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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The dumping ground: how jails and prisons have become the ...
The dumping ground: how jails and prisons have become the last hope for Michigan's mentally ill
WXYZ
5 days ago
... Sheriff Bouchard says the number of mentally ill inmates in his jail has more than ... Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at rjones@wxyz.com or at (248 ...
..
News about WXYZ Mentally Ill In Jail
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The dumping ground: how jails and prisons have become the last hope for Michigan's mentally ill
The dumping ground: how jails and prisons have become the last hope for Michigan's mentally ill
WXYZ · 5 days ago
(WXYZ) - Behind steel doors and bullet proof glass ... "I just don’t buy that hypothesis. Are there people in jail who are mentally ill? Yes. Are there people…
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Bouchard: Jail has seen huge increase in mentally ill inmates
The Oakland Press · 5 days ago |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:44 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The dumping ground: how jails and prisons have become the last hope for Michigan's mentally ill
By: Ross Jones, Ann Mullen, Adam Brewster
Posted: 6:24 PM, Sep 16, 2014
Updated: 10:38 PM, Sep 16, 2014
(WXYZ) - Behind steel doors and bullet proof glass, you’ll find Michigan’s leftovers.
When most of the state’s psychiatric hospitals began to close, jails became their last, best hope.
"The state and the federal government have pretty much walked away, in my opinion," said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. "Jails have become the dumping ground."
In 1997, then-Governor John Engler issued a press release announcing the closure of Michigan’s “underutilized” state mental hospitals, moving most patients out of the state’s 16 mental hospitals and into the care of providers in the community.
It was a transition away from institutions and into care that offered more freedom. Engler promised it would be “humane” and “smooth.” 17 years later, many judges and law enforcement say it was neither.
"I voted against the closing of Lafayette Clinic in the city of Detroit, I voted against the closing of Clinton Valley here in Pontiac," Bouchard said. "It wasn’t going to make the issues go away: it was going to send it elsewhere, and here’s where it ended up."
Since the hospitals started to close, Sheriff Bouchard says the number of mentally ill inmates in his jail has more than tripled. Men and women picked up for usually minor offenses like trespassing or disorderly conduct. In Wayne Couny, it’s the same story. Jails Chief Jeriel Heard says these inmates cost the most to treat, and return most often.
"Many of these inmates are frequent fliers," Heard said. "They will return to the jail through re-arrest, four or five times a year."
About everyone agrees that jails have become the biggest home for the mentally ill since most state hospitals closed, except the man who closed them.
He is James Haveman, the director of the Michigan Department of Community Health.
"Have jails become the new mental health hospital? I don’t believe that," Haveman said. "I just don’t buy that hypothesis. Are there people in jail who are mentally ill? Yes. Are there people in jail who’ve committed crimes who belong in jail, who might have a mental health issue? Yes."
Haveman's stance came as a surprise to those in law enforcement.
"I'm just really shocked that he said that to you," said Wayne County's Jeriel Heard.
"So in your view, it's not even a debate?" asked Channel 7's Ross Jones.
"It's not even a debate," Heard said.
Part of the rationale for closing the state hospitals is that they were too expensive. While the state has shifted much of the cost off of their books, counties say it’s being absorbed by them.
Since 2002, one inmate alone in Wayne County has been arrested 59 times, spending more than 800 (806) days in jail and costing taxpayers $132,990 just to keep him here.
"There are folks in jail who don’t need to be in jail," Heard said. "They need to be in treatment."
In Wayne County alone, the numbers are hard to fathom. Over just the last five years, the number of mentally ill inmates that have been arrested at least three times totals more than 3,000. The cost to house them: nearly $95 million. More than 900 have been locked up at least 10 times. For most, their biggest crime, says Chief Heard, is being sick.
"It’s not only an astounding number, but it’s also extremely expensive to the taxpayer," Heard said.
But there have been success stories. Over the last few years, some counties have created mental health courts: special dockets that focus only the mentally ill who have committed crimes, diverting them to treatment instead of jail.
In Wayne County, one study said it’s saved taxpayers over a $1 million, but judges say while it addresses a symptom, it ignores the disease.
"We took people who were unable to function out in the world and just tossed them out in the world with no support system," said Wayne County Judge Milton Mack. "And then we’re surprised when they misbehave, act inappropriately, get arrested, taken to jail."
TONIGHT AT 11: Part 4 of our ongoing series.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at rjones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466. |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:46 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sheriff says jail has seen huge increase in mentally ill inmates, county programs try to curb problem
Sheriff Michael Bouchard
By John Turk, The Oakland Press
Posted: 09/17/14, 6:43 AM EDT | Updated: 3 days ago
27 Comments
By the numbers
According to the National Institute of Corrections, jails and prisons have consistently given care to those with a mental illness, and the number has been increasing since 1959, putting a strain on the system that keeps violent offenders out of the community.
1959: Nearly 559,000 mentally ill patients were housed in state mental hospitals.
1990s: Around 70,000 people were housed in public psychiatric hospitals after the shift away from state-run institutions, leading to more mentally ill people living in local communities.
2006: Bureau of Justice statistics indicated that 705,600 mentally ill adults were housed in state prisons and 479,900 were in local jails — nearly double what state mental hospitals held 50 years ago.
When Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard stepped into his post in 1999, about eight percent of the county jail’s inmates were on some form of psychotropic medication.
Nearly 16 years later, that number has jumped to 30 percent on any given day, he said.
While national statistics indicate that the number of mentally ill inmates in jails has increased over the past 50 years, there are still programs within Oakland County that try to keep these individuals out of the corrections system.
But Bouchard says that funding for these programs is highly restricted, and that state-run institutions that closed in the 1990s should be re-instated.
The sheriff voted against the deinstitutionalization of the state’s 16 mental treatment facilities before it was passed by Gov. John Engler in 1997 when he was a state senator, and he says Oakland’s jail has since seen the byproducts of that decision. Patients at those facilities were moved to community-based care providers.
“I don’t think it was ill-intentioned ... but over time, the federal and state governments have essentially walked away from their duty,” said Bouchard on the necessity of longer-term clinics.
The sheriff, also vice chairman of the Major County Sheriff’s Association, is working with the organization to push for mental health legislation in Washington.
A recent WXYZ-TV report indicated that the increase of mentally ill inmates at county jails means higher costs for taxpayers and the use of the jails as “dumping grounds” for mentally ill patients. Nationally, state prisons and local jails now hold around two times the amount of people with a mental illness than state mental institutions did in 1959, according to the National Institute of Corrections.
But while the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority — the county’s major mental health branch — recently saw cuts that reduced its budget by $14 million, it still offers numerous treatment options through several providers, including Easter Seals and Common Ground.
Common Ground — which connects people with public mental health services and assists those in crisis — recently moved to a facility that’s less than a half mile from the Oakland County Jail.
Christine Burke, Community Mental Health’s manager of community outreach, said the move was strategic.
While Burke couldn’t comment on state or federal funding, she said, “I think we all share the opinion that we want to stay focused on making sure people are aware of the resources available in Oakland County.”
The Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority has budgeted $886,203 for mental health treatment in fiscal year 2014.
Heather Rae, vice president of services for Common Ground, said that since 2005, Common Ground has steered 1,000 people with mental illness from jail into treatment through the partnership with local police.
Rae said she understands Bouchard’s opinion, but says while state facilities may be a last option to those who can’t be served in the community, they “often have a waiting list or are not equipped to serve as the community hospital safety net.”
Wendy Standifer, director of Easter Seals’ behavioral health services, said that her organization and Community Mental Health have been in partnership with local law enforcement for over 20 years.
A program that has been showing great promise is a pre-book and post-book jail diversion program, which allows nonviolent offenders the opportunity to receive mental health care instead of having criminal charges brought against them.
“Since 2003, (the jail diversion program) has been in effect and has diverted more than 2,500 individuals from the system,” said Standifer, “and in the last five years, those programs have saved Oakland County over $6.5 million.”
Community Engagement Editor Monica Drake contributed to this story.
About the Author
John Turk
John Turk covers the police beat and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for The Oakland Press. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. Reach the author at john.turk@oakpress.com or follow John on Twitter: @jrturk. |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:53 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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FYI
Bouchard and the Major County Sheriffs’ Association work with legislators throughout the country to get legislation on mental health care passed. Below is a list of some of the bills that have been introduced:
• HR401, S 162 - Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act of 2013
Two bills introduced to reauthorize and improve the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA); to provide additional resources for veterans treatment courts, to increase focus on resources and training for jails and prisons, and to provide innovative training at police academies. Sponsored by Rep. Richard Nugent, R-Fla., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
• HR 1263, S 264 - Excellence in Mental Health Act.
Bills within Congress which aim to expand access to community mental health centers and improve the quality of mental health care for all Americans. Sponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
• S 153 - Mental Health First Aid Act of 2013.
Bill with the goal of amending section 520J of the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for mental health first aid training programs. Sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:54 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Waiting for disaster: How Michigan is failing the mentally ill
By: Ross Jones, Ann Mullen, Adam Brewster
Posted: 6:58 PM, Sep 14, 2014
Updated: 11:36 PM, Sep 15, 2014
(WXYZ) - After 24 years on the bench in Wayne County, Judge Milton Mack is tired. Tired of seeing care for the mentally ill get worse, of watching state spending continue to fall and seeing the same desperate families back in his courtroom until their crisis turns to tragedy.
"I see something that’s right in front of me, and it just strikes me as being extremely unjust and unfair," says Mack. "And I’m a part of it. And I don’t want to be a part of it."
But if Judge Mack is fighting a battle to fix a broken system, he is surely losing. Today, Michigan spends less to treat the mentally ill than it did last year or the year before. Most state hospital beds have been replaced with jail cells. Each day in his courtroom, the same sorry scene plays out, often with the very same characters.
A revolving door
Mary Gallagher is tired, too. Her daughter Kristyn was once an aspiring model, but at 19, her hopes were derailed when she was diagnosed as bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies.
"When she has really severe breakdowns, she will ruin furniture...I mean just smash it to smithereens," Gallagher said. "She’s put big holes in the apartment walls."
Like many with severe mental illness, Kristyn has refused any sort of treatment or medication, forcing her mother to come to Wayne County probate court, petitioning judges like Milton Mack to authorize mental health treatment. But that treatment, says her mom, hasn’t been much. She’s had to come back, not just once or twice.
"Twelve times I had to go down and petition to have her assessed," Gallagher said.
Time after time, judges ordered Kristyn to be hospitalized for up to 60 days: long enough to get her medicated and stabilized. But she’s never been in the hospital for even close to that long. The average stay, her mom says, is a little over a week.
"You’re out of the hospital in a few days—you’re not necessarily well yet. But the belief is that you probably won’t shoot anybody in the next few days anyway," Judge Mack said. "You’re still not well, but you’re still discharged."
Short-term stays are the new normal now that longer term care is much harder to find. Back in the 1990s, then-Governor John Engler led a push to close most of Michigan’s mental hospitals, going from 16 to just 5.
"It’s just kind of like a revolving door," Gallagher said. "She’s not really getting the help that she really needs, but yet she can’t stay in there."
A systemic problem
Kristyn is not alone. Over the last five years, 926 patients have had four or more petitions filed on their behalf, begging for medical treatment. The average hospital stay in Wayne County, says the judge, is under a week.
"And there’s no follow-up to make use that they stay well," Judge Mack said. "And then in a couple of months they’ll be back here again."
After 12 petitions for hospitalization, Mary Gallagher worries it won't be long before she's back in front of a judge.
"Do you feel like it's done any good?" asked 7 Investigator Ross Jones.
"No," she said. "It’s just kind of a coping mechanism. She’s still ill, she still has periods where she’s severely ill...I don’t know what’s going to happen to Kristyn after I go.
Watch part two of our five-part series tonight on 7 Action News at 11.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at rjones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466. |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:58 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Michigan implementing strategies to help keep people with mental illnesses from going to jail
Posted: 4:44 PM, Sep 8, 2014
LANSING - On Monday, a new report issued by Michigan's Mental Health Diversion Council released a report saying things are on the right path.
The report shows the state is taking steps to reduce the number of people with mental illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities and substance us struggles from going to prison.
They will also make sure this maintains public safety.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder created the council in 2013, with the goal they would create plans and outline goals to help people struggling with mental illness.
The council has established mental health courts and passed bills to bring new alternatives to jail for people with mental illnesses.
They have also trained police officers to deal with people with the illnesses, and helped communities with new programs focusing on keeping mentally ill and developmentally disabled people from jail. |
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Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:02 am |
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