CHEYENNE—The Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming detention centers can now enter into contracts intended to address lengthy mental health holds in jails under a new law that Gov. Mark Gordon described as “a great first step.”
Gordon signed into law Friday a bill that allows the health department to reimburse jails for holding and treating people with mental illnesses while they await an evaluation to determine whether they are mentally competent to understand and handle court proceedings, and to restore them to that capacity if needed. The governor’s stamp of approval echoed the Legislature’s broad support for the bill.
Though Senate File 10, “Contracts for holding and treating mentally ill detainees,” is only a two-page bill, Wyoming Health Department Director Stefan Johansson said at the signing ceremony Friday that the measure’s potential impacts “are really far reaching.”
At the same time, he reminded the crowd that the new law “does not make a perfect system.”
“These are tough issues,” he told the gathering.
Health and law enforcement officials have pushed for the new law as part of a solution to lift financial strain from counties and address the backlog of inmates waiting for a bed and mental health treatment at the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston. Currently, the wait time for a bed at the hospital is about five months.
Previously, the health department didn’t have statutory authority to reimburse sheriffs for the cost of housing and providing treatment to inmates with mental health needs. The reimbursement model under the new law is similar to one that allows the Wyoming Department of Corrections to pay county sheriffs for housing inmates until they are transferred to a state-run facility.
The state budget bill that Gordon signed Thursday evening includes $5 million for the health department to pay for these reimbursements over the next two years.
Johansson previously told WyoFile that he sees the new law as a tool among a handful of others to address mental health in the justice system.
The health department and law enforcement agencies around the state are trying out a new telepsychiatry program that gives officers access to remote clinicians who can help them better interact with people who may be suicidal or grappling with some other mental health crisis. Some counties are also participating in a pilot program that connects people with serious mental illness who are charged with low-level misdemeanors with community mental health treatment.
The Legislature also approved state employee pay raises, which will impact staff salaries at the state hospital. Johansson previously told WyoFile he was hopeful that salary raises could help with recruiting efforts at the facility, which is currently beleaguered with health worker shortages.