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Agency told
to aid mentally ill inmates
October 15, 2006
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A judge
threatened the state Department of Children and Families with
thousands of dollars a day in fines if it does not begin taking in
mentally ill jail inmates, as required by law.
Florida law requires the agency to
move county jail inmates found incompetent to stand trial to
treatment facilities within 15 days. But law enforcement officials
and inmate lawyers across the state say the agency's inaction has
left many languishing in jail for months.
In one of the toughest rulings on
the issue, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell said Friday
that he will fine the agency $1,000 a day for each mentally ill
inmate who remains in the Pinellas jail longer than 15 days. He may
also require placement in more expensive private treatment
facilities.
"This type of arrogant activity
cannot be tolerated in an orderly society," Farnell wrote in a
ruling in favor of public defenders representing several inmates.
Farnell set a Nov. 16 hearing to
check on the agency's progress. There are now about 30 mentally ill
inmates in the Pinellas jail who should have been moved to state
mental health facilities weeks or months ago.
The Department of Children and
Families said it will appeal the decision. The agency said the 1,300
beds available in its current budget are inadequate to meet the
demand.
It's a matter of trying to catch up
and trying to work with the legal system to try to find a way to at
least find a temporary solution to this problem," agency spokesman
Al Zimmerman said. "We are very eager to work with the judicial
system to solve this problem."
Officials around Florida are
becoming impatient. In the Panhandle, for example, a judge
threatened to have a mentally ill inmate dropped off at department
Secretary Lucy D. Hadi's office if the agency couldn't find a
hospital bed.
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