LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced a number of new initiatives Thursday aimed at improving conditions and transparency at Louisville Metro Corrections.

Those initiatives include a new online dashboard to display jail population data, more in-depth mental health evaluations for inmates as they are booked, and a request for proposals to enter a new contract with a health care provider for the jail.

"We're not waiting," Greenberg said during a Thursday afternoon news conference. "We're taking action. We're taking action now to bring some seriously needed reforms and improvements to Louisville Metro Corrections."

Population dashboard

The new population dashboard is designed to serve as a transparency tool so citizens can access real-time information about who is in the care of Louisville Metro Corrections.

The dashboard will display daily infographics on the population of the jail, including "gender, race, length of stay, category of charge, amount of set bond and other information."

"In order to best serve the public, including those in the care of Louisville Metro Corrections, we will always be deferential to transparency," Greenberg said, in a statement. "And rebuilding that trust with the community is going to begin by allowing the public unfettered information about Metro Corrections. We can't deliver on improvement if we don't make sure the public can track our progress."

As of Thursday, the dashboard shows more than 1,900 people are incarcerated. Of those, 1,200 are housed in the jail, while more than 650 are on house arrest.

To look at the dashboard, click here.

Improved entry screenings

Among the new initiatives announced by Mayor Greenberg were improved screenings for inmates being booked into the jail, with a focus on bolstered psychological evaluations emphasizing mental health and harm reduction.

In the past, Greenberg said an inmate would only receive a mental health screening if he or she requested it or provided information indicating it was needed. Even then, Greenberg said, those evaluations would only be provided by a registered nurse. The mayor said it's an improvement that will allow jail staff to "quickly connect residents" with appropriate treatment and resources to address their mental health needs.

"We know that the delivery of effective mental health services is absolutely critical to maintaining a safe environment for residents and staff," Greenberg said. "We can't help people if we don't know they need help. By ensuring a mental health professional is screening for mental wellness, not just for physical health, we are working to better understand which residents need assistance. We are hopeful that this simple, but crucial, change will create better health and safety outcomes for our entire population and staff."

Under the improvements announced on Thursday, every inmate being booked into the jail would be given a psychological evaluation by a Master's-level mental health professional. Right now, the jail has one person there five days a week for eight hours a day. But soon, a professional will be on staff at all hours of the day. 

"That's a huge change," Metro Corrections Director Jerry Collins said. "It's very hard to get doctors in a corrections environment anyway, and if you only got one, that's a lot of patients to see."

Seeking a new health care provider contract 

Greenberg said the city is also in the process of preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a health care provider for the jail.

The contract for the current provider, Wellpath, expires July 31.

Taking into account community input, the RFP has been designed to seek a health care partner that can emphasize "mental and behavioral health, treatments of substance use disorders and medical detoxification," according to a news release.

"The city is not only seeking a medical care provider, but a true partner in reforming how Louisville Metro Corrections operates," said Jerry Collins, director of Louisville Metro Corrections, in a statement. "I've met with reform advocates, members of impacted communities, and nonprofit organizations from across Louisville. I have taken their requests and input into consideration in developing his RFP, and I want the community to know we are committed to delivering quality health care to those in our care. We will work to find a partner to do just that."

These changes come a day after a group of people representing several organizations rallied in front of the jail in downtown Louisville, calling for systemic, deep-rooted changes of the conditions inside the jail and more transparency. They want to see more accountability, better health care for inmates and more wraparound services.

Thursday's announcement also comes nearly a month after a retired FBI agent, hired by Metro Council to investigate ongoing problems inside Metro Corrections, released the findings of his extensive audit. The nearly 300-page report from David Beyer calls the building woefully inadequate and obsolete, with a problematic culture inherited by Director Collins from the jail's former director, Dwayne Clark, who retired amid ongoing investigations into the series of deaths in the jail.

Beyer said the state of the current jail facilities in Louisville likely contributed to some deaths. He considers the jail's design to be antiquated, run down and inadequate.

At minimum, he said the building needs to be gutted. But any of those big changes means a lot of money. Metro Council members indicated this could be something to look ahead to for the next few budget cycles.

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