San Antonio weighs funding a mental health diversion center to route low-level cases from jail

A feasibility study moves forward after Public Safety Committee discussion

San Antonio officials are advancing plans for a behavioral health diversion center designed to steer some people accused of low-level offenses away from jail and into short-term treatment. In late January, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee supported partnering on a feasibility study led by the Center for Health Care Services, the local mental health authority for Bexar County.

City staff said San Antonio would contribute $30,000 from the San Antonio Police Department budget toward the study. The total cost was estimated at roughly $100,000 to $120,000. The committee also signaled interest in further discussion at the full City Council level, including the possible formation of a joint city-county ad hoc group to guide next steps.

How the proposed model would work

The concept under discussion is a centralized diversion and recovery option for adults experiencing mental illness or intellectual and developmental disabilities who are detained for low-level offenses. Rather than booking such individuals into jail, participating law enforcement agencies could transport eligible people to a treatment-focused facility for clinical assessment and stabilization.

Comparable models in Texas operate around the clock and provide short-term stays, often up to about two weeks, combining psychiatric screening, medication support, substance-use services, and connections to longer-term care and housing resources when appropriate.

Why the issue is being revisited now

The diversion-center proposal is being framed as part of a broader push to reduce pressure on the overcrowded Bexar County jail and to better align public safety responses with behavioral health needs. Local officials have argued that jail is frequently used as a default holding space for people in crisis, even when the underlying problem is primarily medical or psychiatric.

The feasibility study is expected to evaluate practical details that have stalled prior efforts: site options, operating costs, staffing, eligibility criteria, clinical scope, coordination with courts, and how transfers would occur from law enforcement custody into treatment in a legally and medically appropriate way.

Existing diversion pathways and system constraints

Bexar County already operates specialized court-based alternatives intended to reduce criminal justice involvement for certain populations, including a Mental Health Court and a pretrial diversion Community Court program. Separately, the county has invested in expanded treatment capacity at the Applewhite Recovery Center, a behavioral health and substance-use facility aimed in part at easing jail crowding by offering a treatment placement for some individuals who would otherwise remain detained.

Supporters of a dedicated diversion center have described it as a missing “front-end” option—intervening earlier, at the point of arrest or detention, for cases where treatment and stabilization could prevent deeper jail involvement.

• City contribution discussed: $30,000 toward feasibility work
• Estimated study cost: $100,000–$120,000
• Next steps under consideration: full Council briefing and a potential city-county ad hoc committee

A central question for the study will be how to safely divert eligible low-level cases while maintaining accountability, protecting public safety, and ensuring continuity of care after discharge.

Officials have not announced a site, opening date, or final funding plan. Those decisions are expected to depend on the feasibility findings and subsequent action by city and county leaders.