State task force urges planning a replacement for Whiting Forensic Hospital, citing competency patients housed in maximum security
The CVH Whiting Task Force told lawmakers the state should start the long process of designing, funding and building a modern replacement for Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown, which dates to 1970. Members described deteriorating infrastructure, rodents, and layout problems such as single-hallway movement and windowless program spaces. CT Mirror covered the discussion.
One problem singled out was capacity for competency restoration: when the less restrictive Dutcher Hall is full, patients sent for short-term restoration are moved into maximum-security beds alongside patients committed through the Psychiatric Security Review Board for years or decades. The panel pointed toward outpatient restoration and community alternatives that would keep lower-level defendants out of a locked forensic setting.
The item matters to the competency system because it ties the physical limits of Connecticut's main forensic hospital directly to where restoration patients are treated.
Source: Panel says it's time to start planning for a new psychiatric hospital to replace Whiting — CT Mirror, by Kelan Lyons
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