The state is endangering the public by refusing to provide mandated intervention services for those in the criminal justice system who have mental illnesses, a lawsuit filed by Jefferson County and other plaintiffs claims.
The lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services was filed last week in Pierce County Superior Court. A motion for preliminary injunction seeks to force immediate compliance with state law and court orders. A hearing on that motion could take place as early as Friday, Sept. 8.
In addition to Jefferson County, the coalition of counties suing includes Asotin, Clallam, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Whatcom, and Yakima.
The 19-page petition filed on Wednesday, Aug. 23 seeks to hold the department accountable for its decision to discontinue providing evaluation and treatment to individuals in need of those services upon their release from the criminal legal system.
According to details released by Jefferson County, when a person with a severe mental health condition or cognitive disability has their charges dismissed due to their inability to understand them, a court order requires DSHS to evaluate and, if necessary, provide effective behavioral health treatment. That intervention, or “civil conversion,” is intended to support those individuals who have not been adequately served by the crisis and outpatient behavioral health system.
The state’s repeated violations of court orders is placing further strain on an already fragile behavioral health system, the plaintiffs claim.
“In Jefferson County, this directly impacts our community members, and the situation is untenable,” said prosecuting attorney James Kennedy.
Law enforcement agencies across the country have been strained in recent years by growing numbers of calls that involve someone experiencing a mental health crisis. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, a person experiencing a mental health crisis is more likely to have an encounter with law enforcement than to receive treatment or intervention services. Those individuals are four to six times more likely to be incarcerated than the general population and law enforcement can spend one-fifth of its time dealing with cases involving mental health, according to the organization, which provides nonpartisan policy research.
The Arlington, Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center, which has helped nearly half of the country’s 50 states pass laws designed to improve mental health treatment, reports that a person with untreated mental illness is 16 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement.
Jefferson County’s announcement about the lawsuit states that “despite clear statutory and court-ordered legal requirements, the department claims it no longer is obligated to evaluate or treat patients whose charges have been dismissed, citing a federal judge's orders in a separate case.”
The agency’s refusal “leaves hundreds of individuals across the state without access to vital mental health treatment that could help break the cycle of re-offense,” according to the county.
In instances where charges are dropped against individuals found incompetent to stand trial but the state fails to step in with services to restore their competency, those individuals are released back into the community without facing justice or receiving the court-ordered treatment, the plaintiffs claim.
“The department’s failure to provide restoration services then places the burden on counties, despite state law mandating the state to do so,” the county’s announcement stated.
“This harmful cycle perpetuates the state's lack of responsibility towards care, leaving individuals at risk of re-offending and repeating the legal process without any interruption for care and treatment.”