Fairfax County launches initiative to decrease the number of mentally ill in jails

Fairfax counted has begun an effort to reduce the number of mentally ill people in local jails. According to Fairfax County Supervisor John Cook, this plan will save the county a lot of money, because treating people is much cheaper than keeping them in jail. It has the potential to lower recidivism rates from 80 to 20 percent. The program, called the Diversion First Initiative, is expected to launch by January 2016. A similar program in Bexar County, Texas has been very successful, saving millions of dollars and decreasing the homeless population by 85 percent.