WATERLOO -- The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors last week renewed an agreement with the state to pay for an individual to secure mental health services for prisoners and hold down the County Jail population

The board approved an agreement with the 1st Judicial District Department of Correctional Services to continue University of Northern Iowa graduate Sara Carter's services evaluating and coordinating prisoner mental health needs and services.

The county entered into the pilot program in late 2003 on a trial basis. The supervisors Tuesday extended the agreement through June 2006, covering Carter's annual pay and benefits, which total $67,781.

Sheriff Mike Kubik said Carter's services have saved county taxpayers far more than that.

Carter worked with 170 inmates over the program's first 10 months of operation. Of those, 108, or 63 percent, found mental health services in the community and were diverted from jail and prison. Only 25, or 14.7 percent, of those individuals were re-arrested within that period, and 11 of them were successfully placed again in an appropriate community setting.

Prior to the program, some individuals with mental health needs had sat in jail for as long as two years, costing taxpayers up to $47,000 per inmate in jail housing costs.

"They've gotten more than their money's worth out of her wages," Kubik said of Carter. "If she hadn't been doing her job, we'd have all those people in (jail) for a lot more days. I can honestly save, without trying, triple what they're paying her."

Local mental health experts had said prior to the agreement, a lack of proper support services was causing mentally ill offenders to languish too long in the jail and costing taxpayers thousands of dollars a month.

Kubik said securing appropriate services or placement for mentally ill offenders frees up jail beds and helps ensure the 270-bed jail only holds those individuals who need to be there.

The supervisors approved concurrent agreements with DCS for additional services, putting up $19,578 in matching funds to assist women with mental health and substance abuse problems in the correctional system; and another for $20,500 for a "transition probation officer" to help inmates with mental health problems.

Pat Kinney can be contacted at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com