|
|
| 1 in 5 TX Inmates Likely to be Mentally Ill |
| By The Monitor |
| Published: 10/17/2005 |
|
According to data from the former Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, now part of the Texas Department of State Health Services, about 22 percent of inmates in the state's prisons in 2004 were once MHMR clients. Based on that figure, about one in five inmates could have some type of mental illness, the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical and Mental Impairments has reported. Other studies suggest about 16 percent of inmates have a serious mental illness, and the Valley rates are likely to be similar. Those numbers are why the Texas Legislature included a new jail diversion program as part of 2003 legislation to revamp the state's mental health system. The program attempts to steer some individuals away from the penal system through strategies such as screening inmates for mental illness and working with the courts to route some nonviolent, misdemeanor offenders into mental health care instead of jail. Many mentally ill Valley residents have ended up in trouble with the law usually with minor offenses while in the throes of their illness, said Stephanie Contreras, president of NAMI's South Texas chapter. If those patients receive proper attention and treatment, they can avoid jail and future brushes with the criminal justice system, she said. However, funding for such a program isn't coming easy. Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation, which serves Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties, is working on developing a jail diversion program in cooperation with Hidalgo and Cameron counties. However, they're not getting any extra dollars from the state to do so. "Although we have the state mandate to provide jail diversion (services), there's no funding stream identified to assist with any of those activities," Tropical Texas CEO Terry Crocker said. "Currently, we're identifying funds however we can." That means Tropical Texas must shift funds originally intended to serve the mentally ill in the general population to the jail diversion program. Tropical Texas already has had to cut about 300 patients from its rolls as part of the statewide system changes, and diverting more funds away from its regular services means more patients could be shortchanged, Crocker said. Tropical Texas has set aside $250,000 of its $23 million annual budget for the jail diversion program, which is still in its infancy. So far, officials have focused efforts on creating the program in Hidalgo County, bringing in mental health workers to screen inmates for mental illness and requesting in court that certain nonviolent offenders go into mental health services instead of jail. So far, Tropical Texas has screened about 370 inmates in Hidalgo County, said Cory Morlock, supervisor for the center's jail diversion program. Morlock said he didn't immediately know how many of those screened qualified for services. Remi Garza, executive assistant to Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa, said the county and Tropical Texas should have an agreement together in a few weeks to begin a jail diversion program in that county. More money in the jail diversion program could help mentally ill patients like get the care they need before the consequences become drastic. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think