Mentally Ill and Incarcerated: A Criminal Justice Crisis

prison
The sharp rise in the number of people with mental illness in jails is a major concern for the Maryland Counties.

Many of the challenges confronting county jails involve addressing the mental health and mental needs of the jail population. Inmate healthcare, medication, and hospital stays are significant cost drivers for counties. At this year’s MACo Summer Conference, you can learn about the complex healthcare challenges local jails face and ideas on how to better manage the amount of people with mental illness in jails.

Here are more details:

Title: Mentally Ill and Incarcerated: A Criminal Justice Crisis

Description: Did you know that 64% of jail inmates have a mental illness? Or that more than half of mentally ill inmates used drugs or alcohol at the time of their crimes? The incarceration of the mentally ill is reaching crisis levels in our county jails. Jails are increasingly becoming the de facto institutions to treat and house individuals with complicated and acute mental health needs – a role they are not designed to play. In this session learn more about the challenges local jails face handling this critical population and innovative steps being taken to reduce the number of people with mental illness in jails.

Speakers:

  • Terry Kokolis, Superintendent, Anne Arundel County Department of Detention
  • Kate Farinholt, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Maryland
  • Frankie Berger, Director of Advocacy, the Treatment Advocacy Center

Moderator: The Honorable Erek Barron, Maryland House of Delegates

Date/Time: Friday, August 19, 2016; 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm

The MACo Summer Conference will be held August 17-20, 2016 at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City Maryland. This year the conference’s theme is “Cyber Solutions: Counties in the Digital Age.”

Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference: