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ISSUES

MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT A CRIME

Sheriff Sally Hernandez partnered with community organizations to:

–  Provide mental health training to all TCSO Deputies and Corrections Officers – teaching them how to not only identify the signs of crisis, but also how to de-escalate the situation and offer help to the person suffering rather than an arrest

–  Offer diversion options to other arresting agencies in order to get a person suffering from a mental health crisis into treatment and not jail

–  Provide classes to friends and family of inmates suffering from mental health issues to help avoid future arrests

LEADING A PROGRESSIVE TRAVIS COUNTY JAIL​

–  Expanded face-to-face visitation and contact visits in order to keep family bonds tight and decrease recidivism

–  Helped negotiate miniscule fees for phone visitation during the COVID pandemic so families could stay connected

–  Created a Trauma-Informed Care Administrator position within TCSO and recruited a mental health expert of high renown to take on the task of implementing best practices across the entire agency

–  Achieved PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) compliance for our jail. Travis County is 1 of 9 counties, out of 254, to achieve this compliance

BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST

–  Partnered with local moms to sound the alarm in schools and community forums about the dangers of Fentanyl and counterfeit prescription pills

–  Ended arrests related to minor possession of marijuana charges

–  Advocated for responsible, common sense gun laws so every person can feel safe

–  Encouraged deputies, corrections officers, and staff to mentor at-risk kids in order to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline

SUPPORTING SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

–  Created a Sexual Assault Unit whose exclusive mission is to investigate and provide specialized care

–  Led a trained victim services staff and volunteers to assist survivors with compassion and empathy, but also notice signs of abuse that are not obvious to the untrained eye

–  Partnered with SAFE Alliance, Asian Family Support Services, UT Counseling & Mental Health Center, Texas Advocacy Project, and Texas Rio Grande Legal Services, among others, to provide survivors with services and assistance