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<p>Luzerne County prison inmates diagnosed with mental health conditions may receive additional help while they&#8217;re behind bars under a new pilot program announced in county Manager C. David Pedri&#8217;s latest 90-day goals.</p><p>More inmates with mental health disabilities have landed in the county prison in Wilkes-Barre in recent years due to the closure and downsizing of state hospitals in favor of community-based treatment programs that in many cases never materialized, officials have said.</p><p>The prison has been providing basic services to this population through two staff mental health counselors and a contracted psychiatrist, but county Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich said increased intervention is warranted.</p><p>Under the new program, Northeast Counseling Services will provide individual and group therapy and help prepare inmates for release by scheduling appointments to continue with medication and counseling, identifying housing options and showing them how to budget, interact with others and prepare for job interviews, Rockovich said.</p><p>&#8220;It behooves us to try to prepare them and have things set up so they don&#8217;t come back to jail,&#8221; Rockovich said. &#8220;We have to start dealing with these mental health issues.&#8221;</p><p>The new program won&#8217;t impact the county&#8217;s general fund operating budget because the county Mental Health and Developmental Services department has outside funding available to provide seven hours of therapy and four hours of life skills per week, Rockovich said.</p><p>Prison officials will choose participating inmates they believe will benefit the most because resources are not available to include all who may be eligible, he said, estimating 8 to 12 percent of county inmates typically have a diagnosed mental health condition such as bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia.</p><p>Another 90-day goal is the implementation of a new case management program in the sheriff&#8217;s department, which will replace a patchwork of systems that were not linked, said Sheriff Brian Szumski.</p><p>The new $166,560 program, purchased from York, Pennsylvania-based Teleosoft Inc., has been installed on office computers and nine shared electronic tablets that will be carried by sheriff deputies who serve more than 13,000 protection-from-abuse actions and other civil court filings annually, in addition to warrants, Szumski said.</p><p>Deputies will log documents while they are served on the tablets, obtaining signatures on the tablets if necessary, he said. Without this system, deputies must return paperwork to the office for manual input by clerks, he said.</p><p>&#8220;This allows deputies more time on the road to serve more documents. We&#8217;re just so low on manpower, it&#8217;s tough to get the job done with what we have,&#8221; Szumski said.</p><p>In addition to the sheriff, the office employs 31 deputies, two lieutenants and four civilian clerks. A pool of part-time deputies was eliminated years ago in the office, which also handles courtroom security and prisoner transport.</p><p>Pedri said the new system also will automatically update and publicly post information on mortgage foreclosure sheriff sales.</p><p>April 11 is the target implementation or completion date for the latest round of goals, which also include:</p><p>&#8226; Update the county personnel policy manual and code</p><p>&#8226; Seek proposals to upgrade the county website</p><p>&#8226; Launch a full review of the county zoning ordinance</p><p>&#8226; Reverse the state&#8217;s downgrading of the county Children and Youth agency&#8217;s license</p><p>&#8226; Analysis of the 911 master street address guide</p><p>Appointed manager in May, Pedri started setting 90-day goals when he became interim head a year ago. The last set of completed goals included submission of an on-time 2017 budget, addressing radio communication problems inside the prison and training managers to administer employee performance reviews.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Pedri_David_072020_mug-cmyk.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pedri </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Pedri_David_072020_mug-cmyk.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pedri </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>For more information</p><p>The Luzerne County manager&#8217;s 90-day goals are set for discussion at Tuesday&#8217;s county council work session and have been posted in the online meeting agenda at <a href="http://www.luzernecounty.org/uploads/images/assets/county/county_council_2016/Agenda2017/AGENDA%20and%20PACKET%201-10-17%20Work.pdf" target="_blank">www.luzernecounty.org</a>.</p><p>The work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County prison inmates to receive help with mental health issues