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Inmate mental health treatment costs coming up short

Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy says he believes his department is under a “heavy obligation and a mandate” from the public to change the behavior of incarcerated Minnesotans.

“We truly believe that people change people,” he told the House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee Thursday during a review of the committee’s current budget. “We just do not simply turn the keys and lock people up in our prisons. We have programs and opportunities for people to change.”

No action was taken. Department officials are expected to soon return and present their budget request for the 2018-19 biennium.

The Corrections Department receives almost 96 percent of its Fiscal Year 2017 funding (nearly $555 million) from the General Fund. Special revenue and federal funds comprise the remainder. The General Fund support represents 2.5 percent of the state’s budget, the second-lowest corrections spending as a percent of a state budget in the country. The national average is 6.8 percent.

Prisoners have a constitutional right to health care, and the department provides that at a current fiscal year cost of nearly $81.46 million. The fourth-largest chunk of spending in the area — 10 percent — is on mental health services, behind contracted medical services (35 percent), nursing (27 percent) and chemical dependency treatment (14 percent).

WATCH Complete video of Thursday's meeting of the House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee

All inmates diagnosed with serious and persistent mental health needs receive necessary treatment. Those with fewer needs are also treated, but, officials say, there’s no one program that’ll work for everyone.

According to Gov. Mark Dayton’s 2018-19 biennial budget proposal, the department has seen about a 20 percent jump since 2009 in the number of inmates with serious and persistent mental illness. Ten percent of all prisoners have such a diagnosis.

“We need more mental health treatment in our facilities,” said Deputy Commissioner Terry Carlson. “Those who have the biggest need are getting services, but we know that we can do it better.”

“If we had the same situation when it came to physical health as we have with mental health, we probably would have addressed it a lot earlier,” said Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul). “But because it is hidden, in many ways there is even more of an impact than the equivalent physical health issues.”

Dayton’s budget proposal calls for an additional $3.15 million in the biennium “to add behavioral health and security staff necessary to expand mental health services to include day, evening and weekend therapeutic programming for mentally ill offenders.” The staff increase would total 38.

Roy said half the offenders entering a Minnesota prison will be there less than six months and only 20 percent serve longer than three years. Ninety-five percent of all inmates will be released at some point.

Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center), the committee chair, said additional mental health funding is a good idea, but questioned how much can be accomplished in a short time someone is incarcerated.

“How much money are we going to stick in there for the short amount?” Cornish asked. “What effect can we have (to) actually change their life when they come in there with five felonies and numbers of incarcerations already?”

“We don’t have them for that long, but we’re going to give it a try,” Roy said.


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