Some defendants with mental illnesses are waiting in the Dallas County jail for more than two years before they are being transferred to state hospitals....
Hundreds await a state psychiatric hospital bed while in county jail anywhere from months to more than 800 days, raising health and legal concerns.5:10 AM on Jul 10, 2022 CDT
The county blames the state for the delay in getting mentally distressed defendants into state hospital beds for treatment. Such defendants are required to receive treatment, usually in state care, before they can be declared mentally competent by a judge to then stand trial. “Long periods of no treatment are not good for your brain,” he said. “It makes it harder to get you to respond to treatment later. We certainly don’t want delays in treatment from being in jail, but that is what often happens.”To preserve the constitutional right of due process, courts have determined that defendants have an absolute right to understand the proceedings against them. If they are incapable of understanding, they are determined to be legally incompetent.
“Failure to do so will result in unnecessary delays and incarceration for the client, the wrath of the judge and unnecessary expenses to the taxpayer,” a Dallas County district attorney webpage says. Psychiatrists appointed by the judge and hospital staff determine whether “competency” can be restored, the time frame, and potential treatment options. If restoration is possible, hospital staff work to do so before the person is returned to the jail to stand trial.If restoration is determined to not be possible, there is a hearing to determine further state psychiatric commitment, a defendant’s case is dismissed and they remain at the state hospital.
The national staffing shortage has also hit the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. As of May 2022, state hospitals have about 1,300 fewer employees than the year prior, Bishop said. with 200 beds. The final number of beds dedicated to civil or criminal cases has not been determined, Bishop said.
“Part of the problem we’ve had is people have conflated having a mental illness with being incompetent, and they are not the same,” he said. “There are people with very significant psychiatric problems, who are still completely able to make decisions and take care of themselves and participate in the legal process. At times, the courts believe that a person has to be fully recovered, in order to be able to participate, and that’s not always true.
Yet Harris County, a county with nearly twice the population of Dallas County, has 219 people waiting for a bed. Dallas County does not participate in the state collaborative, but will next year, North Texas Behavioral Health Authority’s Anderson said.Price gave a presentation about the wait time and costs in the June 21 Commissioners Court meeting.The jail has become the repository for mental healthA prisoner costs Dallas County an average of $67 per day, without additional mental services or health care. Price’s presentation estimates the county has spent more than $13.
“As staffing increases, so will the available capacity. Increased capacity will allow us to care for more patients,” he said in an email.Mental health and jail experts say these long wait times would be alleviated by more funding for community mental health clinics and outpatient care, which could become alternatives to state hospitals.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Dallas County Expunction Expo can help residents clean up criminal recordsThe Dallas County district attorney’s and district clerk’s offices announced their sixth annual Expunction Expo on Tuesday. The program, which involves the...
Read more »
Man may have spread monkeypox in Dallas, health officials sayDallas County health officials said a man who was infected with monkeypox had sexual encounters with several other men at a bathhouse late last month.
Read more »
Dallas Cowboys face backlash for partnering with gun-themed coffee companyThe Dallas Cowboys faced backlash after they announced they were partnering with a gun-themed coffee company a day after several people were killed in a mass shooting in suburban Chicago.
Read more »
How Dallas Police Focus on Mental Health Following Ambush ShootingCheck out the discussion our KelliSmithNews had with NBCDFW on the Dallas police approach to mental health following the 2016 ambush, and read our story for more details 👀 Watch: 👓 Read the story:
Read more »
Chefs criticize Dallas restaurant conference where Gov. Greg Abbott is set to speakThe Texas Restaurant Show kicks off July 9 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Abbott will give the keynote speech there on July 11 — a matter that is stirring up backlash in the hospitality industry.
Read more »
Environmental cleanup robots being trained at UT Dallas to tackle hurricanes, oil spillsIt’s not easy for human beings to clean up after a hurricane or oil spill. To find out what hazardous chemicals are in an area, or if the air is safe to...
Read more »