At least 18 individuals who committed felonies as a result of mental illness will be diverted from the Santa Barbara County Jail into residential treatment over the next three years.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a grant agreement with the Department of State Hospitals to accept $2,644,500 for the county to provide community mental-health treatment — including residential treatment — for felony mental-health diversion clients.
The grant requires that a minimum of 18 individuals whose felony charges stemmed from mental illness, who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial and who don’t pose a threat to the public, are taken to residential treatment centers instead of jail over the grant’s three-year period, from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022.