"Texas Officials Seeking Room for Mentally Ill Inmates," is the title of Brandi Grissom's report for the Texas Tribune. It's a must-read for those following the links between mental health and the criminal justice system.
State officials are trying to figure out what to do with about 400 mentally incompetent local jail inmates across the state ahead of a state district judge’s expected ruling to require state hospitals to find beds to treat them.
“It boils down to space,” said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Judge Orlinda Naranjo of Austin is poised to finalize a ruling this week that will require jails to send mentally incompetent inmates for treatment at a state hospital within 21 days of the time they are ordered committed.
She said in a letter last week outlining her expected ruling that the current average wait of six months for a spot at a state mental hospital violates the constitutional rights of inmates who have been found incompetent to stand trial and are awaiting psychological assessment and treatment. To comply with her ruling, the cash-strapped Department of State Health Services, which runs the hospitals, will have to find the room and the resources for all those inmates.
“These economic decisions made by the state do not outweigh the incompetent detainees’ liberty interests,” Naranjo wrote.
It's important to note that these are individuals who have not been convicted of a crime. They have been charged with a crime, but found to be incomeptent to assist in their own defense and stand trial. The defendants are being detained for treatment in order be tried.
Earlier coverage the shortage of treatment space for mentally ill defendants begins at the link.
"Montgomery County launches two new mental health programs for incarcerated," is by the editor of the Paper, based in Montgomery.
This week, Montgomery County launches two new programs to address the growing number of defendants with mental health issues incarcerated in the county jail.
The county will be only the second in Texas to have a managed assigned counsel program for indigent defendants. Montgomery County’s program will focus on representing defendants with mental health issues. The program will be led by Sara Forlano, a former assistant county attorney for Montgomery County, who recently left private practice to start up the new program. The County will also have a mental health court docket that closely monitors probationers with serious mental illness. The programs were created through a $487,000 grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, and supported by matching funds from Montgomery County Commissioners Court.
“The goal of this program is to lower the rate of recidivism,” said Judge Cara Wood of the 284th District Court. “There is a high rate of recidivism among this population.”
The programs also have the support of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Tri-County Services and other agencies and departments who have direct contact with the indigent mentally ill defendants.
“Finally, we are seeing something to help folks with mental health issues,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage. “One of the worse things is to see someone locked up in jail and it’s the last place they need to be. Through this grant, we can get help for the people that need it.”
The program will identify indigent adult defendants at the Montgomery County Jail who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia and refer those cases to private attorneys who have been trained to deal with clients with mental health issues.
Earlier coverage of problems dealing with mentally ill defendants begins at the link.
Earlier coverage of the Montgomery County plan begins at the link.
Travis County was the first jurisdiction in the nation to have a specialized public defender office to deal with mentally ill defendants. Bexar County has a special mental health court for dealing with mentally ill defendants.
Related posts are in the mental illness index.
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