In his opinion column in the Detroit Free Press (5/6), Jeff Garrett wrote that in Michigan as well as across the rest of the US, “with the closing of most state psychiatric hospitals and cuts in community mental health programs, jails will continue to hold thousands of mentally ill prisoners. Easing the problem will require sheriffs to work closely with local Community Mental Health authorities, assess mentally ill prisoners immediately, maintain medications, and divert more nonviolent offenders from costly jail time to treatment.” Garrett urged “federal and state lawmakers” to “enact legislation requiring insurance and Medicaid benefits to continue in jail.”
Related Links:
— “Jeff Gerritt: When jails must be mental clinics,”Jeff Garrett, Detroit Free Press, May 6, 2012.