WASHINGTON CO. JAIL RECEIVES DETENTION FACILITY INNOVATION AWARD

  

The Washington County Jail has received a national award.

The National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO) has named the Washington County Jail the winner of its Detention Facility Innovation Award.  According to the NIJO, the award is presented to a detention facility that has demonstrated “exceptional achievement in developing and/or enhancing a particular aspect or feature in the facility or in the operations of the facility in line with the mission of the sheriff’s office during the past year.”

Washington County Sheriff Otto Hanak nominated both the jail and Chief Deputy and Jail Administrator Eric Hensley for the award.  With the assistance of local MHMR staff and Texas A&M University Tele-Mental Care staff, Hensley designed policies and procedures to provide on-site counseling services within the jail 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hanak said Hensley’s leadership “has had a significant impact in addressing mental health issues” in the jail, and credited him and jail staff with reducing daily mental health problems and reducing housing cost of the mentally ill.

As part of the award, two members of the Washington County Jail staff will receive full access for them and two family members to the Western Regional Jail Conference, held June 6-8 in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The jail will also receive an award plaque.