[NYAPRS Enews] TU: Albany County Considers Hiring Outside Company To Manage Mental Health Unit At Jail

[Harvey Rosenthal]

Private Care For Inmates Weighed 

Albany County Considers Hiring Outside Company To Manage Mental Health
Unit At Jail  

by CAROL DeMARE, Albany Times Union   November 12, 2007 

 

ALBANY -- County officials are contemplating hiring an outside company
to run the mental health unit at the jail, partly because of the
suicides of three inmates in the last two years.

 

Tentative plans call for privatizing the unit within the next six
months, even before a new $13 million annex is built at Albany County
Correctional Facility on Albany Shaker Road to house 80 to 100 mentally
ill inmates.

 

Sheriff James Campbell said last week that County Executive Mike Breslin
and Robin Siegal, director of the county Department of Mental Health,
support the proposal. A staff of eight from Siegal's department
currently runs the jail's mental health unit.

 

"We've had three suicides in the past two years that were mental health
related," the sheriff said. Actually, four inmates were listed as
suicides during that time, but one was not related to a mental health
issue, he said.

 

The jail's medical unit was privatized seven years ago. Now Campbell
wants to do the same with the mental health unit. "We have to have
increased professional coverage," he said. "Inmates have gone a couple
of days and not been seen by a mental health professional."

 

No psychologist was on staff from last December until May because the
"county couldn't find a doctor to hire," he said.

 

"We have a 24/7 operation out there," he said, and inmates are coming in
at all hours of the day and night. "We want to extend the coverage, have
increased hours."

 

The current staff leaves late in the afternoon on certain days, and no
one covers a late or overnight shift, he said. Privatization has "just
got to be done," he said. The mental health population has "gone from 40
a day to 80 a day" in the past five to 10 years.

 

When similar problems occurred with the health unit, with no coverage on
weekends or nights, Campbell went to a private vendor, Correctional
Medical Services.

 

In the 2008 budget submitted by Breslin, $790,000 is "plugged in for
funding to get this running," Campbell said. He is targeting next spring
to have a private firm in place. The funding would pay for
three-quarters of a year, he said.

 

The County Legislature has yet to approve the budget and lawmakers are
expected to discuss the privatization plan, said Frank Commisso,
Democratic majority leader.

 

His major concern, he said, was preserving the jobs of county employees.
"Right now there are eight people from county mental health who work at
the jail," Commisso said. "They would no longer be at the jail but stay
on the mental health payroll and be involved in community-based
programs."

 

Commisso hasn't decided whether to support the plan. "There will be a
lot of discussion on that issue, and I want to know a lot more about
it," he said.

 

In Schenectady County, Sheriff's Major Bob Elwell said the county
contracts with Ellis Hospital to staff the mental health unit. "We are
perfectly satisfied with the people we have here from Ellis Hospital,"
Elwell said.

 

Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar said his mental health unit is run
by county mental health employees and he's satisfied.

 

Deputy Albany County Executive Michael Perrin said reassigning county
workers from the jail provides "an opportunity to expand mental health
services in the county, particularly community-based services ... If you
provide an alternative service (there), these eight (employees) can be
assigned elsewhere in the community to enhance mental health services
outside the jail."

 

Christian Youmans, a clinical social worker who works at the jail,
expressed concern over the quality of care a private firm would provide,
as well as the experience and education of the firm's employees.

 

Youmans attended a recent community mental health task force meeting
where Campbell spoke about the plans.

 

"Newer and newer mental health medications are expensive," the social
worker said. He believes if the county runs the unit those medications
would be made available. But by privatizing, "who's to say inmates are
going to receive new and better medications."

 

Perrin put quality-of-care concerns to rest. "We fully intend the county
Mental Health Department will maintain an oversight role for mental
health services provided at the jail, and we're planning to write that
into the contract," he said.

 

Campbell wants construction on the annex to start within the next couple
of months. Requests for proposals are asking construction firms to bid
at $12.5 million or less.

 

Jails are getting a number of prisoners with mental health problems,
Campbell said, partly as a result of the closing of state mental health
facilities.

 

"Unfortunately these people are being put in the jails," he said. "They
have committed crimes. Some have severe mental health problems and
that's causing us concern. They need treatment, they don't need
incarceration. There are so many now, that some are in the general
population."

 

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=638219&category=ALBAN
Y&BCCode=&newsdate=11/12/2007

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