Virginia Study: Many People With Mental Illness in Jail
posted 10:41 am Wed October 10, 2007 - RICHMOND, Va.
A study by a state legislative study panel shows that of the 6,350 mentally ill people in hospitals or jails on a single day, 60 percent were in jails. The report also says that 43 percent of jails responding to a state query responded that regional mental-health agencies don't provide mental-health services. The study found that the number of available psychiatric beds in Virginia is generally adequate. But the report said that there's lack of clear data on services, needs and disabilities. And in many areas of the state, nearby hospital beds for people with mental illnesses don't exist.
Also, the report found vast disparities in the quality of care from one jurisdiction to another and a failure by state agencies and local mental-health agencies to follow state laws mandating how patients are to be assessed and singled out for care.
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