After Nine-Year Battle, Illinois Will Provide 11,000 Prisoners With Mental Health Care

Illinois, a state that gutted mental health funding by 31.7 percent between 2009 and 2012, will soon guarantee specialized mental health services for 11,000 prisoners.

Under the terms of a final settlement recently approved by a federal judge, Illinois will spend $40 million on brand new mental health facilities at four state prisons, including one youth facility. Another $40 million will be spent on hiring 300 clinical staff and 400 security staff. With the additional funding and resources, thousands of prisoners with severe mental illness will receive “long-term and acute care.”

The judge’s decision marks the end of a class action lawsuit that was filed nearly a decade ago by incarcerated plaintiffs with “serious mental illnesses,” including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/05/19/3779772/illinois-to-give-11000-prisoners-mental-health-care/