Lewis County in need of services for mentally ill inmates

Sept. 26--LOWVILLE -- Experts say Lewis County is in need of services to help mentally ill inmates transition back into society before they are released from jail.

Shay Richards, transitions and community case manager with Transitional Living Services of Northern New York, told the Community Services Board this week that correctional facilities are becoming the new institutions for the mentally ill, but these facilities are not designed to handle the care of these people.

Back in the 1960s, the federal government began the process of deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill and placing the focus of care from the state hospital level to the community-based level, Mrs. Richards said. This has led to an increase in the number of severely mentally ill people who are being incarcerated, and these people are not receiving the appropriate level of mental health care.

"It is not the fault of the jails or the correctional facilities because they were not designed to help mentally ill individuals. They were designed to help criminals," Mrs. Richards said. "Correctional facilities are by no means an effective substitute for mental health inpatient facilities, as the environment does not typically foster mental health recovery."

Mrs. Richards said the jails tend to place an emphasis on isolation and punishment as opposed to rehabilitation and restoration. She said law enforcement personnel use the methods of containment and control while mental health professionals emphasize empowerment and personal goal setting.

She said law enforcement officers could benefit from training that changes their view from "these inmates are bad people" to "these people are sick and can't help it."

"I am of the belief that these people just don't wake up one day and say, 'I want to be a criminal,'" Mrs. Richards said. "These are individuals that have come from homes where they have been abused -- physically, sexually and mentally abused. They have a mental health diagnosis and they self-medicate with drugs. They are citizens of our communities. I think as a community we can help these individuals."

The jail has a psychiatrist who comes in, but on a limited basis. Lewis County allows therapists only to make sure inmates don't have suicidal thoughts; they don't do actual therapy with the inmates, Mrs. Richards said.

Community Services Director Sarah J. Bullock said the sheriff's department has a contract with Transitional Living, but doesn't pay for additional services beyond making sure inmates are not at risk for suicide.

Mrs. Richards said comprehensive health care for mentally ill inmates needs to start with an extensive mental health screening upon admission to the jail, but this takes funding. She said it will take tax dollars to fund these screenings, and many taxpayers are already unhappy with the amount of money being spent to house inmates.

"There is no secret that the taxpayers tend to have the attitude, 'Why should we support these people?'" Mrs. Richards said. "What a lot of people don't realize, if there is an increase in the amount of mental health care for these individuals during incarceration, there is a chance for increased public safety and such individuals will have a lower chance of recidivism, including substance abuse and chronic mental illness associated with their criminal behavioral past."

There is also a need to fill service gaps in care and to create a discharge plan. Mrs. Richards said a discharge plan is needed to create a continuum of care outside of the jail, and the gaps in care can be identified during the screenings upon admission.

"If there was a more concrete discharge plan in place, working with me in transitions or the folks at NRCIL (Northern Regional Center for Independent Living), I think it would help these individuals transition back into the communities a lot more successfully," Mrs. Richards said.

She said the county could establish drug and mental health courts, community cooperative projects, personalized, recovery-oriented service programs and assisted outpatient treatment as ways to help these individuals.

"The ideal mechanism to prevent people with mental illness from entering the criminal justice system is the mental health system itself," Mrs. Richards said.

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