Judge Helps Solve The Mental Illness Problem

Beginning in the 1960s, the mentally ill were kicked out of mental hospitals to take care of themselves. Without the needed supervision of health care workers, a large portion of individuals with mental disorders became homeless or went to prison. Today, we still don’t have an effective system to deal with the mentally ill. It is therefore encouraging to see that at least one judge, Judge Doug Skemp, is attempting to find an effective way to help non-violent mentally ill defendants according to The Dallas Morning News.

A defendant diagnosed with schizophrenia, for example, who is incompetent to stand trial is usually placed behind bars for as long as six months before being sent away for treatment at a state hospital where they are stabilized enough to stand trial. Instead, Dallas Judge Doug Skemp allows non-violent mentally ill defendants to seek outpatient treatment. The program matches each defendant with a case-worker who will bring them to court. The social workers oversee whether defendants are taking medication and attending classes that range from substance abuse treatment to anger management to life skills.

According to Skemp, his outpatient community treatment has several benefits. Defendants who wait in jail before getting to mental hospitals, for example, have their medication change several times at the jail or in the hospital. Community treatment also provides consistency: defendants continue to see the same doctor even after they are competent to stand trial. Anecdotally, defendants who are enrolled in the outpatient program are less likely to be charged with new crimes. Last year, Skemp’s county saved $300,000 by using this program instead of housing the defendants in jail.

Do you think this program should be implemented nationwide?

Article image by cartoonstock.