Across America, county jails have become the de facto front line for mental health crises. That is neither safe nor sustainable—for the people in crisis, for detention staff or for taxpayers. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports about 44% of people in local jails have been told by a professional they have a mental disorder, and one in four meets the threshold for severe psychological distress in just the past 30 days.
Those numbers carry human consequences behind our walls. People with untreated mental illness face elevated risks while incarcerated, including a higher likelihood of self-harm and suicide if care is delayed or inconsistent. Quick access to treatment can save lives.
Here at home, we feel this pressure every day. Our detention officers and medical providers do outstanding work, but a county jail is not a hospital—and it cannot, and should not, serve as a long-term mental health facility. When a person needs inpatient stabilization or competency services, they typically must go to Larned State Hospital or another licensed facility. In recent years, wait times for competency evaluation and restoration have stretched from weeks to months, prompting action by the State of Kansas.
That is precisely why the High Plains Mental Health Center Crisis Intervention Center in Hays is so important. High Plains has broken ground on a 22-bed facility in the Hadley Center’s east wing—the first of its kind in western Kansas—to provide short-term stabilization and detox services for adults in crisis, including both voluntary and non-voluntary referrals. The center is designed to relieve pressure on our jail and on state hospitals, shorten wait times and get people into treatment faster.
This is not just a humanitarian imperative—it is fiscally responsible. Evaluations of diversion and crisis-care models show that connecting people to treatment instead of cycling them through jail reduces re-arrests and saves taxpayers thousands of dollars per person.
High Plains continues to seek private donations, business sponsorships and civic grants to complete the build-out, hire staff, and provide 24/7 care. Community support matters just as much. Every dollar helps turn a crisis into a care plan—and turns a jail bed back into a last resort, not a default.
Ellis County deputies and detention officers are committed to protecting public safety. But we also see the people behind the calls. When our neighbors get the right help at the right time, they become safer, healthier and more productive members of our community—and we all save money by avoiding the costs of repeated incarceration.
That’s the promise of the Crisis Intervention Center, and it’s why I’m asking our community to stand behind it. If you’re able, please consider giving to High Plains Mental Health Center and sharing this message with friends, churches and civic groups. Together, we can build a response that is smarter, safer and more compassionate—for Ellis County and for western Kansas.
— Sheriff Scott J. Braun
Ellis County
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Editor's note: Information about donating to the Crisis Intervention Center can be found at donatehighplains.com
Gifts can be made online or by check, payable to HPMHC Endowment. High Plains can also accept pledges and set up payment plans. Contact [email protected]. Gifts of $500 or more receive a plaque on the center's mobile donor wall.