By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Matt Lewis, a former Mesa County sheriff and current Justice Services Director for the county, updated Mesa County commissioners on the status of their Pretrial Services (PTS) program and the County Community Corrections Services program on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
PTS is a program for people who have been arrested to receive pretrial services in the jail, in addition to services while they are incarcerated.
A pretrial assessment is completed for anyone who is booked in the Mesa County jail. This assessment is provided to the court, district attorney’s office and public defender’s office to be used as a tool to inform the court as they are considering bond decisions. Setting the appropriate bond assists with maximizing releases from custody, maximizing court appearance and maximizing public safety.
PTS also provides supervision for approved clients, who are released from the jail when the bond set by the judge and paid while they await trial. Supervision is determined by the judge during the bond hearing, and is then based on the original pretrial assessment completed at the jail, and any other court order bond conditions.
“Every single day arrestees meet with pre-trial staff,” Lewis said to commissioners.
Mesa County uses an assessment called the Colorado Pretrial Assessment to interview people who have been arrested. This state validated tool is predictive of clients’ success rates in court appearance and public safety based on their scores in four risk categories. Mesa County Pretrial Services (PTS) interviews clients who have been placed in the detention facility, gathers criminal history data, and makes written reports to the court and other criminal justice agencies. This information enables the court to make informed bond decisions regarding pretrial release and supervision needs.
“We work with the district attorney and mental health providers to obtain treatment for addiction and mental health services where it’s appropriate,” Lewis said. PTS also interfaces with the district attorney to set up a structured payment plan for fees and resources for public service that has been ordered by the court, to help people succeed with their deferred sentence conditions.
According to Lewis, Justice Services provide community-based sentencing as well; services such as electronic monitoring through ankle bracelets, court ordered useful public service, home detention, and alcohol monitoring.
“We supervise 2,000 people on this program with 10 staff members and that amounts to a million-dollar labor offset to Mesa County,” he said.
On the community corrections side of the program, Lewis told commissioners that there are 170 people that live in the facility with 100 percent supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said that about 50 who are not required to live at the facility are supervised by home visits a minimum of three times a week.
“We put an incredible amount of time, resources and effort into these programs,” Lewis said. Touting the work that is being performed for mental health treatment, he said that Summit View currently has 20 mental health beds and is working toward increasing that number to 30 beds in the near future. “We are one of the few communities in Colorado that have this service for people.”
Summit View provides residential and outpatient services that are client specific and encourage personal responsibility and change. Innovative programs are provided in a professional manner by qualified providers. Services are available to adults from the community or the criminal justice system. All programs offered are evidence-based and gender specific services are available.
In 2005, Mesa County identified the need for more addiction treatment services. The county decided that it was critical that these treatment options be made available regardless of a person’s ability to pay for them. As a result, in 2007 Mesa County opened Summit View Treatment Services.
Through Summit View, there is an intensive residential program for adult males who suffer from severe substance use disorders. It is a phased program that typically requires 90 days to complete.
According to the website, it’s designed to improve the person’s ability to structure and organize the tasks of daily living, stabilize and maintain remission of substance use disorders, help the person develop and apply sufficient recovery skills, and develop and practice pro-social behaviors.
The program incorporates specific, evidence-based treatment curriculum tailored to address substance abuse, trauma and criminal risk reduction. The intensive program is structured and offers around-the-clock supervision with a variety of counseling, education and therapy services.
Treatment consists of 40-43 hours a week of group therapy, individual therapy and targeted case management aimed at developing the skills necessary for successful continuation of treatment in a lower level of care.
Admission into the program can be the result of a referral from the criminal justice system, community partners, family or from an individual who is interested in treatment. Placement is considered if community-based treatment services do not prove effective.
In addition to the intensive addiction treatment program, Mesa County through Summit View also has a residential dual diagnosis program.
This program is for adults who suffer from severe substance use disorders along with chronic mental illness as well as a history of felony criminal conduct. It is a phased program that typically requires 120 days to complete.
It is designed to improve the person’s emotional stability, stabilize and maintain remission of substance use disorders, help the person develop necessary skills for emotional regulation and develop and practice pro-social behaviors.
The program utilizes specific, evidence-based treatment curriculum specific to the treatment to address substance abuse, trauma and criminal risk reduction.
Treatment includes mental health, substance abuse, and psychiatric evaluations to create an individualized and person-centered plan for treatment.
The program is heavily structured and offers around-the-clock supervision with a variety of counseling, education and therapy services. Treatment consists of 12-14 hours a week of group therapy, individual therapy, targeted case management and vocational services aimed at developing the skills necessary for successful continuation of treatment in a lower level of care.
Typically, upon completion of the program people are referred to an enhanced outpatient program for continued care. People admitted into this program must have been specifically assessed as appropriate for program placement. Typically these assessments are performed by the criminal justice system.
Commissioner Cody Davis said to Lewis after his report, “Keeping people out of prison who are non-violent and keeping them working and contributing is a good thing. Well done.”