A $20 million Behavioral Health Unit will be added to the Montgomery County Jail.
The move comes years after an the Board of County Commissioners formed an independent Justice Committee that met over two years, analyzing jail operations and community needs.
In 2019, the committee called for a full jail replacement, citing issues with capacity, operations, space and facility conditions.
The Montgomery County Commissioners then hired a consultant in 2021 to look at the cost of implementing the committee's recommendations.
"To build a whole new jail at the time in 2019 would have been more than $170 million and that was judged to not be feasible," said Montgomery County Commissioner Carolyn Rice.
So they formed the Behavioral Health Task Force and, so far, have spent more than $6.6 million on jail improvements.
“Heating and air conditioning and plumbing and all the things that have to continue to happen and then once we get this [behavioral health] unit, there are plans to continue," said Rice.
County Commissioners approved the new Behavioral Health Unit at Montgomery County Jail two years ago, citing a 26% increase in behavioral health issues, driven by the pandemic, according to data from the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association.
"We knew that mental health and was really becoming a major issue, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rice. "For the first time, we really gathered all kinds of representatives from the justice system, from the behavioral health system, from ADAMHS, different agencies, everyone who played a role in behavioral health."
The task force followed up by meeting over the course of a year on a month to month basis, examining the mental health needs of the community.
With the information gathered, the task force began to formulate plans for the new unit at the county jail.
Rice said the jail’s medical bed capacity will soon be increased from 12 to 112.
"We're converting about 226 general population beds into a behavioral health and medical wing," she said.
The unit will also include a new intake area and improved care services.
“It's going to have space for detox services, suicide prevention treatment, expanded medical care, because oftentimes individuals are really... ill when they arrive," she said.
According to a spokesperson at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, no new jobs have been created but staff at the county jail will continue to receive training for critical incidents and other specialized areas that focus on responding to mental health needs, de-escalation and detoxification.
"We want the safety of not only those who find themselves there, but also the staff and we needed to recognize the need had changed over the years," said Rice.
The unit's operations will be aided by the Behavioral Health Safety Net Portal, which was funded with $1.3 million dollars from opioid settlement funds.
It was created through a collaborative effort between the IT organization, ASCEND, the Dayton Area Hospital Association, law enforcement, the judicial system, behavioral health experts and more, to offer a database with information on incoming patients.
The goal is to better serve people's individual needs.
"When a person presents themselves anywhere, whether it's in the ER at one of the hospitals or the jail or, [to a] police officer, whatever it is — we will be able to get better information very quickly," said Rice.
"Anyone engaged in it can see, 'Oh, this is who John Doe is and this is what the issue is,' and get them reconnected with [whatever they need], whether it be their doctor, their therapist, their medication."
She said construction on the new unit will begin in October and it is expected to be completed by mid-2027.
More information on the unit and renderings can be found at mcohio.org.
