Other States' DOC Olmstead Plans

Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) Olmstead Strategic Action Plan
               www.doc.state.ia.us/publications/OlmsteadPlan.pdf‎

Minnesota DOC Olmstead Plan                
               mn.gov/deed/images/Corrections_Olmstead_Plan

Portion of Summary of Reasons for Reforms of New Hampshire's Mental Health System and Olmstead Suit which helped convince the U.S. Department of Justice to get involved in the New Hampshire Olmstead case.

Increased Incarceration of Persons with Mental Illness in Jails and Prisons 

 Nationally, over half of prisoners in jails and prisons are mentally ill, according to a 2006 study, a fourfold increase from the previous 8 years. “The severity of these illnesses vary, but … one factor remains steady: with proper treatment, many of these incarcerations could have been avoided. Additionally, about 35 percent of incarcerated men and 50 to 60 percent of incarcerated women may have mental health issues that remain untreated.”   
 
Not surprisingly suicides have become the top leading cause of death in jails and in the top five in prisons.  In New Hampshire, a 2008 study found that 25% of inmates in jails were on psychotropic medication and were mentally ill, with Strafford County the highest at 41% and Hillsborough County the lowest at 17%.4  The prevalence of moderate and severe mental illness was likely much higher given that the study only looked at persons on psychotropics.   
 
Summarizing the toll that this takes, the Rockingham County Jail Superintendent said: 
More severely mentally ill inmates at Rockingham mean more disruptions for the 83 corrections officers, more stress for other inmates and hard times for those who are suffering, said Superintendent Al Wright, who sometimes feels like he's running a psychiatric ward.  ‘I tell people I'm the superintendent of Rockingham County jail, the biggest provider of services for the mentally ill in the county…’


http://www.drcnh.org/mentalhealthcrisis.html  (Disability Rights Center New Hampshire)