Workers at the Anderson County Detention Center and Upstate mental health advocates are hoping questions that take eight minutes or less to answer could change — and maybe even save — someone's life.

Beginning this month, each inmate who comes into the county jail will take part in an immediate mental health screening. The screening focuses on what advocates call "self-reporting." Each inmate is asked eight questions designed to help determine his or her mental-health needs. The questions cover topics about feelings, physical health and medical attention received, among other things. If the inmate's answers show a need for mental-health help, the inmate is referred to a professional who can help.

The new screening is the result of Anderson County joining the Stepping Up initiative. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a backer of the initiative, it is an effort to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.

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Capt. Bill Vaughn of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, who oversees the jail, said the purpose of the initiative is to "identify, intervene and treat." He said the goal also is to reduce recidivism.

The Sheriff's Office held a news conference Friday to announce the implementation of the initiative and the new screening.

Vaughn said joining the initiative is a byproduct of the county's efforts to address overcrowding at the jail. The jail, which was built in the 1950s, has an operational capacity of 206 people, he said. In 2018, the average monthly population of inmates was 411.

"We're doing this initiative because, first, it's the right thing to do," he said, "and second, because it involves the safety of our officers... It could reduce the hazards that the men and women working in the detention center face every day."

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The new screening was first given to 20 inmates at the jail Jan. 9, Vaughn said. Of those screened, seven inmates were immediately referred to the jail's mental-health liaison, Vaughn said. Mandatory screening of all inmates coming into the county jail began Monday.

Most inmates who were jailed before January have not all been given the new mental health screening, Vaughn said. He said a few of them have been, including some screened at the requests of their lawyers.

The jail has not added staff since beginning the initiative, he said. Jail officials are working closely with counselors at Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Mental Health Center.

Kevin Hoyle, the center's executive director, said he believes the mental health screening of inmates could make a big difference.

"We have had a mental-health liaison at the jail for years," he said. "But before this screening, referrals to us have usually come when a person is in crisis, is having an emergency or is in need of immediate intervention. This will allow us to sooner identify folks who are most at risk."

The initiative targets inmates only while they are housed in the jail. If they post bail and are released, it is up to them, their family and friends to see that they get continued treatment, Vaughn said.

Lt. Rob Dolby, who oversees the Anderson County chapter of The Salvation Army, often helps people when they are at the lowest points of their lives. He praised the new screening, saying he thinks it will help some of the people his organization helps.

"Reducing the amount of time a person has to wait to get help is important," he said. "Cutting out two or three weeks of waiting to get mental health help is important. Two to three weeks is a big deal when someone is in crisis."

Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo or email her at mayon@independentmail.com.