Allegheny County plans an in-jail restoration program because state hospital waits are too long
Allegheny County moved in August 2018 to offer competency restoration inside its own jail rather than send defendants found incompetent to Torrance State Hospital, where a capacity shortfall leaves them waiting months. Per the county, 34 incompetent defendants were in the jail on one day in late June, waiting an average of 53 days for a Torrance bed. The ACLU of Pennsylvania's legal director said he routinely sees waits of about 90 days for men and about 120 for women.
The county's request for proposals set aside up to $640,000 in state funds for a restoration program, aiming to start in early 2019 and serve roughly 60 people a year, with no more than 15 enrolled at one time. County forensic services officials framed it as a local way to speed case dispositions, cut costs and improve care.
The ACLU, whose 2015 class action led to a 2016 settlement acknowledging that holding such defendants in jail for months is unconstitutional, wants waits capped at seven days. Its legal director said a retrofitted jail pod would not be a real treatment facility and would not replace hospital care.
Source: Allegheny County looks closer to home for jail mental health care amid long waits at state hospitals — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Shelly Bradbury
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