Nation's Jails Struggle With Mentally Ill Prisoners

(FROM NPR) Three hundred and fifty thousand: That's a conservative estimate for the number of offenders with mental illness confined in America's prisons and jails.

More Americans receive mental health treatment in prisons and jails than in hospitals or treatment centers. In fact, the three largest inpatient psychiatric facilities in the country are jails: Los Angeles County Jail, Rikers Island Jail in New York City and Cook County Jail in Illinois.

"We have a criminal justice system which has a very clear purpose: You get arrested. We want justice. We try you, and justice hopefully prevails. It was never built to handle people that were very, very ill, at least with mental illness," Judge Steve Leifman tells Laura Sullivan, guest host of weekends on All Things Considered.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

For more than 10 years, Thresholds has worked with those exiting incarceration from prison and jail to prevent recidivism and serve those with mental illness to ensure they are able to integrate back into the community through housing supports, psychiatric and therapeutic care, physical healthcare and employment opportunities through our Supported Employment Program. Thresholds was awarded the Gold Achievement Award from the American Psychiatric Association for its work with the Jail and Prison Project (now known as the Justice Project). For more information, view this article.