MANSFIELD — A $250,000 state grant will allow the Richland County Jail to begin offering enhanced medical services for inmates with drug addictions.
That was the message Tuesday from Richland County Sheriff’s Office Lt. James Myers, the assistant jail administrator, during a meeting with the Richland County Board of Commissioners.
The grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s office is for one year, though the RCSO may apply for equal amounts for each of the next two years, Myers told commissioners, adding he believes it will be renewed.
Myers said the OAG has $60 million in “opioid remediation grant” funds and will award $20 million in each of the next years.
He said Sheriff Steve Sheldon applied for the grant, the size of which is based on the size of the county jail. Funds are expected to arrive in the next month, he said.
There were two deaths at the jail in 2024, both involving inmates who had previous issues with drug abuse before coming into the facility.
Overall enhanced medical services, including a medication-assisted treatment program, is something jail officials have sought in the past few years. But the costs have been prohibitive, according to Capt. Chris Blunk, the jail administrator.
The RCSO signed a one-year, $700,590 contract with Southern Health Partners in March of 2024 to provide care in the jail and renewed that deal in 2025.
That decision came after Sheldon and Blunk, in January of 2024, said they hoped to sign a contract that would provide an “enhanced option” in the department’s next jail medical services contract. That would include the addition of a second Licensed Practical Nurse at the jail 24/7 (including holidays) and a “very comprehensive (drug/alcohol) treatment program” for inmates.
The cost of those enhanced services would have resulted in an annual contract of between $1.1 and $1.8 million, they said, ultimately deciding the cost was prohibitive.
In October 2024, Sheldon said he hasn’t given up on the idea of the enhanced services and was seeking a state grant that would help fund a “medication-assisted” treatment program in the jail.
Myers said Tuesday the program would allow the jail medical staff to supply medication to “help wean off” inmates who come into the facility with drug addictions.
“We will also offer counseling sessions … with the person while they’re in the facility,” he said.
The hope would be to tie that individual into treatment programs in the community once they are released from the county jail.
“That would hopefully reduce the likelihood of them coming back to the facility or committing another crime,” Myers said.
Grant funds would be spent with Southern Health Partners to pay the salaries of a program coordinator and a nurse to run the medication-assisted treatment effort, as well as cover additional physician hours for the program and the drug counseling work.
Commissioner Tony Vero asked Myers what happens when grant funds are exhausted for the effort.
Myers said the RCSO jail staff hopes to build up funds obtained through commissions paid by inmates for their phone and commissary services.
“We are going to earmark that money to continue moving the program forward if we can’t find additional grant money,” Myers said.
Vero said, “So there won’t be any general fund requests in the event that these grant monies go away?”
Myers replied, “Not at this time.”
