Posted on 02/21/2005 12:57:14 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
LARGO - Fed up up with watching the Pinellas County Jail become cluttered with the mentally ill, many who spend weeks or months sitting in a cell, Public Defender Bob Dillinger won a $1-million federal grant last year to tackle the problem.
Since then, some mentally ill inmates have been pulled from the jail within days after their mug shot is snapped. The program, which Dillinger thinks is a first-of-its-kind in the nation, places these folks in treatment facilities that do a better of job of meeting their needs than a jail ever could.
As the program celebrates its one-year anniversary - and success - Dillinger is now seeking a grant to create a similar one in Pasco County.
"We're not trying to put people who are a safety risk out in the community," said Dillinger, though he acknowledged that "we're all on the edge of our seat about that."
Of the 432 mentally ill people pulled from the Pinellas jail, 157 have successfully completed their program, while 275 remain in treatment today. Only a few have re-offended while in treatment, though their new crimes have been no more serious than "getting high," Dillinger said.
In addition to helping the mentally ill, Dillinger says the program is easy on the bottom line.
He estimates it has saved the jail about $5.7-million. While the cost of housing a person in the jail averages about $79 per night (though it's usually more for the mentally ill), the diversion program can find beds in treatment centers that run as low as $30 per night.
Dillinger said he recently secured another year of funding from the justice department for Pinellas.
That's good news to Maj. Kirk Brunner, commander of the jail. As public psychiatric hospitals have shuttered or shrunk over the years, jails and prisons have been forced to pick up the slack by caring for an increasing number of people who suffer from severe mental illness. They receive little or no treatment and sap the jail's staff with suicide attempts, violent outbursts or trips to the medical wing.
"Anything we can do to get them out of jail is a good thing," Brunner said. "They keep coming back without any type of diversion."
Brunner's jail can squeeze 3,100 inside if it needs to, but lately has seen its population swell to record numbers near 3,500. A number of recent factors have led to overcrowding.
Some of it is due to a recent state Department of Corrections crackdown on probation violators, a move that was partially prompted by the high-profile Carlie Brucia case in Sarasota last year. In that case, a man with a history of violating probation was charged with killing a teenage girl. Public outrage provoked a get-tough stance from the state.
But jails also have become repositories for the mentally sick. It's not uncommon for the Pinellas jail to house more than 350 mentally ill inmates at a time. The problem is not just in Pinellas.
In the February issue of Corrections Today , the executive director of the American Correctional Association, James A. Gondles Jr., says the two largest providers of mental health services in the country are the Los Angeles County Jail and Riker's Island in New York.
It wasn't always that way.
In the 1950s, more than a half-million people were treated in psychiatric hospitals nationwide. Today that number is about 70,000.
A report by Human Rights Watch in late 2003 said American prisons and jails contain three times more mentally ill people than the nation's psychiatric hospitals. One in six prisoners suffers from mental illness, the report stated.
Gondles writes in a column in Corrections Today that the criminal justice system has become "dumping ground" for the mentally ill.
Dillinger cites studies that show 70 to 90 percent to today's homeless population would have been in psychiatric hospitals 25 years ago. Today, with hospital budgets slashed, the homeless are left to wander communities. They often end up in handcuffs and jails, many times for minor crimes like drinking in public, shoplifting or loitering.
It should be no surprise then, Dillinger says, that more than 60 percent of the inmates chosen for the Pinellas diversion program are homeless.
Typically, when a person booked into the jail is determined to be mentally ill, it can take months for that person to qualify for a treatment program. So they sit in jail until they qualify and a judge approves their diversion to treatment.
In the meantime, the inmate can cause major headaches in the jail by attempting suicide or fighting with other inmates. The inmate also can strain the medical staff.
"The mental health inmate is a high-risk inmate," Brunner said. "It's a high-maintenance inmate."
Under the diversion program, which is run with the cooperation of the sheriff's office, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office and circuit and county judges, case workers identify mentally ill inmates who qualify for treatment.
Inmates who have no desire for help or who would rather stay in jail are disqualified from placement in the program.
"We want people who want to better their situation," Dillinger said.
Though the candidates for diversion are not suspects in murders or the most violent of crimes, some are charged with felonies; a few have been registered sex offenders, Dillinger said.
The treatment is designed to last about 60 days, but in many cases it's taking longer. Though many of the chosen inmates head to treatment facilities, others are sent home, though they are kept under close supervision, Dillinger said.
The programs also can be tailored to the inmates' needs. Those with addictions can be sent to treatment facilities; female inmates can be sent to centers that focus on mental health issues for women; there also are facilities for domestic violence victims.
Those are much better options than the jail, where inmates receive only a slice of the treatment they really need, said Vicki Scotti, the Pinellas jail's program administrator for inmate health care.
"It's an easy fix to just send them to jail," Scotti said. "But it's not an appropriate fix. The jail doesn't do treatment. For many of the mentally ill, it's a revolving door here."
I've always felt leaving mentally ill people on the street was terribly wrong.
To relate this to homeless in Germany. All you have to do in Frankfurt...is walk to the social office and tell them you are homeless...without a job...etc. They will quickly take you in and pay for a place...provide ample food money....and get you into the unemployment office. But all of this is tied to your agreement to see the unemployment office. Once you tell them you can't work or have problems working...they will give you a doctors appointment. When you walk into this doctors office...there is a sealed door. If you have simple stress issues and are treatable...you get treatment, drugs, and can walk out. If you demonstrate serious mental illness...you don't get past the locked doors. You stay. And to eventually leave...you must take and pass a mental test. Over half of these people never both with the test...they know they can't pass.
My German brother-in-law was such a case. They had him come over for alcohol rehab...when he admitted he got fired because of excessive drinking. They ran a battery of 30 questions...which he failed drastically. They called my wife and asked if he acted "nutty"...which she responded that he showed up at Dad's funeral in a t-shirt, tennis shoes and jeans. That was six years ago. He is 49 and won't be released ever.
I suspect that over 50 percent of homeless folks ought to be in a facility of some type. They aren't a threat or danger to most of us....but the media has tagged them as an entire society...which they aren't. They are mentally ill and ought to be treated that way.
Thank you for your post.
Many of these people become victims of crime themselves or make their families victims through their illness.
"Today, with hospital budgets slashed, the homeless are left to wander communities. They often end up in handcuffs..."
To blame the hospitals is wrong. The left-wing won court battles that the homeless can't be picked up from the streets unless (until) they commit a crime. In the "old days" we could help these people by taking them to a mental hospital where they could be treated with some hope they'd recover enough to be self-sufficient.
Hopefully, this program to help the metally ill won't be ruled illegal.
Indeed!
I hope you guys can give me some information. A family I know has had their 12 year old son forcibly hospitalized by the state child protective service. The boy was originally referred by the school, which told the parents there was a state run problem to help the boy. The state demanded this kid be put in a special school, and are charging the parents $900.00 a month for the tuition. These are not rich people, and they are in danger of losing everything. The boy is aware that his parents cannot get him out. He's beside himself, needless to say.
The social worker has been consistently rude and abusive to the parents, who are at their wits' end, and they have virtually no say in what is done to their child. He's been experiencing some worrisome symptoms, and they've got him on Zoloft, among other things.
The tragic thing is, once this boy reaches the age of maturity, the state will release him, and who knows what damage will have been done by the drug cocktails and forced separation by then.
What state?
Virginia, I'm embarrassed to say.
This should read, "there was a state run program".
It sounds like a sad situation.
Was there cause to remove him from their home?
Originally, he was doing poorly in school, getting in fights (he lacks social skills, my daughter doesn't care for him) and having problems controlling his anger. He's been on Ritalin at least since the age of 5, poor little kid.
From what I gather, the social worker didn't like his parents asking questions, and wondering why he was being put on such strong medication. I realize there are 2 sides to each story, and nobody wants to think their kid is in need of mental hospitalization, but for goodness' sake, treat the parents with respect.
One other thing, his parents are strongly Christian. The dad told his son, if he was sad or upset, to ask Jesus for help. The experts told the father NOT to do that, that religion would make the situation worse. The father, needless to say, went ballistic. I realize that some mentally ill people do have delusions concerning religion, and the experts could have justifiable concerns. I don't know the child's actual diagnosis.
This is a sad, sad situation.
Did the parents get a second opinion from psychiatrist outside the school district. I had my share with social workers and psychologist who are not medical doctors. And if they do have a state psychiatrist, they are usually overworked and underpaid. They make decisions that will make a big impact on this 12 year old. It's a terrible bureacracy. What would happen if his condition was not properly diagnosed correctly. They will make the medical condition worst. Get second opinions. I believe the parents have a right to request that and since the state took the child away maybe a lawyer should intervene.
Absolutely true. The two largest facilities treating the mentally ill (Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder) in the United States are the L.A. County Jail and the Ricker's Island Prison Complex (NY City).
The Liberals, headed by the ACLU, destroyed the legal basis for treating essentially all the homeless mentally ill. So now they are "treated" in jail.
>I believe the parents have a right to request that and since the state took the child away maybe a lawyer should intervene.<
Thanks, I will suggest that to the family. From what I understand, they have tried to contact an attorney, but none have returned their calls. I'm not sure what alternative this gives them. How does one force an attorney to take a case?
This make me mad!!!!
Social workers should respect parents religious beliefs. I'm not very religious but I respect others who do. Recovery is about the spirit too. Parents should have a voice in treatment. Ritlan is the wonder drug dispense like sugar candy with poor results. I see kids acted worst from this drug. Parents are also ill informed about mental illness and seek help from those who don't treat people like individuals. There are drugs out there that will help children but you need real qualified MD who specializes in mental disorders. It's all about the child recovery right!? For God sakes...get the kid out of there.
I've always felt leaving mentally ill people on the street was terribly wrong.
I think it is worse for them to be in the hands of psychiatric hospitals run by public officials who would love to keep a job exploiting the situation.
A refreshing touch of common sense
It sounds like this boy is being pulled in two directions.
It would be good if the family had counseling.
I pray the best will be done for the interests of this child.
Where I work, we are under constant threat of closure, but we are constantly over-crowded....more patients than beds.
And we can't keep them. Ideally, they can go home to family...but many don't have family, or their family isn't capable of caring for them. Or they go to group homes, but their just aren't enough of those. Most are discharged only to return in just as bad if not worse shape.
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