New contracts and a new program
An assisted outpatient treatment, or AOT, program is in the works for Hays County defendants.
The program is specifically for defendants deemed “incompetent” to stand trial in court or the Mental Health Court.
The program would offer treatment for individuals to be deemed “competent” to stand trial without sending them to a state hospital or to an inpatient treatment program, said Jennifer Putman, assistant outpatient treatment program administrator.
Instead, the program would “link them to community treatment and monitor to make sure they maintain mental stability,” she said.
Putman said the program is focused on the “civil side” of cases: for example, situations in which someone is in a mental health crisis and is considered to be posing a danger to themselves or someone else and is taken to a hospital on emergency detention as a result.
Hays County Commissioners approved $115,000 for contracts with Austin Oaks Hospital, Deblin Health Concepts and Evoke Wellness for the new program, according to agenda documents. The funds for the contract are through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Austin Oaks would provide partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programming, Hays County officials said. IOP at Austin Oaks includes education on chemical dependency, in-person and virtual treatment, group therapy, medication management and more.
Evoke Wellness would provide similar therapy programming as Austin Oaks, with a focus on substance use treatment. Evoke Wellness began a contract with the Mental Health Court last year and was approved Jan. 28 at the Commissioners Court meeting to begin a new contract for the AOT program.
Deblin Health would provide psychiatry consultation, case management and counseling.
Mental Health Court updates
The Mental Health Court is continuing its contract with Evoke Wellness for $5,000, according to agenda documents. Though previously funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the funds are now through the general fund.
Participants will be able to “engage” in substance use treatment at the facility if they are facing mental health and substance use challenges, Mental Health Court Administrator Kaimi Mattila said.
The court will also be reinstating its fee for program participants. When the Mental Health Court initially launched over two years ago, there were not as many participants, Mattila said. Many participants were unable to pay the fee and received waivers.
Now, however, the program has about 30 participants, with more participants able to pay the fee than when the program started, Mattila said. The program fee will be used to support the Mental Health Court, she said, such as for the commencement ceremony held when participants graduate. The fee can also be used for “treatment and services” received while participating in the program, according to agenda documents.
Waivers granted by Commissioners Court Judge Ruben Becerra are still available for individuals who meet eligibility. Parameters such as housing status, income, state of mental health are taken into account, as well as verbal requests to the judge.
The $250 fee can be paid over the participant’s time in the program. Defendants with misdemeanors can spend between a year and 15 months in the Mental Health Court. Those with felonies can range between 18 and 20 months, according to agenda documents.
Also of note
The Mental Health Court has had 19 people graduate from the program to date. There have been 53 people admitted to the program, both current and graduated, and five people were unable to graduate, Mattila said.
The contract approvals and program updates come after discussions to implement a jail-based competency restoration program. Mattila said programs such as these can connect defendants to mental health resources.
“It is important to have programs like AOT and Mental Health Court to link those individuals that maybe have never gotten mental health treatments and use the court system to help them connect to those services,” she said. “AOT, Mental Health court, competency restoration—they all serve as resources to support individuals and in getting stabilized.”
Still, the jail-based competency restoration program was met with backlash from community members about the effectiveness of the initiative, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Stay tuned
Putman noted the outpatient program is still in the works, and the exact procedures and responsibilities of each new partner are still being organized. The jail-based competency restoration program is also in the beginning stages.
Mattila said the Mental Health Court and Hays County are continuing to look for ways to expand its mental health programs.
