Mentally ill ex-cons get more services

By BRENDAN RILEY

Associated Press Writer

Hit with an adverse Nevada Supreme Court ruling, state prison officials have taken steps to ensure mentally ill and disabled convicts aren't turned out on the street without services or supervision once they finish their sentences.

Many factors led the state Department of Corrections to sign an agreement with the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services to track and assist the estimated 200 convicts with such disabilities who are released yearly without being required to have their parole supervised.

It's more than a helping hand that goes beyond a released convict's $25 in daily "gate money" for a few days and a one-way bus ticket out of town. Public safety also figures in the agreement - ensuring that someone needing medications to stay "normal" doesn't go off those drugs and become dangerous.

"Some pretty scary folks are being released, and we want to make sure that the right kinds of things are in place so that they're not a danger to themselves or others," said Health and Human Services chief Mike Willden, who oversees the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services.

There's also the warning to the state in the Supreme Court's ruling last October: Not exercising "reasonable care" in such cases leaves the prison system open to lawsuits, such as one filed by the guardian of a man who was left a brain-damaged quadriplegic in a prison attack.

At the end of his sentence, wheelchair-bound George Butler was dropped off by prison employees at an ex-girlfriend's trailer even though she hadn't installed all the medical equipment needed for his care. Two weeks later, Butler ended up in a hospital where he stayed for several months before going to a nursing home.

The Clark County District Court lawsuit filed by his guardian was reinstated by the Supreme Court for a jury to consider a claim against the state of "negligence by abandonment."

There's another practical aspect to the new agreement, as well. If the effort keeps someone from turning to crime and winding up in prison again, that will not only protect the community but help hold down the growth of Nevada's prison population, now at about 13,000.

Willden said the agreement could lead eventually to his agency taking over all services for mentally ill or disabled convicts from the Department of Corrections on a contract basis. State lawmakers would have to sign off on such a plan.

"It's clear what the issues are," Willden said. "There haven't always been the kinds of linkages when people are released so that they're hooked up with medications and case management."

"Off and on, we've had some of those linkages. But several times I've been in on e-mails and phone calls about the release of someone in a few hours or in the next day or two, and the scramble occurs to try to make something happen. That's just poor planning on all our parts."

Willden and Don Helling, a Department of Corrections deputy director, said the new agreement can be implemented despite the state's current economic slowdown that could lead to a $560-million-plus state budget shortfall. Agencies have had to cut their budgets and freeze hiring.

While the Corrections Department can't fill a staff position authorized for the inmate assistance program, Helling said other employees have stepped up to make the new effort work.

"We're very good at meeting needs with limited resources," he said. "It boils down to staff, and fortunately we have some great staff."

Under the new plan, the mental health agency will be alerted by prison officials of the pending release of a disabled or mentally ill inmate at least 90 days in advance. Help for that person could include, among other things, rides to outpatient therapy programs or determining whether the person is eligible for free medication provided by the state.

"If we can provide the treatment, that makes the individual safer and that makes the community safer," said Harold Cook, administrator of the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services.

"It's about time," said Lee Rowland of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "It's distressing that it has taken this long to establish a continuum of care in Nevada. At first blush, this is a positive step. But it's unfortunate that it took so long to find an easy solution to a clearly identifiable problem."

The agreement also could result in a mentally ill ex-convict remaining locked up, at least for a while. Under state law, a finding that someone may be dangerous can lead to keeping that person in a mental facility for 72 hours of observation. That could lead to longer, court-supervised lockup periods, typically running two to three weeks. The maximum period is six months.

Officials say the effort must be made to provide follow-up assistance even though success depends heavily on a former inmate's cooperation following release from prison.

"Once they leave here, they're free," said Helling. "They don't have to accept a ride. They don't have to take their meds. They don't have to do anything."