It’s unclear what details will be announced on Friday. Dayton Daily News reported that plans were underway for revising a portion of the jail property to include a mental health facility and medical exam space.
Jail medical staff, contracted through health care organization Naphcare, have spaces to conduct assessments, but the facility doesn’t have an “infirmary” space for patients, according to officials.
Seven people have died at Montgomery County Jail this year — that’s more than jail deaths reported at the facility in 2021 and 2022 combined.
Members of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition — a group of citizens concerned about inmates at the jail — previously voiced approval of inmates having ready access to a mental health facility.
But the coalition said it wants the community to have a voice in what the jail’s future looks like.
“This community has called for transparency and openness in the jail planning process for years, but instead the county is moving forward with a plan to build major infrastructure and spend tens of millions in taxpayer dollars with zero public input — and make the announcement at an event that the public is prohibited from attending,” the coalition said in a statement.
A Montgomery County spokesperson said the county’s press conferences are often not open to the public due to space limitations, but county officials encourage people to watch the livestream of the press event on the Montgomery County Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MontgomeryCounty.
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