The state health department is offering $6.5 million in grant funds to help county jails offer mental health evaluations, medication and stabilization services to inmates. The funding comes from a larger $300 million effort to reform the state mental health system.
The hope is that inmates on the long waiting list to receive services at the Montana State Hospital can get that care in the jail instead.
Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings said this money isn’t a silver bullet.
“I do think it could cut down on some of the waitlists, but I want to be clear, this grant alone is not going to solve any problem. The problem is much greater than that,” Jennings said.
But Jennings said this funding will help inmates get mental health evaluations faster. Courts use those evaluations to determine whether they are mentally fit enough to stand trial.
Jennings adds there is state legislation that would also help fund what are known as “restoration services” in jails. Another bill would create a new state-run facility to treat criminal defendants with severe mental illness.
County attorneys like Jennings have long said the state needs more capacity for this population. Some cases are dropped because people sit in jail too long, violating their right to a speedy trial.
