Georgia breaks ground on first new state psychiatric hospital in 50 years
Georgia broke ground on a $409 million, 300-bed forensic psychiatric hospital in DeKalb County, its first new state psychiatric hospital in more than fifty years. The project followed years of reporting on a backlog that had grown past 700 people waiting for court-ordered evaluation or treatment, including at least one Putnam County inmate reported to have waited over a year in a small jail cell.
The funding was enacted just months after the state's pre-litigation agreement with disability-rights groups set fixed compliance deadlines, tying the new capacity directly to the state's legal obligations.
Source: Georgia is building first state psychiatric hospital since landmark disability case — Georgia Recorder, by Ellie Fivas
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