Alabama proposes doubling prison mental health staff, doesn't have money to do it

The Alabama Department of Corrections has proposed nearly doubling its mental health staff as one of the corrective actions to satisfy a federal lawsuit.

Federal Judge Myron Thompson, earlier this year, ruled the state had run afoul of the law by failing to provide adequate care for prisoners with mental health disorders. Thompson said Alabama’s prisons were “horrendously inadequate.”

Instead of ordering a number of corrective actions, Thompson instead agreed to allow the state, SPLC and other interested parties to work together on a reasonable solution to the problems.

On Monday, attorneys for the state made their first substantial offer: Employing an additional 125 workers at a cost of more than $10 million per year.

Read more: http://www.alreporter.com/2017/10/11/alabama-proposes-doubling-prison-mental-health-staff-doesnt-money/