County Rushes to Get Mental Health Diversion Center and Lawyers at Bail Hearings

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Ann Howard News

CAFA,Diversion Center,Travis County Commissioners Court

Commissioners say both are top priorities

, plans are finally firming up for a facility that would provide an alternative to jail for people experiencing mental health crises., the county may be forced to focus on another justice-related issue first: providing attorneys at initial bail hearings.

Last week, however, the ACLU filed suit against the county for a potential constitutional rights violation: The county does not provide attorneys at bail hearings, a practice called “counsel at first appearance” . With the lawsuit at play, some stakeholders suspect CAFA implementation could take precedence over the diversion center.

Shea noted that part of the reason CAFA isn’t operating is because of the current central booking facility’s physical condition: “The space is literally broken and unusable … partly because we made a decision to delay maintenance. I’m concerned that we’ll get ourselves into more of these kinds of catch-22s, if we are not undertaking maintenance because we’re prioritizing another use .”

 

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