Washoe County Detention Facility houses Nevada’s first ever Jail-Based Competency Treatment (JBCT) program

In partnership with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), NaphCare, a leading correctional healthcare company, is proud to announce the launch of the THRIVE Jail-Based Competency Treatment (JBCT) program for patients in the Washoe County Detention Facility. This program is the first of its kind in the state of Nevada and delivers full competency restoration services within the facility to individuals whom the Court has found incompetent to stand trial.

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An evolution of the facility’s innovative THRIVE Jail-based Treatment Program (JBTP) that opened September 2024, the JBCT program provides comprehensive competency restoration treatment. JBTP jump-started intensive mental health treatment in the Detention Facility for those awaiting restoration at the state-operated forensic hospital. As a JBCT program, THRIVE is now able to completely prevent delays in the restorative process and reduce the demand for forensic hospital beds statewide.

With this program now in place, the Washoe County Detention Facility provides the targeted treatment and evaluations previously not permitted in jail, restoring detained individuals’ mental competence to stand trial and, ultimately, moving the justice system forward.

“The THRIVE Jail-Based Competency Treatment program represents years of work by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office to rethink how detention facilities respond to mental health,” said Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam. “This program reflects what can happen when public safety, healthcare professionals, and community partners come together with a shared goal. By expanding mental health treatment inside our facility, we’re helping individuals move forward in the legal process while supporting safer outcomes for our staff, our community, and those in our care suffering from mental health issues.”

THRIVE operates in a designated Jail-Based Mental Health Unit that includes empirically informed enhancements designed to increase patient participation and promote wellness, while also maintaining safety and security.

In addition to changes to the physical environment, custody working alongside NaphCare’s clinical staff share in THRIVE’s mission. WCSO deputies trained in mental health are specifically recruited for the JBMHU and are daily collaborators in creating a trusting, therapeutic community for THRIVE participants.

A Growing Demand

NaphCare’s THRIVE program is a keystone solution to the growing demand for court-ordered competency evaluations and restoration in the correctional environment, a demand driven by the increasing number of individuals living with mental illness and disabilities in jail.

Dr. Caroline Parrott, NaphCare’s Vice President of Forensic Mental Health Programs and a clinical forensic psychologist, said “The competency crisis has grown within correctional facilities nationwide as more justice-involved individuals are waiting for the specialized services they need to advance through the justice system to stand trial and move forward in their legal cases and their lives.”

The competency crisis affects not only competency-involved patients, but also the public as the financial burden for longer lengths of stay within a correctional facility falls to the taxpayer. The longer individuals who are awaiting restoration go without treatment, the longer it takes to restore them to competency and the risk of being unable to restore to competency increases. Additionally, longer wait times to stand trial jeopardize basic rights to due process and the right to a speedy trial. As cases are delayed weeks to months or longer, miscarriages of justice are more likely as cases get dismissed and victims await their day in court.

Partnership and Progress

The implementation of the JBCT program is the culmination of years of partnership and progress. NaphCare partnered with the WCSO in March 2023 to proactively address lengthy delays in competency evaluations for detained individuals. Supported by the WCSO and the Washoe County Competency Court, NaphCare delivered high-quality, timely competency-to-stand-trial evaluations for all defendants housed at the Washoe County Detention Facility, effectively eliminating unnecessary delays at the front end of the process.

NaphCare then worked closely with the WCSO, as well as local and statewide stakeholders, to develop and implement the THRIVE jail-based treatment program. Its success helped show key decision-makers in Nevada that jail-based forensic mental health programs not only work, but make a difference systemwide. In July 2025, legislation introduced in Assembly Bill 467 led to changes in the Nevada Revised Statute including the authority to provide restoration for those ordered as detained in the custody of the Administrator of the Department of Behavioral Health Services for treatment in jail.

“Thanks to the efforts of Nevada’s legislators, the Governor’s office, and the support of key community and state stakeholders such as the Division of Public and Behavioral Health and WCSO,” said Dr. Parrott, “THRIVE is able to provide targeted competency restoration treatment, so we can directly address the barriers to competency head on. The result is faster rates of restoration without burdening the state-system unnecessarily. This program is a valuable step forward for our patients and for the legal process in Washoe County.”

In collaboration with WCSO, individuals in NaphCare’s THRIVE JBCT program will receive individualized, all-inclusive mental health and medical treatment alongside specialized forensic services by a multidisciplinary treatment and evaluation team. By providing intensive services that meet and exceed local and national standards for competency evaluation and restoration, THRIVE will ultimately reduce wait times for competency evaluation and treatment while reserving limited funds for those who need it.

In addition to the THRIVE JBCT program, NaphCare continues to provide the Washoe County Forensic Evaluation Program for pre-commitment competency evaluations and specialized mental health evaluations of adults in the Washoe County Detention Facility, as well as all medical, mental health, dental, and pharmaceutical healthcare services, including its life-saving MAT and OTP programs.

The Washoe County Detention Facility is accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). The facility was a 2024 recipient of the NCCHC Pinnacle Award, the highest distinction in correctional healthcare, recognizing the detention facility’s NCCHC accreditation across three distinct service areas - jail health services, mental health services and opioid treatment programs.

About NaphCare

NaphCare partners with local, state and federal government agencies nationwide to provide innovative healthcare, technology and administrative solutions for complex problems within the correctional system. The company’s industry-leading approach to correctional healthcare includes designing and implementing evidence-based clinical programs to address the specific challenges of the corrections environment. Above all, NaphCare aims to make a positive impact in the communities they serve. NaphCare is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with a regional office in Las Vegas, Nevada. Additional information can be found on the company’s website: www.naphcare.com or www.techcareehr.com.

About Washoe County Detention Center

Designed as one of the first direct-supervision detention facilities in the nation, the Washoe County Detention Facility has become a model facility for jails in the United States. The Detention Facility currently accepts detainees from over thirty law enforcement agencies, including those at the local, state and federal levels. Detention Operations provides services to inmates through Court Transportation, District Court, the Inmate Management Unit (IMU), and the Detention Services Unit (DSU) and one medical contractor (NaphCare). Detention Services oversees six departments operated by the largest civilian staff employed by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office supporting the strategic objective and goals of Detention Facility commissioned deputies.

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THRIVE is a keystone solution to the growing demand for court-ordered competency evaluations and restoration in the correctional environment, a demand driven by the increasing number of individuals living with mental illness and disabilities in jail.