Champagne: Louisiana’s mentally-ill need health care, not a jail cell

Published 12:03 am Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Right now, in jails across the county and particularly in my jail, there are people who suffer from mental illness and, quite frankly, do not belong here.

Why then, you may ask, are they in jail? The answer isn’t as simple as “they committed a crime.”

Throughout the United States, many jail cells have become the new “mental institution.”

Across the country there are ten times the number of people who are mentally ill in jail than there are in state facilities that could properly care for them. Jails are not equipped or trained to care for these people in need and certainly not fiscally privileged to appropriately house a mental health facility.

This is not for of a lack of effort on our part. We have adapted to this new phenomenon by adding more psychiatric staff and have been trained to help administer proper medication. But this is not the solution to the long-term care they need; particularly when they are released from jail.

This is also not a sustainable fix, and in some states not even possible because of funding constraints and state regulations.

Responsible care for these inmates is not the only issue we Sheriffs face: Safety in jails is always our No. 1 concern. We use disciplinary segregation, and individuals with mental issues tend to require isolated accommodations.

In many cases, this will hinder the person’s mental condition.

Unfortunately, the system has become a revolving door of neglect, incarceration and renewed neglect. Most mentally ill people end up in jail for the first time for a small offense like disturbing the peace.

However, once released and without proper care, he or she will likely be back again. In most cases, this will be for a more serious crime with the potential of escalating to the worst types of crimes.

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 356,268 inmates with severe mental illness in custody, compared to just 35,000 being treated in hospitals. In 44 states, a single jail or prison is home to more mentally ill inmates than the largest state psychiatric hospital.

We in law enforcement commonly refer to repeat offenders as “frequent flyers.”

Among the mentally ill, the “frequent flyer” rate is higher than it is for other released inmates. Jail, for some, has becomes the vehicle to obtain mental health care.

National sheriffs have sounded the alarm to Congress for years, but they have been bogged down in inactivity until now. Members from both sides of the aisle and both houses of Congress have come together to help solve this problem.

The bipartisan group, spearheaded by our home state Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, has put forth legislation that would address many of these issues and take the burden off of local law enforcement.

It would also reduce the reliance on our prisons by strengthening the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services.

By doing so, it will provide people more access to services which are dearly needed and would provide more grants for states to expand treatment and also training of mental health professionals.

Finally, the bill expands jail diversion programs and homelessness services which in turn lessen stress on law enforcement.

Congress overwhelmingly passed this legislation (94-5), and the President signed it into law. I applaud them for their actions and implore them to implement this as quickly as possible.

This long overdue legislation will provide those in need the long overdue mental health care they need and deserve to give them a permanent long-term solution to their struggles. It is my hope that this change in policy will break the cycle and stop the revolving door at jails of people with mental health issues.

Greg Champagne is St. Charles Parish Sheriff and president of the National Sheriffs’ Association. Contact him at 985-783-1280 or gchamp@stcharlessheriff.org.