The AP (7/14, Geller) reports that the Cook County, IL “jail and many of its 3,300 counterparts across the country have become treatment centers of last resort for people with serious mental illnesses, most arrested for non-violent crimes.” Now that “the number of those with serious mental illnesses surpasses 20 percent in some jails,” prison officials struggle with “the task of screening for mental illness, managing medications, providing care and ensuring inmate safety.”
Related Links:
— “US JAILS STRUGGLE WITH ROLE AS MAKESHIFT ASYLUMS,” Adam Geller, Associated Press, July 14, 2014.