Missouri mental health officials tell lawmakers 210 jailed people await hospital beds as staffing gaps deepen
The Missouri Independent reported on testimony before lawmakers describing a department-wide workforce shortage. The department said 210 people were waiting in jail for a bed in one of its psychiatric hospitals, and another 266 had not yet met with a forensic examiner to determine competency to stand trial. Roughly half of those 266 were projected to be found incompetent and referred to the department for treatment.
The department reported 1,743 vacant full-time positions across its behavioral health and developmental disabilities divisions, with clinical vacancy rates ranging from 26 to 50 percent. To keep facilities running it was using 213 contracted staff, most of them at Fulton State Hospital, at a cost roughly four times that of state employees for the same support roles.
The reporting is an early marker of the jail waitlist that became a lawsuit and a budget fight in Missouri in 2025 and 2026.
Source: Hospitals in 'crisis' as staff shortages persist at Missouri mental health facilities — Missouri Independent, by Tessa Weinberg
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