She says she can't comment on the health department's proposed changes to the involuntary commitment process, because they're too vague.īut she points out that the state hospital is currently the only facility in the state that can take these patients. In her work at the Kalispell District Court, Judge Amy Eddy oversees many criminal commitments to the state hospital. Neither Ebelt nor Parker pointed to specific community services or other mental health facilities that could take on the burden of treating inmates in the criminal justice system, so they can become fit to stand trial. In an emailed statement, health department spokesperson Jon Ebelt explained that state law doesn't require courts to consider wait times before committing inmates to the state hospital for mental health care. "When there are no available patient beds, or they are not available for some time, the department can be held in contempt or receive another sanction," Parker told the legislative committee. In the meantime, patients are funneled to the state hospital, the only current option for many inmates who need mental health care. Lawmakers raised those rates by about 20% this year, but it will take time to determine whether that increase will be enough to rebuild mental health services, and induce once-shuttered locations to reopen. He did acknowledge that community service options have dwindled, in part due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates. He contended they rarely order patients to be committed at community care facilities, as an alternative to the state hospital system. In the hearing, Parker criticized the judges making the decisions. Judges have fewer treatment options for commitments She told NPR the health department should focus on improving patient care, instead of denying patients access. ![]() Jennifer Carlson, a member of the interim committee. ![]() When these cells regularly fill up, inmates waiting for admission to the state hospital are kept in windowless cells in the jail's receiving area.īut there is nowhere else to send patients facing criminal charges for evaluation and treatment, according to Republican State Rep. This wing is the only part of the jail that has single cells with windows to hold inmates who are a risk to themselves or others. The mental health wing of the Flathead County Detention Center in Kalispell, Montana. ![]() Increasing homelessness can exacerbate mental health conditions, and make treatment more difficult. Another factor driving jail overcrowding is Montana's recent population boom, which has pushed up housing costs. Meanwhile, at the Flathead County jail, the number of people waiting to be transferred there has grown since the pandemic, Root says. Surging demands for state psychiatric bedsįor years, the Montana State Hospital has struggled to keep up with the number of people who are criminally committed to the facility. But because of bottlenecks in services here, and across the country, people in jail with serious mental illness are waiting months to receive the care needed to "restore" their competency to stand trial. Many inmates wait for months to be admitted to the Montana State Hospital for mental health treatment so they can stand trial.īefore their legal case can proceed, people charged with crimes in Montana must understand the charges they face and participate in their own defense. The entrance to the Flathead County Detention Center in Kalispell, Montana.
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