By Paige St. John
Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO — California prison officials have opened a new psychiatric center for inmates, contending that the $24-million treatment facility is proof the state is ready to shed federal oversight of mental health care for prisoners.
The new building, at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, will provide outpatient treatment for mentally ill inmates who do not require 24-hour care.
“It’s time for the federal courts to recognize the progress the state has made and end costly and unnecessary federal oversight,” Jeffrey Beard, secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in prepared remarks.
The care that California gives mentally ill prisoners is the subject of fierce contention in U.S. District Court, where the state has filed a legal bid to end federal oversight and lift inmate population caps that California concedes it cannot now meet.
Full story: State opens new prison psychiatric ward