Hays County works to reduce inmate outsourcing costs

The MHC—which kicked off in 2022—is a specialized treatment court designed to address the needs of individuals with mental health or intellectual/developmental disorders who are also facing pending legal charges, said Elaine Brown, Hays County Court at Law Judge No. 3.

The big picture

Hays County has spent over $35 million on contracts for outsourcing inmates to detention centers in other counties since 2018, according to data from the county’s budget office.

Campbell explained that the county’s growth was the driving force for establishing the Pretrial Bond Program—which directly affects the county jail’s operating costs—and the public defender’s office. The Pretrial Bond Program was designed to keep certain offenders out of county jail, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

Hays County spent $4.32 million in fiscal year 2017-18 on contracts to outsource inmates to other counties, which nearly doubled by FY 2023-24, according to data from the county’s budget office. This can be attributed to the county’s outsourcing contract per diem rates, or inmate housing daily rate, which increased in price during that period.

For example, Comal County increased their rate three times from $65 to $85 and then to $100 per inmate per day. Hays County also entered into a contract with Haskell County in 2022 for a guaranteed monthly payment of 200 beds, according to the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.

Campbell said the Pretrial Bond Program has been able to provide judges and prosecutors more comfort in releasing an individual on pretrial supervision where there were previously public safety concerns.

How it started

Hays County commissioners approved a contract with Neighborhood Defender Service, or NDS, for a public defender’s office in November 2022, which began operating in January 2023. About 61% of their cases come from Hays County, Chief Advancement Officer Shannon Anglero said.

A public defender’s office represents individuals who are facing criminal charges—but NDS’ approach is a little different.

“Our model is holistic,” Anglero said, noting that they have a team of individuals, such as social workers and investigators, who support the client, as opposed to a traditional, singular attorney-

client relationship.

She said the Commissioners Court has been “incredibly supportive” and understands that working on larger issues early not only yields savings for the county but also for individuals.

How it’s going

Since its inception, the public defender’s office has opened a total of 1,540 cases and closed 867. The MHC has also graduated 15 individuals thus far. Brown said they expect to graduate seven more individuals in December.

The primary goal of the MHC is to link individuals with services that will help them continue to live and work in the community and not return to jail, Brown said.

“So far we’ve had a great deal of success with that, and we hope to continue to have that success,” she said.

She said they see criminal trespassing and criminal mischief misdemeanor charges, and sometimes even felony assaults, but they are often able to get individuals out of jail a little faster by having them come into the MHC as a condition of their bond.

As part of its program evaluations, MHC schedules follow-ups with individuals three months, six months, one year and two years after graduation. Mental Health Court Administrator Kaimi Mattila said the MHC has a 94% success rate, and they have noticed a reduction in symptoms, more secure employment and better housing.

“We have seen no recidivism here in Hays County, so no person that has graduated from our program has picked up another misdemeanor or a felony in Hays County,” Mattila said.

NDS Managing Attorney Jeff Hohl said the MHC has been a “fantastic” resource for the public defender’s office, and they are always working to identify clients who can benefit from the program.

Looking ahead

NDS would like to continue building out legal resources for their clients and work to identify more individuals for the county’s Mental Health Court.

Brown said the county was exploring the possibility of having a True Diversion Program so individuals who have mental health issues can be diverted to another facility as opposed to going to jail.

“We would be working with judicial services to identify those individuals that might be able to just be diverted into a different track, and if they complete the program on that certain track, then their charges are dismissed,” Brown said.

MHC, the district attorney’s office and Pretrial Services—also known as Judicial Services—are also discussing implementing a True Diversion Program for misdemeanor cases, Brown added.