The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is sending more mental health patients to facilities that have traditionally treated sex offenders in an effort to free up more mental health bed space in the state’s overcrowded criminal justice system. .
In February, the Department of Health Services established an inpatient unit at the Sandridge Secure Treatment Center, a treatment facility in Mauston that traditionally caters to sexually violent offenders. The unit will serve 20 male clients for competency treatment, a program typically offered at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.
Competency treatment is for people who are deemed incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness, substance abuse, or developmental disabilities and must receive treatment before proceeding with court proceedings. they have not been found guilty.
Meanwhile, participants in SandRidge’s sexual assault program have been convicted of sex crimes and have already completed their sentences.e. They are sent to institutions to reduce the risk of reoffending before being released.
Since February, 12 people have been sent to SandRidge for competency treatment under the new program.
The Department of Health Services said in an email that the decision to transfer patients to Sandridge was in response to “increasing need.”
From 2016 to 2023, the number of people referred to the department for competency treatment increased significantly, from 352 to 877. Lawyers who represent clients in competency cases say hundreds of people are on waiting lists for inpatient treatment, sometimes waiting months for inpatient treatment. bed space.
“An important part of our overall plan to address the needs of forensic patients includes opening seven additional facilities to patients as staffing permits,” the statement said. “This will ensure that patients receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.”
Starting in 2018, the Department of Health Services began sending another type of patient to Sandridge: those found not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect, or NGI. Sandridge currently has 60 beds for these patients, all of whom are male.
Over the years, 107 people found not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect have been sent from Mendota to Sandridge..
The decision has concerned some who say SandRidge was not designed for the type of patients the state historically sends into the state.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mastantuono believes transfers could be a way to ease tensions in the system, but he believes Mendota patients could be eligible for the same program and mixed with SandRidge patients. He said there are concerns if there is.
“I don’t think you want to mix these people together,” Mastatuono said.
SandRidge’s three types of clients are housed in separate housing areas of 20 units each, according to the Department of Health Services. Depending on individual circumstances, it is also possible to share programming such as education.
Many lawyers and forensic psychologists say transferring patients to SandRidge is a reasonable solution to get more people access to urgently needed mental health treatment.
Kenneth Streit, a criminal justice professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the new division will allow people on waiting lists at Mendota and other state psychiatric hospitals to receive treatment in private facilities more quickly. He said there will be more access to personal space and state-trained medical professionals. Many are now languishing in county jails.
“People are going to have more contact with people who are aware of what their symptoms are and who are aware of how they should behave,” Streit said.
Despite the differences, experts believe similar skills are needed in both facilities
Historically, Mendota Mental Health Institute and Sandridge Safe Treatment Center have served very different types of people. While Mendota Mental Health Institute serves people in a variety of situations, SandRidge deals with a more specific population.
As a result, experts said the mental health needs of patients at both facilities were vastly different.
Forensic psychologists and criminal defense attorneys say Mendota’s patients often have mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.
By comparison, people in Sandridge are more susceptible to sexual disorders such as sexual sadism and pedophilia, said Michael Caldwell, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former staff psychologist at the Mendota Mental Health Institute. There are many people who are worried about this.
For people found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, also known as NGI, “the mental disorder must be so disabling that they lack a substantial ability to control their own actions.” said Caldwell. “into [sexually violent persons] There must be some degree of loss of control in the world, but it is nowhere near the level of the NGI situation. ”
That being said, Mr. Caldwell said some of the therapeutic methods and psychiatric skills needed to treat people with sexual disorders are limited to those with competency or who are acquitted by reason of mental illness or defect. I believe that it can also be applied to human treatment.
Many of Competency’s clients require education on how the court system works before they go to trial, and Caldwell said most counselors, once trained in the specifics of court procedures, can meet Competency’s clients. We think we should be able to handle our clients.
The health department said Mendota staff are currently training SandRidge staff.
Mastantuono said given the breadth of mental health treatment and expertise available in Mendota, staff with similar training should be in place before more patients are transferred to SandRidge. .
“People who have been convicted of a crime, who have served a sentence, who have served a civil sentence, who have committed sexual assault, have a very special need to be in a sexual assault treatment program, which is very different. “It’s something,” Mastattuotono said.
Criminal defense attorney Mindy Nolan said mental health needs vary widely even within a group of people who commit crimes under the same program.
Nolan believes that treatment should always be individualized and that treating new clients transferred to SandRidge requires additional training and attention.
“If people are trained as psychologists or psychiatrists, they can adapt and work in a variety of fields,” Nolan said. “But I also think it’s important to recognize that this is a completely different type of treatment.”
Wisconsin’s mental health and criminal justice systems are under strain
Even before the coronavirus outbreak, Wisconsin was seeing an increase in the number of people needing mental health services. However, the pandemic has placed an even greater strain on both the mental health and criminal justice systems.
Mastantuono said more criminal cases than ever stem from acute mental health crises.
“This country is facing a mental health crisis, with steadily increasing numbers of people entering the criminal justice system, cases of those already involved in the criminal justice system being backed up and delayed, and further It is making the situation worse,” Mastantuono said.
Given the cost and time it would take to build a new mental health facility, some experts say creating more space at SandRidge is the best short-term solution under the circumstances.
“If you can temporarily find another physical space and find the staff to do it, that’s generally a better approach than saying, ‘Let’s build a new facility ourselves.'” Streit says.
Of course, bringing a new person into an established facility can lead to anxiety and risk of violence, but experts say the risk is likely lower than if the patient had been in another facility. That’s what I think.
“There is no zero risk of violence of any kind occurring in any facility,” Caldwell said. “But places like Mendota and Sandridge are much safer than most jails and prisons.”
Eva Wen is a data reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Please contact qwen@gannett.com.
