KXAN reports Texas's jail waitlist for competency restoration hit 1,838 and examines a statewide plan to cut it
After two years of reporting on Texans waiting in jail for competency restoration, KXAN used state data to look at who is on the list and found the data is often hidden or unreliable. It opens with a man found incompetent after a 2018 standoff who died in Bexar County custody in December 2018 while on the waitlist, when roughly 730 people were waiting; by October 2021 the list had grown to a record 1,838.
The story describes the 'Eliminate the Wait' plan from the Health and Human Services Commission and the Judicial Commission on Mental Health, presented at the Judicial Summit on Mental Health. It cites the plan's finding that the number of people found incompetent has risen 38 percent over two decades and its three causes: arrests where diversion was possible, restoration treatment that is narrow and temporary, and case-processing delays. The HHSC forensic director called the situation a crisis.
The project was supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
Source: Jail waitlist for mental health help hits new record. This plan proposes a statewide fix. — KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
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