Shelby Co. Commission OKs money for jail mental health facility, rugby fields

An initial funding to plan and construct a mental health facility for current detainees in the Shelby County Jail was approved by the Shelby County Commission on Monday. Commissioner Britney Thornton amended the item to require quarterly reporting on the development of the facility. An additional amendment would allow the county to appropriate and allocate money but not expend any funds.

Much of the hesitation was surrounding the funding of the new center, which the $2.5 million allocated is not going to completely cover and there is no definitive funding for the remainder of the project.

Frankie Dakin, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' deputy chief of staff, said that the additional money would come from capital improvement project funds and would most likely take multiple fiscal years to fund. The estimated cost of the construction that commissioners and administration have said during meetings is upwards of $25 million.

Commissioner Shante K. Avant said that her main concern is how this additional project could impact the funding for two new schools in Frayser and Cordova. Dakin said that the $2.5 million would not impact the money set aside for schools because the school funds are bonded. The $2.5 million is "cash," according to Dakin.

Dakin presented the results from the Nashville model at a previous meeting. According to Dakin, recidivism among program graduates in the Nashville version of the facility has lowered from 29% to 24% as the program enters its third year.

The money being allocated toward the facility will come from American Rescue Plan Act funds and will be a "jumpstart" according to Commissioner Erika Sugarmon. Sugarmon has offered up grant money like "Justice 40," if the facility can uphold the green standards required. Dakin has worked to coordinate the ins and outs of the facility coming to Shelby County and said that stakeholders agree that there are "too many people with severe mental illness" in the correctional facilities for "far too long."

The Davidson County Behavioral Care Center, or BCC as it's called by staffers, has data from the first two years showing a 29% recidivism rate, significantly lower than the Tennessee average of 46%.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said previously that he is excited about the prospect of having a facility dedicated to mental health treatment of detainees.

"We, the Shelby County Jails, are the largest mental health hospital in the state. When I made that statement, the state [legislature] did give me an additional 18 beds at (Memphis Mental Health Institute), but they’re not enough. It’s not enough for us," Bonner said, "So when you look at the possibility of having a 200-bed facility, of course, you get excited because many detainees that are being housed on misdemeanor charges."

WellPath healthcare bid for correctional facilities approved

Two short-term contracts were approved between WellPath, a correctional healthcare company, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office to provide healthcare to inmates at the Juvenile Justice Center and Shelby County Government Jails and Corrections Facilities. The resolution was substituted to allow the six-month contract to be extended only once.

The new bid is currently in negotiations and would be for one year, with options to renew for two additional years. County attorney Megan Smith said that the new bid was awarded to Wellpath again but is a completely different contract than the current one.

MEDIKO Correctional Health, headquartered in Virginia, applied for the Shelby County contract in December and finally received the non-award verdict in June. Documents provided by MEDIKO, a correctional healthcare company, showed that Wellpath received a lower score from the selection committee.

According to documents provided to The Commercial Appeal, MEDIKO outscored all other vendors who responded to the request for proposals from the selection committee. The county said the cost of the proposal MEDIKO gave was the reason why the county chose a different vendor. The proposed cost of MEDIKO's contract was over $36 million for one year, while their competitor, Wellpath, was $28 million for a year. The new cost for Wellpath to provide care for six months is over $11 million.

Kaveh Ofogh, a doctor and the founder and CEO of MEDIKO, appeared at last week's committee meeting and Monday's meeting, asking for only a three-month extension so MEDIKO could then take over the contract.

Ofogh said the reason the bid was much higher was because of the increase in staffing MEDIKO would provide. The proposal that MEDIKO provided the county included 35 more full-time licensed health care professionals, while the county was only asking to provide four to five more employees per the request for proposals, Ofogh said.

Funding for rugby field approved

Commissioners also approved an expenditure of $1.1 million for field upgrades for Memphis Inner City Rugby. All commissioners voted in the affirmative for the measure.

The field is on the blighted and abandoned Vance Middle School property, which is still owned by Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and MICR uses it to host games and even large-scale tournaments. The money would come from ARPA funds.

Thornton tried at a previous meeting to add funds so that students from her home district could access the MICR program, but the amendment failed. The program provides transportation for their athletes to and from their various practice fields. A substitute that was offered requires MICR to have a "formal relationship with at least one high school in every district before the end of fiscal year 2026."

Thornton made an initial amendment to require MICR to initiate a relationship with a high school in District 10 by fiscal year 2025. Avant said that she cautions against the precedent that could be set.

"To set this precedent where one district matters more than another district, it's a very slippery slope," Avant said.

Thornton then made an amendment to require MICR to have initiated a relationship with a high school in each district by fiscal year 2025. The amendment passed along with the overall resolution.

Executive Director of MICR Shane Young said he would be able to make a formal relationship with a District 10 high school in a matter of months.

The upgrades to the field will include adding bleachers, locker rooms, on-site bathrooms and creating two official rugby fields. Currently, players who need to use the restroom while on the field either use a rented porta-potty or are driven to nearby fast-food establishments.

Young said that the upgrades to the field will help promote the program to the regional and national stage even more so than they are now. Young also said that MICR is not just an afterschool athletic program but a mentoring and academic program. Many young athletes are scouted to play on the University of Memphis rugby team, as well as other top rugby programs across the nation.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commission approves funding for jail mental health center