Mentally ill landing in jails across nation

Monday, July 12, 2004 | 9:22 a.m.

Southern Nevada isn't the only area in the country where the mentally ill are spilling into overcrowded jails and hospital emergency rooms.

Hundreds of professionals attended sessions at Paris Las Vegas Sunday during the first conference addressing how to improve treatment for the mentally ill before they are sent to prisons.

Clark County officials declared a state of emergency in the Las Vegas Valley on Friday because almost one-third of all emergency room beds were occupied by mental patients. The patients were moved from local emergency rooms to hastily opened temporary care facilities.

In Nassau County, N.Y., young and old with mental problems are ending up in prison, an official there said. A budget crisis in Nassau County created an open jail door policy for those with mental problems, corrections officer Kenneth D'Elia said.

A couple of years ago a woman in her 60s burned down her house in Nassau County and then cut her wrists in a suicide attempt after her husband's death, D'Elia said. She was facing jail time until mental health experts intervened, he said.

"The jails are becoming a dumping ground for the mentally ill," D'Elia said. "It's the only place that can't close down.

"Now the alternative to treatment programs is jail," D'Elia said.

D'Elia and Steven Helfand, a psychologist, have teamed up at a new center for screening and diagnosing violent, troubled teenagers and adults before they end up in a prison cell.

If health professionals intervene with teenagers before they enter the prison system, suicides, homicides and family conflicts can be prevented, Helfand said. New York state requires law enforcement officers to take six weeks' training in mental health, he said. Mental health training programs ranging from a day or two to a couple of weeks are offered to experts and enforcement officers alike.

Both D'Elia and Helfand emphasized the importance of communication. Talking to significant others in the lives of the mentally ill can help professionals develop a plan for treatment. In some cases youths can be treated instead of locking them up for long periods.

Helfand also said that through treatment and therapy, violent teens and adults can be taught empathy, as in the case of a teenage boy treated by Helfand after the boy shot a cab driver in the back of his head. By working with the boy and helping him to confront the neglect and abuse of his childhood, Helfand helped him to understand what his actions did to the family of the cab driver, a step on the boy's road to recovery.

Helfand urged mental health professionals and prison guards to work together to prevent teens from returning to prison or committing suicide while they are institutionalized.

The suicide rate among teens 15 to 19 years old is four times the rate of any community overall, Helfand said.

Dr. Charles Smith, a forensic psychiatrist from New Hampton, N.Y., said often violent mentally ill offenders are teenagers.

"Teenagers are naturally crazy," Smith said, noting that the human brain takes 30 to 40 years before it matures enough to control emotions. For those who abuse drugs, alcohol, or who have had a traumatic injury, the brain may never heal.