State committee gets earful about mental health deficiencies
Sun JournalJun 15, 2017
"The largest mental institutions in the state are, in fact, the jails and prisons, bar none," said
The 92-bed capacity of Riverview, the state's sole psychiatric hospital in
Starting in 2012, the population of criminal patients at the hospital grew until it reached a total of 70, Wathen said, housed in civil wards that were designed for non-criminal clients.
"That proved to be unwise," he said, because the management systems in place for the civil population is different from that of the criminal population.
Some people charged with crimes who have been found by psychologists not competent to stand trial because of mental illness are not in hospitals receiving treatment where they should be, Wathen said. "They're waiting in jail and these are people who really are in need of help."
For juveniles in
Even in the wake of a suicide at the facility last fall, the population of those with mental health needs is not being met, DeMillo said. Several others have harmed themselves or attempted to, she said. They are being managed for safety only, not for their underlying mental health problems.
"Simply put,
The center is seeing a rise in acute care cases and is finding it increasingly difficult to find appropriate residential settings for that population.
"If there was some place for them to go, they would place them there," she said.
The staff is under trained in the scope of their responsibilities, she said. Safety management of youths in acute crisis includes use of corrections restraints, removal of clothing and use of a "smock cover-up."
A survey of the population beginning in 2009 found that 67 percent received special education services, nearly 85 percent arrived at the facility with three or more mental health diagnoses. For females, the most common diagnosis (24 percent) was post-traumatic stress disorder, followed by mood disorder (19 percent) and substance abuse disorder (15 percent). Twenty-six percent of the male population was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, 20 percent with mood disorder, 20 percent with depressive disorder and 20 percent with PTSD.
Despite the urgent need for mental health services at the center, Gov.
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According to published reports Wednesday,
Advocates said more mental health crisis training is needed for first responders in law enforcement who encounter that population on the streets, but funding is lacking. Mental health workers who ride along with first responders also are needed, advocates said.
"We're trying to do this backwards," he said. "We are trying to get the criminal justice system to take care of the mental health system."
The
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