Florida lawmakers say fixing mental-hospital violence will take money, and a DCF official ties the rise in forensic admissions to missing community services
Legislators interviewed after the investigation said more money and major reforms would be needed, though some doubted the Legislature would act quickly. At a House subcommittee hearing, a lawmaker asked why so many more people were being sent to the hospitals after being charged with crimes and found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity.
The Department of Children and Families official responding said three-fifths of the hospital beds are taken by such forensic cases, leaving 40 percent for civil commitments. He tied the growth in forensic admissions largely to the absence of community services where people live.
The exchange is an early on-the-record acknowledgment from the agency that the competency system was consuming most of Florida's state hospital capacity.
Source: Lawmakers say fixing abuse and violence in mental hospitals will take time, money — Tampa Bay Times, by Michael Auslen
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