Austin, Texas — According to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, 20 percent of inmates require treatment for mental illness, while seven percent experience psychosis, delusions, or suicidal thoughts.

  • TCSO focusing on mental health
  • Trying to help inmates in crisis

Sheriff’s Office leadership is now working to improve how corrections officers approach inmates in crisis. This week, they are rolling out new, interactive, and intensive specialized mental health courses.

“Jails across our nation, are being forced to be hospitals, and they're being forced to be mental health facilities, and we're really neither. But if it's going to be our responsibility, we're going to do the best that we can,” Sheriff Sally Hernandez said.  

The 40-hour training includes scenario-based training, where an actor plays the role of an inmate. On Thursday, officers go through a situation they might have to encounter while working in the jail. A behavioral health specialist is there to guide the officers and go over what happened in each scene. During this training, officers learn how to identify symptoms and behaviors of mental illness, so they can refer inmates experiencing signs to the health staff.

Daniel Smith, director of inmate mental health and programs, said there are more than 20 counselors and social workers in the jail, who will then follow up with inmates and do a full assessment to determine if they need treatment or medication.

“Our goal is to help people get stabilized and then give them some skills so that when they do get released from jail, that they don't go back to the same situation they were in before,” Smith said.

Corrections officers also practice communicating in a way that reduces conflicts and maintains dignity, no matter how challenging the situation.

“The idea is that the officers step back, give some time, assess the situation, use some skills to de-escalate it and build some confidence with the inmate and take whatever baby steps we can towards the ultimate goal, which is safety and security,” Smith said.

TCSO officials said they plan to offer the specialized mental health training several times during the year.