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Jail Diversion Program Grows in Southeast Iowa

Jason Parrott
/
TSPR
The jail diversion program that got its start in the Lee County jail a couple years ago has expanded into five southeast Iowa counties.

Law enforcement agents and mental health care advocates from Lee and Des Moines Counties worked together to create a jail diversion program a couple years ago. The program, which attempts to help inmates avoid returning to jail, is already expanding in southeast Iowa.

The expansion is possible because the program is now under the oversight of Southeast Iowa Link (SEIL). SEIL is a collaboration of eight counties, including Lee and Des Moines, working together following the state of Iowa’s order to regionalize mental health care services.

Ryanne Wood is the CEO of SEIL and the head of mental health care services for Lee County.

Wood said the combined resources of SEIL is allowing the jail diversion program to expand from one community transition coordinator working in the Lee and Des Moines County jails to two coordinators and a program director working with inmates and law enforcement in five southeast Iowa jails.

“The goal is to make sure that people with mental health issues are not just deserted in our jail systems,” said Wood. “That they are getting the front end community services that they need and are transitioning out of the jail system back into a supportive environment that will support them in staying in the community and hopefully reduce that recidivism rate for those with mental health issues.”

The five counties are Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Louisa and Washington. The three other members of SEIL (Van Buren, Jefferson and Keokuk Counties) hire an outside company to handle jail diversion programming.

The community transition coordinators meet with each inmate and determine their needs, be it medication, counseling or peer groups.

Wood said what has been crucial to the growth of the program has been the support of the sheriff’s offices in each county.

“They quickly identified that they do not have the skill sets or the capacity to service folks with mental health issues in their jail settings, that they are more appropriately served out in the community,” said Wood. “So they are a big proponent in making this program initially be developed and further developed from the two county system to the five county system.”

Wood said data continues to be collected regarding success and participation among inmates. She said initial rounds from the two-county system are being analyzed by the University of Wyoming while the new data is being collected for future review.

“We are we are identifying what the recidivism rates are and what the links are back to the community-based services,” said Wood.

Wood said it appears 25%-30% of the inmates in the five jails are in need of mental health services. She said that appears to be on par with the communities in which they live.

Wood said she is hopeful that as more people seek out assistance in the community, the number of inmates needing services will shrink.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.