COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — The sheriff’s department in Platte County is seeking $10,000 in the 2014-15 budget to add a part-time counseling position at the jail.

Former Sheriff Jon Zavadil, who retired last month, says his and other jails have become dumping grounds for people who need mental health care, something for which the jail isn’t equipped or staffed.

The problems have arisen since the state shifted responsibility for some mental health treatment from regional facilities to community-based services.

He says treatment gaps have opened between services that once were available at regional facilities and what’s locally accessible to people sitting in jail, accused of crimes.