Congress Must Aid In Funding For Treatment Of The Mentally Ill In PrisonEssay Preview: Congress Must Aid In Funding For Treatment Of The Mentally Ill In PrisonReport this essayIn August 2005, John Hyde went on a shooting spree in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When the shooting ceased, he had killed a total of five people; including a state transportation worker, two teenage motorcyclists, and two Albuquerque police officers. When arrested, the 48-year-old was found to have suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for fifteen years. During this time he was in and out of prison, mainly for misdemeanors. Hydes mother blamed the New Mexico authorities for her sons rampage. She says she had pleaded for their help to treat Hyde when he was being cycled in and out of prison, but claims that her pleas were never met, and her son only became worse (Shephard A1). Perhaps the most upsetting part of Hydes outburst is the fact that it could have been prevented. There is a bill being considered by the United States Senate and House of Representatives that could have helped Hyde in his struggle with mental illness long before he committed the murders. Introduced by Congressman Ted Strickland (D-OH) and Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) would sanction grants to communities for the creation and maintenance of a variety of programs for the mentally ill in and out of prison. Since U.S. communities are currently unable to provide the financial means necessary to offer mentally ill inmates adequate rehabilitative treatment, The United States Congress must ratify the MIOTCRA to fund programs that would fulfill their medical needs while in prison and society.
One of the main problems associated with the mentally ill in prison is the staggering percentage of ailing inmates. A 1998 study indicated that about five percent of the general population suffers from mental illness. Compare this figure to the nearly nineteen percent of inmates who are mentally ill when incarcerated, and an additional fifteen to twenty percent of inmates who will require psychiatric counseling during their sentence, and one can see the seriousness of the issue within the prison system (Metzner 211). A study completed in 2000 by the American Psychiatric Association estimated that as many as one in five inmates suffer from mental illness (i. XIX). However the most recent and disturbing report came from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care in March 2002:
“On any given day, between 2.3 and 3.9 percent of inmates in State prisons are estimated to have schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, between 13.1 and 18.6 percent with major depression, and between 2.1 and 4.3 percent with bipolar disorder. A substantial percentage of inmates exhibit symptoms of other disorders as well, including between 8.4 and 13.4 percent with dysthymia, between 22.0 and 30.1 percent with an anxiety disorder, and between 6.2 and 11.7 percent with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Many proponents of the MIOTCRA argue that, should the act be passed, these overwhelming numbers can be greatly reduced by using funds to create diversion programs for those committing misdemeanors and other minor crimes of survival. Diversion programs, such as mental health courts and outpatient care, are intended to keep the mentally ill out of prison by identifying their sickness prior to incarceration, and providing adequate care accordingly. Outpatient care alleviates prison overcrowding and provides offenders with treatment at a lower cost to taxpayers. It costs an estimated eight to ten dollars a day for the inmate to participate in a diversion program, and nearly seventy two dollars per day to house them in prison (Stewart A1). A program was recently established in Kennebec County, Maine, offering mentally ill offenders an alternative to treatment rather than incarceration. It was made possible by a $450,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice specifically for the purpose of founding an outpatient alternative to incarceration for the mentally ill (Harrison B1). The diversion program has proven successful. It was determined that those who participated “were more likely to succeed in their mental health treatment plan and half as likely to return to jail than other defendants who did not” (“Treatment”).
Diversion programs are the ideal starting point for the mentally ill, but there are some offenders that already are, or legitimately should be, incarcerated. By establishing treatment programs for those in prison, the community may begin to rehabilitate mentally ill individuals in hopes that they may one day become productive members of society. In order for these rehabilitative measures to be possible, the MIOTCRA must be enacted to alleviate the financial strain that causes the understaffing of prison mental health personnel. Examples of prison healthcare worker understaffing are frequent.
In December 2005, David and Patricia Ashley of Williamson County, Texas filed a federal suit against the district. The Ashleys mentally ill, 24-year-old son, Luke, committed suicide while in prison, and the family alleges that his death could have been avoided had the facility provided appropriate care. Williamson County representatives responding to the familys claims by insisting that “great efforts [were made] to care for and protect Ashley, and [that] he received mental health care according to standard jail practices and policies.” However “standard practices” are irrelevant if such policies and funds do not allow for the timely visits of qualified medical personnel. According to the Ashleys, during the time their son died, there was a single mental health worker “available only a few hours a week to serve everyone in the jail” (Humphrey B1). It is impossible for the ill to recover without frequent health care and medication, and difficult for prisons to provide such care without proper financing.
In addition to diversion and treatment, MIOTCRA would finance the establishment of transitional programs; designed to smoothly replace a reformed inmate in society. Transitional programs must be established to provide care for the mentally ill once released in order to continue the rehabilitation process. Released inmates are in immediate need of housing, employment, financial support, and further treatment for their illnesses, but are provided with little from the prison system. Without continuing treatment, it is not long before the offenders return to prison. An astounding 81.2 percent of mentally ill inmates have prior criminal histories, generally made up of misdemeanors and other non-violent crimes (“Failure”). Evert Fowle, the District Attorney for Kennebec County, Maine said, “I see a treadmill where mentally ill people go from the jail to the courthouse to the jail to the courthouse. Nothing thus far seems to have made a difference” (Harrison B1).
MISSOURI LAWSUITS ABAU, WY. (June 1, 2015) As a result of the enactment of the Mental Illness Treatment and Intervention program, over 4,000 incarcerated adults in Wisconsin have been receiving rehabilitation that takes between 7 and 10 years to complete. The program began with a mental health therapist who was selected to treat only those whose primary mental illness was borderline; over 400 of those adults are in treatment for substance abuse, as well as for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); these include adults in mental and substance abuse treatment who had prior violent and other violent histories; and those who are seeking treatment on their own, as some of these patients have done;
One in a thousand has been referred to community mental health services where they have been given assistance in the initial recovery;
More than 60 percent of children who were admitted to local mental health care have received help from the mental health service;
The number of children who have had an untreated illness or condition and those with similar mental and substance abuse history has increased from 12,450 last year to over 34,000 this year; and
Eighty-five percent of children from all of the states that receive Medicaid have at least one prior violent offending, an 11 percent jump since 2002. The mental health service has seen an increase in the number of youths who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder under a similar period in the last seven years, from 22 to 53 percent; and a more dramatic increase in adolescents, from 13 to 17 percent percent. However, more information will be provided after some closure is complete: mental health providers, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Multicultural Development, are trying to close the program in order to prevent individuals from returning to crime-ridden and unsafe schools.
MISSION & HEALTH ABAU (June 2, 2015) “We wanted to move the project in the direction of treating a whole group of people in the community. We hope to increase public education and provide support for those that will not necessarily be identified by the state as being mentally ill: mental patients, mental health professionals, those in jail. We are also interested in the general public who may be particularly interested in the results provided by the program,” said K-9 unit Sergeant Joe DeWitt as he presented the project guidelines and proposed the community-based model to Governor Scott Walker. “We believe this program will help create much needed change in public opinion. The program will begin work in September 2013 and it will continue to advance rapidly; but as people will realize that it does not work, we would like to see it continue. Our goal is to make the program more resilient and efficient, which in our opinion is why we are so committed to continuing the program until we receive funding. It is always hard to see the benefits of a single piece of social change when we are dealing with so many issues and problems. This program needs to be very carefully evaluated: in every situation, one must look at what can be accomplished by doing the changes that we know will benefit the community. So far, we have focused on those that need help and those in need, including parents, therapists, nurses, students, seniors; people who are also suffering from psychiatric illnesses. We believe that these are those people that will benefit the most in our community, and we also believe that one of the things that makes this successful, is that we can make all of the right people in the community. The problem with state education is that too much information is out there at these particular times. As we’re getting ready to begin the program, we can’t do that until we have access to information that’s not out there.” DeWitt said that the community had already begun to see improvements in social welfare after getting the program implemented in New Hampshire. He said a recent survey reported that the people of Wisconsin were much more