Miami-Dade County residents have waited more than 20 years for a mental health center to care for the most acutely mentally ill people in county jails — but advocates say commission leadership have kept the facility, which was deemed ready in 2024 but has yet to open, trapped in limbo.
At a county commission workshop Wednesday, proponents for the Center for Mental Health and Recovery were peppered with questions by commissioners but were ultimately left frustrated once again as the funding proposal was not moved forward to a Board of County commissioners agenda for approval.
Commissioners inquired about how long the facility would be financially self-sustaining for, how many people it would keep off the streets, and how much it might cost taxpayers if it cannot secure more funding.
County administrators have found enough funding to operate the center for three years without dipping into Miami-Dade's general fund of tax dollars, and advocates have for months begged county leaders to put a funding proposal for the center up for a vote of the full board.
The decision rests, however, with Board Chair Anthony Rodriguez, who has yet to release the item from a subcommittee.
" I've been very vocal about my concerns since day one, and it comes down to being fiscally responsible. I have faith that it will be opened, but it's gotta be done the right way," Rodriguez told reporters Wednesday.
In the meantime, the facility risks losing out on additional philanthropy dollars, while inmates with mental illnesses in Miami-Dade County jails suffer severe injuries.
Proponents for the center have estimated more than 1,000 people could be served by the center in a year, which could save Miami-Dade thousands of dollars by keeping them out of county-run jails.
"Every day that goes by we're losing money and we're losing credibility," said retired Judge Steven Leifman, one of the main drivers behind the mental health center. Leifman noted that facility maintenance while it remains closed costs about $1 million per year.
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Miami-Dade voters in 2004 approved the creation of a center to divert eligible people with mental illnesses from the county's jail system to a place where they can receive wraparound mental health treatment and stay out of the loop of incarceration. It took approximately 20 years to get the facility renovated and online, during which time the county was placed under federal investigation owing to a high rate of deaths and suicides in Miami-Dade jails.
The facility was deemed ready to open in 2024 and the county was released from a federal consent decree, but a federal judge urged the county to get the mental health center up and running to avoid more inmate deaths.
A proposal by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and sponsored by Commissioner Raquel Regalado would have the facility run by not-for-profit West are for a period of three years. The administration estimates running the center will cost approximately $38 million dollars over a period of two years, which can be funded with a mix of funds from county, state and federal funds.
But critics including Chair Rodriguez and Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins question whether it will be self-sustaining or require additional investment from taxpayers after that initial period.
"Are we willing to raise taxes to support this building?" Cohen Higgins said from the dais. "If you look at our own financial projections within the next 5 years in Miami-Dade County, every year we are projecting a financial deficit. This will be an entirely new line item on our budget."
Elected officials in support of the center — including Commissioners Vicki Lopez, René Garcia and Oliver Gilbert — rebutted the financial argument by posing a philosophical one: should government pay for necessary services, and how much value should be placed on a life?
"Why are we thinking that this needs to pay for itself? The numbers don't have to be right if the mission is righteous. It’s the right thing to do," Gilbert said.
"This is a philosophical situation we find ourselves in. The thought that it should be self sustainable is ridiculous," Lopez added.
Though many of the commissioners at Wednesday's voiced their support for putting the mental health center on an official agenda and taking a vote, no action was taken. Chair Rodriguez said he would take the information he received into consideration.
The item will remain in subcommittees until the chair moves it to an agenda for the full board.
