Cities, States Seeking To Break Crime Cycles Look At New Mental Health Options For Prisoners
“If you took drugs and alcohol and mental illness out of my jail, my jail would be empty,” Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn of Wood County, Ohio, tells Stateline. Also, a federal judge in New York says state officials are subverting a court order to help mentally ill residents, and a new mental health program for teens is launched in Palo Alto, Calif.
Stateline:
Getting The Mentally Ill Out Of Jails
A dearth of beds at state psychiatric hospitals in many parts of the country and shortages of mental health resources mean that mentally ill people who commit minor crimes often end up languishing in jails, which are poorly equipped to handle their illnesses. It’s a difficult problem that, without intervention, creates a grim cyclical pattern: Untreated mentally ill people get carted off to jail, where their illnesses go unaddressed, which increases the odds that they will commit crimes after their release. But cities, counties and states across the U.S. are attempting to break that pattern, using law enforcement and criminal justice tools to direct those with mental illness toward treatment services that could help them control behaviors that got them into trouble. (Ollove, 4/7)
ProPublica:
Federal Judge Sees New York State Conspiracy To Thwart Care For Mentally Ill
A federal judge in Brooklyn has accused state officials of secretly trying to subvert a landmark court order to improve care for thousands of mentally ill residents of New York City. Three years ago, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ended a prolonged lawsuit against New York state by ordering the Department of Health to begin moving as many as 4,000 mentally ill residents housed in group homes to less restrictive environments where they could live more independently. (Sapien, 4/6)
San Jose Mercury News:
Special Mental Health Program Launched For Teens
Palo Alto teens and families looking for mental health services that fall between occasional therapy and hospitalization soon will have that option. With the help of an anonymous donor interested in reducing the number of teen suicides, the nonprofit Children’s Health Council has launched a 12-week Intensive Outpatient Program at its Palo Alto campus at 650 Clark Way. (Lee, 4/6)
