It's good news that special padded cells should be available by the end of this week at the Escambia County Jail to handle mentally ill inmates.

But it shouldn't take heat off the state of Florida to do something serious about this state's de facto "treatment" facility for mentally ill offenders: jail.

In fact, the time is ripe for Escambia County to join lawsuits being filed elsewhere in Florida, demanding that the state follow its own laws

Last week, there were 20 inmates in the Escambia jail "on hold" for transfer to a state mental hospital. They are likely to be "on hold" for a long time, as years of cutbacks in state mental health facilities have left little room to accept them.

Years ago, the federal and state governments emptied many centralized mental-health facilities, with the idea that such care would become more community-centered.

That never happened.

Finally, though, people are starting to get fed up with the state and demanding action.

In Pinellas County, a judge has threatened the state Department of Children and Families with heavy fines for failing to follow state law that requires it to move county jail inmates found incompetent to stand trial to treatment facilities within 15 days. About 30 inmates are "on hold" for transfer to a state mental facility.

The Associated Press reported that "law enforcement officials and inmate lawyers across the state say the agency's inaction has left many languishing in jail for months."

A Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge threatened to fine the agency $1,000 a day for each inmate left in the jail longer than 15 days. "This type of arrogant activity cannot be tolerated in an orderly society," he wrote in a ruling.

The state's defense? The agency will appeal because "the 1,300 beds available in its current budget are inadequate to meet the demand."

In other words, the state can't obey its own law because it hasn't provided the funds needed to fulfill its legal obligations.

Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County, a number of lawsuits have been filed against DCF on behalf of mentally ill inmates also languishing in jail.

The AP reported that "Inmate Eugene Roman is now blind after he gouged out his eyes while waiting in one of the jail's suicide cells last year. ...

"A doctor who examined Roman said the jail had made him worse and that he needed mental-health care. Instead, he was released in February and rearrested in April on charges of attempted rape and kidnapping. Roman was declared incompetent in August and ordered into DCF care. "

Yet, he is still in jail.

And DCF's response? They don't have any room, and there is a long waiting list.

So far, the lawsuits are coming from inmates, filed by public defenders representing the inmate. What's needed is for local officials across the state to start joining them.