Tulsa jail pods to add mental health units, $1.7M in revenue

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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Tulsa County jail is undergoing the construction of four new pods that'll allow significant changes in its operations and add $1.7 million in operating revenue per year.

The Tulsa World (http://bit.ly/1Rl99ey ) reports that two of the new jail pods at the David L. Moss Justice Center will be devoted to mental health.

Tulsa County voters approved a 15-year, 0.026 percent sales tax that included operating revenue in 2014.

In theory, the $1.7 million can only be used for operation of the new pods, and a large portion of it is supposed to go toward mental health care and programming. But officials hope that the new pods and the money that comes with them will help balance the jail's books after several years of being in debt.

A larger share of the Tulsa jail inmates have mental health problems and the idea behind the sales tax was to get them mental health diagnosis, intervention, and treatment, preferably outside the hospital.

One component of the program would divert mentally ill individuals who come in contact with law enforcement officers directly to a treatment facility if there aren't any criminal complaints.

But the plan for the mental health pods was developed by former Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who resigned amid operational and financial calamities that led to heightened tension between the sheriff's office, the authority that oversees jail operations and other county officials.

Tulsa County will vote on a new sheriff April 5. Candidates Vic Regalado and Rex Berry have indicated general support for addressing mental health issues.

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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com