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County jails have become the default mental health provider in many communities since the 1990s, when Kansas and many other states closed state hospital beds with the idea that people with mental illnesses could be better treated in their communities. The new system worked well for many Kansans with mental illness, although others struggled to get the help they needed and instead found themselves ensnared by the criminal justice system. Some Kansas counties are responding to the problem. Douglas County has a standing contract with the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center in Lawrence to provide mental health care to those in the county jail who need it. (Wingerter, 10/26)

Kansas prisons weren’t intended to function like psychiatric hospitals, but they have had to adapt as more inmates showed signs of serious mental illnesses in recent years. In January 2013, then-Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Ray Roberts told lawmakers the number of adult inmates with mental illnesses had increased 126 percent since 2006. He estimated 38 percent of inmates were mentally ill, and 14 percent had a severe and persistent mental illness. The number of inmates needing mental health care hasn’t fallen in the three years since then. (Wingerter, 10/26)