“It kind of is in a response to a growing trend of a larger percentage of inmate population being female.”
It’s a trend Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young says led to an overhaul of the county’s correctional facility female mental health unit.
“Mental health and also substance use disorder are more and more prevalent in the population that we serve.”
The renovated female mental health unit at the Kent County jail can house about 45 inmates and includes new features such as a day room. The unit prioritizes mental health treatment, therapy, and case management.
Sheriff LaJoye-Young says these programs have proven successful. Kent County has a low rate of recidivism.
“And it tends to show that somebody who’s stable as they’re getting out remains out into the community longer and more successful when they are.”
The Kent County Sheriff's Office Mental Health Staff and Diversion Services collaborated with fifteen different community partners expanding assistance, including VitalCore Medical Services and the Women’s Resource Center, as well as the Kent County Board of Commissioners.
“Providing us with the resources to do the renovations. This isn’t new space, but it’s renovated space to more closely align with those programming needs.”
