Surge In Inmates Needing Psychiatric Care Tests California’s Prison System
“You can throw people in safety cells and take away their clothes, but it’s not treatment and it’s cruel,” says Aaron Fischer of Disability Rights California, an advocacy group that inspects detention centers.
Los Angeles Times:
Naked, Filthy And Strapped To A Chair For 46 Hours: A Mentally Ill Inmate's Last Days
For 46 hours, Andrew Holland’s legs and arms were shackled to a chair in the San Luis Obispo County jail. The inmate, who suffered from schizophrenia, was left in his own filth, eating and drinking almost nothing. He was naked, except for a helmet and mask covering his face and a blanket that slipped off his lap, exposing him to jail staff who passed by his glass-fronted cell. (St. John, 8/24)
In other mental health news —
KPCC:
Civilian Panel Says LA Sheriff Needs More Mental Health Teams
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell needs to dramatically increase the number of special teams that deal with people with mental illness, according to a report issued Thursday by the department's civilian oversight panel. The report, the first independent look at the sheriff’s much vaunted Mental Evaluation Teams, said the department needs to move faster to train patrol deputies in distinguishing between someone who is dangerous and someone who is harmless but acting out because of a mental disorder. (Stoltze, 8/24)
KPBS:
UC San Diego Launches New Program To Attract Students To Mental Health Career
The U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration estimates the country needs to add 10,000 mental health professionals by the year 2025 to meet the growing demand for mental health care. To help fill some of that gap, UC San Diego is launching a new program that will let psychology majors do a clinical rotation through the School of Medicine. (Goldberg, 8/24)