Auditor's follow-up: Minnesota still jails incompetent defendants while hospitals run below capacity
Updating its 2016 evaluation, the Office of the Legislative Auditor reported that most people a court had deemed incompetent to stand trial remained in jail while waiting for commitment to treatment, stays the report said violated state law. The Legislature's 2016 response included funding a facility in St. Peter for people whose competence must be restored, intended to free 32 beds at secure treatment facilities.
As of late 2017, the Department of Human Services had filled less than three-fourths of its funded clinical staff positions at its mental health hospitals, and about 15 percent of beds were unused despite the added funding.
The auditor recommended amending state law so that a person already found incompetent would not need a separate court commitment process to enter competency treatment.
Source: Mental Health Services in County Jails: Update to 2016 Evaluation Report — Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, by Office of the Legislative Auditor, State of Minnesota
← Back to the map