LINCOLN -- The Logan County Probation Department has started work on a plan for nonviolent offenders who have serious mental health issues.

"Our department will lead the effort to link criminal justice departments with local health and social services," said Kim Turner, the county's probation director. "The ultimate aim is to ensure community safety and also see that chronically ill individuals receive appropriate levels of treatment and supervision."

The project has two goals: to identify barriers to providing mental health services to individuals in Logan County, and to propose a plan to remove those barriers and work toward implementing the plan.

Tazwood Mental Health Center and TASC Inc. (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities) helped Turner apply for a grant to pay for the program. Tazwood, of Pekin, provides mental health and substance abuse treatment services for the public and for inmates.

"I have talked with Kim for several years about a program like this and it was just a matter of waiting for the right grant to come along," said Mike Polson, Tazwood Mental Health Center director.

The Logan County Mental Health Initiative will include judges, sheriff, state's attorney, public defender, police departments, health departments and local social services.

"All of them have expressed a willingness to work together and alleviate the problems we have," Turner said.

On the Net: www.co.logan.il.us/probation