Mental Health Division

The Mental Health Division provides specialized mental health treatment services to offenders while serving a jail sentence. The division is located at the North Broward Detention Center where the Broward Sheriff's Office Department of Detention and Community Control operates a 400-bed Mental Health Unit. The Mental Health Unit provides specialized housing and programming for those offenders that have difficulty functioning in the jail's general population due to symptoms of a mental illness. The goal is to provide a safe and secure environment that will enable offenders with emotional and behavioral difficulties to successfully adjust within the jail setting and to provide supports and mental health treatment services necessary for stabilization, recovery, and successful transition back to the community.

The Mental Health Division takes a holistic approach to offender mental health treatment including psychological assessment, individual and group counseling interventions, and discharge planning. Counseling services are individualized to meet the needs of offenders with varying levels of psychological functioning. Group programming focuses on a broad range of psycho-educational topics including: Understanding Mental Illness; Mood Management/Emotional Awareness; Anger Management; Stress Management; Substance Abuse; Harm Reduction; Coping Skills; Thinking Errors; Communication Skills; Medication Management; Life Skills; Relapse Prevention; Discharge Planning, and Therapeutic Recreational and Leisure Activities.

In addition to the direct mental health services provided on the Mental Health Unit, the Mental Health Division is responsible for the oversight of the delivery of mental health services by the contracted medical provider at all of BSO's detention facilities and for ensuring these services are in compliance with regulatory guidelines. The Division provides on-going training for detention deputies in the area of mental health and the effective management of inmates with mental illness. The Division staff also works closely with the courts, community mental health agencies, and other organizations to assist with jail diversion efforts and to facilitate linkage to appropriate services for inmates upon release.

For more information, please contact BSO's Department of Community Control at (954) 535-2373.

Department of Community Control Main Page

Day Reporting and Reentry Division

Drug Court Treatment Program

In-Custody Treatment Division

Pre-Trial Services Division

Probation Division

Dr. Timothy Ludwig
BSO Inmate Mental Health Coordinator

Dr. Timothy Ludwig is a licensed psychologist who obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Miami. He has served as the BSO Inmate Mental Health Coordinator since March 2002.

He began working in the mental health field in 1988 and much of his efforts and experiences have focused on ...more