Mental Illness: A Case Study

The Prevalence of Incarcerated Individuals who Suffer from Mental Illness
Introduction. Oppression has been inflicted upon the mentally ill in the United States. A lack of federal funding for various mental health facilities accounts for fewer treatment opportunities for affected individuals. Legislation has made it difficult to equip facilities to treat violently ill patients, thus resulting in incarceration in state prisons. 1 in 3 inmates in the US are diagnosed with mental illness. After being released many offenders will not pursue treatment and will return to prison. Often resorting to substance abuse to lessen the symptoms of their illness. However, resolution to this issue is in progress, due to advocacy throughout the country. There
The Maine Psychiatric Facility, formerly known as the Mental Health Institute is subjected to a history of abuse. Poor conditions and overcrowding resulted in several deaths during an incident in 1990. Consequently, producing a lawsuit. The consent decree required the state to establish and maintain a comprehensive mental health system (Thistle 2014). Riverview Psychiatric Facility was created from this 1990 investigation. This incident addressed one issue, however, many inconsistencies have prevailed due to the lack of reinforcement of care and safety standards. The facility is "equipped" to house mentally ill criminals. The 92-bed center is the only state-owned facility to house patients who are deemed either incompetent to stand trial or not criminally responsible for their actions. Federal certification was pulled in 2013 once it failed a series of unannounced inspections by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These inspections revealed safety concerns and abuse within the facility. The use of stun guns, pepper spray, improper records, and medical errors led to the lost federal certification (Miller, 2016). Fewer staff members make it difficult to manage residents. Along with the lack of federal certification, Riverview became ineligibility for an estimated $20 million in federal reimbursements. Further inspections revealed little to no improvement, therefore the facility continues to lack the federal accreditation. DHHS
The cost to imprison individuals with mental illness is greater than the estimated cost for treatment. A common prison is estimated at $150/day to incarcerate, while someone with SMI is about $450/day. The cost to treat someone with SMI outside of a correctional facility is around $10,000/year. Many organizations and correctional facilities are changing the way mental illness is handled. Chicago´s Cook County Jail is the nation's largest mental health care provider (Vice 2015). Public mental health care facilities in the surrounding area experienced a cut in funding, resulting in closing their doors. Deinstitutionalization was insisted upon because of abuse and with the intent that individuals could live in their homes and seek community-based treatment. Only an insufficient amount of help centers reside in the Chicago area, these centers lack psychiatrists. Poor support and resources for people suffering from mental illness have flooded Cook County Jail. Arrestees are screened at the intake center to determine mental health state before they see a judge. Self-medicating is commonly observed among incoming prisoners, the screening allows for decisions to be made on a case by case basis. Anger management and symptom support services are provided as well. However, due to few facilities in the community, support isn’t always provided once an arrestee is released. Commonly, they become repeat offenders, thus continuing the cycle. Amplifying Voices of Inmates with