DETROIT (AP) - Wayne County commissioners could vote on a plan to house some homeless and mentally ill jail inmates in transitional facilities.
Sheriff Benny Napoleon’s office says final approval could come Thursday.
A public safety committee last week approved a $432,000 contract with Elmhurst Home Inc. of Detroit to house up to 70 inmates per day at separate men’s and women’s facilities.
The contract would run through September 2017 and is estimated to save the county about $90 each day per inmate.
The sheriff’s office says the inmates will receive individual counseling, substance abuse treatment and mental health agency referrals and services. They will wear tethers and likely remain in the program 30 to 120 days.
Napoleon says the program is part of his deficit reduction plan.
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