Thursday, December 09, 2004

State works to help mentally ill prisoners (Maine)
Morning Sentinel story - "Maine has a higher incidence of mentally ill prisoners in its jails and prisons than most states, an advisory panel was told Wednesday. County jails, in particular, need to do more to channel the mentally ill accused of low-level crimes out of lockdowns and into better treatment programs, state corrections and mental-health officials say. That effort will not be successful, however, until the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Corrections join forces. Representatives of the two state agencies unveiled a plan Wednesday that they say would provide the help needed to make the system work better."