By C1 Staff
LANSING, Kan. — The governor of Kansas is responding to the need for more mental healthcare in correctional facilities.
There has been a 126 percent increase in mentally ill prisoners in Kansas since 2006. Nearly two out of five Kansas adult inmates are classified as mentally ill, according to CJ Online.
Gov. Sam Brownback shelved plans to cut funding to the Kansas mental health network and announced that he would redirect $10 million for a new mental health initiative following the December slaying of 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn.
Sen. Steve Fitzgerald blames the growth in a mentally ill prison population on the state’s failure to develop and effective community-based system of treatment.
His district includes Lansing Correctional Facility, which serves as one of many repositories for people with mental health challenges beyond the capacity of local treatment providers.
The secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services is responsible for developing a program addressing the governor’s call for improved services to people most likely to wind up in a state hospital or behind bars.