Iowa — A new initiative will be launched in Iowa next month, to try to keep Iowans with severe mental illnesses out of county jails and state prisons.
Leslie Carpenter, co-founder of Iowa Mental Health Advocacy, is leading the pilot project.
The nine counties in the East Central Mental Health Region are providing funding for the project over the next two years. Doctors will refer patients to the program as they’re being released from the hospital after intensive mental health treatment. Carpenter says it will be for people who repeatedly stop taking medication for chronic mental illnesses.
National data shows people with severe or chronic mental illnesses are four times more likely to be arrested than other adults. People in the new program will have regular meetings with mental health professionals and with a judge or probation officer to discuss their medications and whether they’re experiencing side effects. Carpenter says it’s patterned after a New York program that’s been shown to reduce future arrests.
In New York, a state law allows courts to issue orders for “assisted outpatient mental health treatment” for appointments with medical professional as well as someone from the court system.
