Mojave County last year approved $412,000 in funding to begin the professional construction and engineering of a new re-entry facility to serve offenders who may struggle with substance abuse. This week, county officials reviewed the architectural design of the planned facility.
The facility is adjacent to the Mojave County Jail and has two floors and 8,000 square feet of space. The center will include spaces where participants in the Reach Out program can seek substance abuse and mental health services, or where participants can charge their mobile his devices. The facility also includes open office legal services and spaces for counseling and therapy.
According to a proposed design by Las Vegas-based LGA Architecture, the new building will also include a detox facility to treat county inmates, nurses’ offices, and medical supplies.
Mojave County last year launched a “reach out” re-entry program for county inmates. This links offenders with substance abuse or mental health problems to services that may help them, ultimately preventing such inmates from further encounters with the criminal justice system. It is an initiative for
This program is modeled after a similar program in Yavapai County that was launched in 2018. Yavapai County records show that recidivism at the Yavapai County Jail dropped by 30% from his 2018 to 2022. With the help of his $1 million grant from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
As of last July, Mojave County officials have allocated a total of $4 million in future funding for further implementation of the Reach Out program. Funding was primarily raised from settlements related to federal lawsuits against companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and McKesson Corporation. for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic.
“We are in the early stages of the design process,” said LGA principal architect Jason Georjorian on Monday. “The design process is about 30% advanced. About three months into the design process and he has three to four months left to complete the technical documentation. We will fund the process.”
According to Mojave County Manager Sam Elters, the design of the facility is expected to be completed early this summer. These designs will be further reviewed by county procurement officers and the Mojave County Board of Supervisors this year.
“I am excited about the purpose of this program and what we are doing,” Jojorian said. “We are monitoring ongoing costs and have been within budget so far and will continue to monitor them through the end of the design phase.”
