smaller than the previous county budget.
In a phone interview Friday, Giese said the county has already been working on the Diversion Center’s funding question for months.
"I believe that it is a doable situation,” she said. “I just believe it's going to take just a few more months for all of the people at the table to come up with a solution."
The Diversion Center opened in response to a local and national problem: Jails have become, in effect, mental health facilities.
In May, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn told commissioners about 60% of the people incarcerated in his jail were receiving mental health services.
Experts agree jail is a dangerous place for people with mental illness, as their mental health can deteriorate behind bars. People can also get stuck in jail for months or years if they’re forced to wait for a state psychiatric bed.
According to county data, 1,275 people have avoided jail time because of the center.
Most of the Diversion Center's clients are experiencing homelessness, the center's director, Mark Tittle, told KERA last year. Besides temporary food, shelter and mental health care, the center also connects people with other types of help, including addiction treatment or even transportation to reunite with their families in other states.
The new funding for the center could come from state or federal sources, MHMR CEO Susan Garnett said. MHMR is working to trim costs and figure out the exact amount of money they’ll need to keep the center open.
“The number certainly is in the millions. There's no question about it,” Garnett said. “Running a 24/7 facility of any size costs millions of dollars.”
According to Garnett, more and more people have been using the center, which now sees about 150 clients per month. Those are people who might otherwise have gone to jail and been spit back onto the street, “to the exact same place in life.”
“If Tarrant County's decision makers believe it is a useful strategy that meets the needs of this community, then I think odds are we'll find a way for it to continue,” she said.
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