GACPD Report Examines Operation of County Jails

Policies and Procedures for Inmates with Mental Illnesses or Developmental Disabilities

June 17, 2007

FORSYTH COUNTY NC NEWS -- The Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (GACPD) has released "North Carolina Jails and Inmates with Mental Illnesses and Developmental Disabilities." A series of studies recommended by the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Mental Illness Advisory Committee (PAIMI). The studies, examine the operation of county jails and the consequences of jail policies and procedures for the thousands of individuals with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities incarcerated on any given day in North Carolina. Eighty North Carolina jails participated in the study.

The first study was conducted by researchers Jennie Vaughn and Anna Scheyett of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. The first study is based on structured interviews of jail administrators and officers and written survey responses from those with disabilities and their family members, and provides a comprehensive overview of:

• procedures for intake screening
• availability of medical and mental health providers
• possible suicides

The companion study conducted by Dr. Melissa Floyd Taylor of UNC-Greensboro provides a sampling of the experiences of persons with Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities and their family members. The companion study is constructed on a semi-structured interview design. The intent of the companion study's semi-structured interviews is to give the reader a vivid picture of participant needs, concerns and personal opinions. Jail personnel and local mental health workers are included in interviews.

GACPD Chair Mark Urban speaking of the studies said, "The studies demonstrate the wide diversity in policy, and resultant range of quality, in treatment of jail inmates with mental disabilities. It also highlights the challenge of coordination of care between community providers and jails, as well as the challenge of limited resources within the jails for provision of services to inmates." In addition, "It is clear form the studies that inmates and their families and jail administrators are pleading for help." Furthermore, "The study recommendations are not an academic wish list; they are firmly grounded in common sense."

GACPD's Interim Executive Director, Allison Breedlove, speaking of the recommendations in the report said, "It is obvious that the recommendations from these studies are targeting a huge set of needs, including jail diversion programs, which prevent the inappropriate and costly incarceration of many people with MI and MR/DD who should never have been sent to jails or prisons in the first place."

The GACPD criterion below defines a physical or mental condition as anyone who is substantially limited by at least one major life activity and who falls within the agency's priorities case selection criteria as set by the GACPD board annually.

A person with a physical or mental condition includes:

• mobility impairment
• learning disability
• mental illness
• neurological impairment

"Major life activities" include:

• walking
• seeing
• speaking
• learning
• getting a job or an education
• breathing
• caring for oneself
• hearing
• performing manual tasks

It should be noted that The Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (GACPD) is part of a nationwide system of protection and advocacy agencies. It is a civil rights protection agency committed to serving citizens with disabilities in North Carolina. GACPD, is a division of the NC Department of Administration, and is guided by a 21-member board consisting of volunteers appointed by the state. A copy of the North Carolina Jails and Inmates with Mental Illnesses and Developmental Disabilities Report can be obtained here.