Residents concerned with the treatment of prisoners with mental illness and intellectual/developmental disabilities questioned the mental health services provided by the Tarrant County Jail.
Tarrant County commissioners voted Tuesday to renew its contract with My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR), which has administered mental health care in the jail for years.
The Tarrant County sheriff has called the jail the county’s biggest psychiatric hospital. The latest MHMR contract is for about $8.2 million for fiscal year 2025, according to county documents.
At the Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, members of the public wondered whether MHMR and the jail are doing enough to protect people in the jail who have mental illnesses, intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), or both.
“Here's the question. Do they belong in a jail?” Tarrant County resident Julie Griffin asked during public comment.
Griffin brought up two high-profile cases of people with IDD and/or mental health diagnoses who sued the jail over alleged neglect.
Chasity Congious got the biggest legal settlement in county history — $1.2 million — after she gave birth in her cell, and her baby died.
Kelly Masten, who has an intellectual disability and a severe seizure disorder, had to be placed in a medically induced coma after jailers allowed her to seize and fall repeatedly in her cell, according to a lawsuit from her sister.
There's also Anthony Johnson Jr., who died in April after jailers pepper sprayed him and one knelt on his back. His family says Johnson was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Two jailers have been indicted for murder in his death.
Reed Bilz mentioned Georgia Kay Baldwin, a woman with mental illness who died of suspected dehydration in custody in 2021. Her sons recently received a $750,000 payout from Tarrant County.
“I ask that you order an investigation to discern how many other inmates were denied the care that they deserved, and that you add an accountability clause to this contract and establish an oversight process for ensuring that MHMR performs the services we are paying for in the future,” Bilz said to commissioners.
Susan Garnett, MHMR’s CEO, said John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS), the county and MHMR have worked together on jail healthcare for 30 years.
“Our experience is that that really has been a robust partnership," she said.
When asked whose responsibility it is to make sure people in jail are eating and drinking, Garnett told KERA she could not comment on specific cases.
“Our responsibilities have to do with the provision of certain mental health services and making those available to people,” she said. “We coordinate with both JPS and the jail staff."
Garnett pointed KERA to MHMR’s contract, which requires staff to evaluate prisoners for mental health issues, make sure they have their prescriptions, and to check on each prisoner in MHMR-specific housing at least every seven days, among other responsibilities.
Baldwin got multiple visits a week from caseworkers and therapists while she was in jail, according to documents KERA obtained through a public records request.
Two other Tarrant County jail detainees have died of dehydration in recent years, according to Tarrant County Medical Examiner reports.
Jail staff and MHMR work together to make sure people in jail are taken care of, Garnett said.
“I think that would surprise people to know the extent to which jailers are reaching out and asking for additional resources for people," she said.
Tarrant County and MHMR have made efforts to keep people with mental illness out of jail altogether. The Mental Health Jail Diversion Center opened in 2022 as an alternative to incarceration for people picked up on low-level, nonviolent crimes.
The county did not include funding to keep the center open in its latest budget, but officials say they’re seeking alternative funding and want to keep the program running.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on X @MirandaRSuarez.
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