Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Gov. Mark Gordon has signed a new bill into law addressing mental health holds throughout the state.
Senate File 10 allows the Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming detention centers to enter into contracts, addressing lengthy mental health holds in jails.
"Yes, they committed a crime, but the underlying effect is that they suffer with a mental illness and so if we can treat these people, get them on the right track, get them to the state hospital, they're going to be back in our community," said Laramie County Sheriff Kozak.
Currently, jails detain people designated by the court to go to the state hospital, and sometimes it takes a long time to get them into a bed.
Kozak says that this law will allow them to collaborate together to work on a treatment plan for the detainee.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office (LSCO) has been proactive on the issue, opening two pods last summer designed for mental health, as well as having counselors and providers on staff.
"The county has taken a proactive approach to treat people before they even go to the state hospital, this allows us to get some reimbursement for what the county is already paying for," said Kozak.
LCSO has been a test agency in using a telemedicine system with the state hospital, allowing doctors to work with inmates before they even take them in, and to help them get on a medication plan.
Kozak says they've been testing it out for a year and seen positive results, some inmates within the facility have been able to move into the general population.
"We've been able to kind of treat their mental illness and put them back into a general housing so it's been working well," said Kozak.
