Program seeks to expand mental health access in jails
The Anniston StarSep 12, 2020
"One goal is to make sure everyone who's booked into a jail is screened for mental illness," said
Since 2018, the
Clampit says the program provides funds for mental health agencies to develop partnerships with sheriffs' offices. The mental health agencies do an initial mental health screening of new inmates -- asking, for instance, if they have suicidal thoughts or hear voices -- then follow up with mental health care if the inmate has a clear mental health problem.
Law enforcement officials have long complained that, due to a lack of residential mental health facilities in the state, many people with mental illness wind up in local jails.
"The jail staff are simply not equipped to deal with mental illness. It's not their job," Clampit said.
According to a report earlier this month by
Clampit said the program is in place in counties as populous as
It's unclear whether
Retired
He said the county jail typically has screened for some mental health issues, such as suicidal thoughts or drug addiction.
"Anxiety or depression, we don't screen for that, because anybody who comes into a jail is going to be anxious or depressed whether they have an underlying mental health problem or not," he said.
He said the bigger problem is a lack of residential psychiatric health care for people in mental health crisis. Without that care, people with mental illness often don't get any sort of intervention until someone calls the police. And police, he said, have limited tools at their disposal.
"Once you de-escalate them, the question is what you do with them. We can leave them here or we can take them to the jail," he said.
Garlick said he believes the state should set up emergency mental health facilities, similar to emergency rooms, where people could be held up to 72 hours if needed.
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