Governor Steve Bullock announced that 16 Montana counties have received a total of almost $2 million in state funding to help keep the mentally ill out of jail and, when possible,the state mental hospital.
The increased funding was approved by the 2015 legislature. It's part of a county matching grant program that began in 2009 to fund jail diversion and crisis intervention.
Missoula County grants administrator Erin Kautz says the local 9-1-1 emergency center fielded over 700 mental health-related calls between July of 2014 and this past June.
"That's a pretty high number of calls to be getting for law enforcement because they have to respond and there's a (related) safety concern," Kauts says. "Then they have to determine what 's the best place for that person. Do they take them to the ER or was there actually a crime committed? That's a hard judgment call for officers to make."
Many Montana communities have no other option but to transport people with acute mental health problems long distances to the Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs. This week's $1.8 million funding announcement is meant to improve local mental health treatment and jail diversion services.
Yellowstone County received over $353,000, Lake County $202,000 and Missoula's share is over $250,000 dollars. All are bolstered by local matching grants.
Erin Kautz says the money will be used to retain local social workers, mental health counselors and therapy programs.
Missoula County Commissioner Cola Rowley says nationally the number of jailed mentally ill now outnumbers people in psychiatric hospitals. She says the jail diversion and crisis intervention funds announced Wednesday dovetails with Missoula's own ongoing jail diversion efforts. She describes this as a good first step.
"Unfortunately finances are always a part of this. We have to be able to make sure it's feasible to implement something to help treat these people and that it's a sustainable model. And if we find it is a sustainable model and we can help our community with it, then western Montana Mental Health or other entities will be able to take this on."
Missoula County's Erin Kautz says these kinds of services helped over 3,100 Missoulians last fiscal year.
