The final renderings reveal more details about the design of Oklahoma County’s upcoming behavioral healthcare center. The 60-bed clinic will be part of the whole jail complex located at 1901 E. Grand Blvd. and will offer immediate care for those experiencing a mental health crisis. Oklahoma County Engineer Stacey Trumbo spoke about the plans on Tuesday.
What will the new jail complex entail?
It will offer a 1,800 to 2,400-bed jail and an adjacent 60-bed behavioral healthcare center.
“They’re two separate buildings but they do complement each other,” Trumbo said. “It’s a high-quality look, it looks more like a VoTech school than a jail, so we did that so it would blend into the neighborhood very well.”
Who will the clinic serve?
“It will serve people that have really low-level charges maybe shouldn’t really be in jail at all but they’re in some mental health crisis and they need that kind of care more than they need to be incarcerated,” Trumbo said. “They go through the booking process, and you’ll be evaluated to see if you qualify for that particular facility.”
What is the benefit of having the mental health clinic adjacent to the jail?
“Those that are in a mental health crisis, the last thing you want to do is put them back in a police car and transport them somewhere else you want to be able to just walk them the 75 feet to the next building,” Trumbo said.
What about the current inmates who have a mental health crisis?
“We have mental healthcare in the jail as well so for those that are incarcerated, they’ll have a place to go,” Trumbo said.
Will the facility be open to the public?
“It’s not planned to be at this time, but it could be,” Trumbo said. “That’s up to the policymakers and what they really want to do with it, since it is a non-incarcerated facility it’s always an option.”
Who will operate the clinic?
“The county hasn’t selected an operator yet for the center, that will be a separate entity, we’ll try to put an RFP out and get that person on board maybe next summer,” Trumbo said.
When will the facility be complete?
“December of 2026 because it’s an ARPA-funded project and right now, we’re on schedule to beat that,” he said.
Will the center be utilized even if the new jail is not built yet?
“It will be utilized, the only downside is you will have to transport the people that qualify the 10-minute drive,” Trumbo said.
