County approves agreement with Rising Hope Counseling

The Lake County Commission has approved an agreement for mental health services for inmates in the county’s jail.  During their meeting Tuesday, commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Lake County Jail and Rising Hope Counseling, LLC.  Commission Administrative Officer Shelli Gust told commissioners that the MOU is only for mental health services for incarcerated inmates.  She said it has nothing to do with emergency mental health services that are required as a part of the involuntary committal process.  

Gust said that the services provided by Rising Hope Counseling will be paid out of the jail’s budget.  She said the Memorandum of Understanding would require a down payment of 25-percent of the estimated annual cost, which equals close to 63-hundred dollars.  Gust said that services would be deducted from that amount and then after that would be billed monthly to the county.