Mississippi budget cuts threaten more jail time for mentally ill as 144 people wait about 11 months for 35 forensic beds
Mississippi Today reported that the state hospital's forensic unit had only 35 beds for court-ordered commitments, 15 of them designated for evaluation, treatment and competency restoration, and was staffed by one psychiatrist and one psychologist serving all 82 counties. The waiting list stood at 144 people with an average wait of about 11 months.
The story appeared as the Department of Mental Health absorbed an $8.3 million cut and eliminated more than 100 psychiatric beds across three state hospitals, part of about 500 beds closed since 2008. A 24-year-old with psychosis had been held in the Oktibbeha County jail since April waiting for a bed. A circuit judge estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the defendants before her struggle with mental illness, and a proposed 60-bed forensic facility was priced at about $17.5 million.
Source: Budget cuts may swell county jails with mentally ill — Mississippi Today, by R.L. Nave and Patsy R. Brumfield
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