DON'T TREAT MENTAL ILLNESS AS A CRIME

The state's Band-Aid approach to mental heath funding and treatment is
failing those who need help, and costing taxpayers millions.

The consequences of untreated mental illness have been hidden for too
long. If we want to change what a recent presidential commission
called our "broken" mental health system, the state must focus on
front-end solutions that get to the root of the problem, instead of
focusing on stopgap measures such as shortterm incarcerations, that
only prolong suffering and drive up costs.

Being mentally ill is not a crime, but too many people who need
treatment are ending up in our jails and prison systems because of
their illnesses. Many are unable to get timely treatment in their
local communities because of long waiting lists.

As a result, many sustain psychotic breaks that lead to behaviors that
cause their arrest. The offenses are often minor such as disorderly
conduct or open-container violations. But unless the person is sick
enough to be "Baker Acted" or hospitalized, officers have little
choice but to take them to jail.

Jail is a frightening place for anyone, but it's a terrifying place
for someone with a mental illness.

I became an advocate on behalf of people with behavioral and
substance- abuse problems after seeing the same people with mental
illnesses and drug problems arrested over and over. It's a scene
that's repeated every day in virtually every jurisdiction in the
state. And it's costing taxpayers dearly.

Florida is the fourth-largest state in the country, yet it ranks a
dismal 47th in mental health funding.

Even though the state has made some improvements over the years, the
truth is that only 58 percent of adults and 52 percent of children who
depend on publicly funded mental health treatment have access to those
services. Additionally, less than 23 percent who need substance abuse
treatment can get it.

Untreated mental illness and substance abuse are crippling our state
and our communities, and leaving people who need help with nowhere to
turn.

Consider this:

- - An estimated one in five inmates in Florida jails, and nearly half
of all youths in Florida's juvenile-commitment programs, have been
diagnosed with a severe mental illness.

- - Homelessness is up 23 percent in the last three years.

- - Baker Act requests are up 51 percent over the last six years.

- - Two hundred thirty-five new crisis beds are needed just to meet
current demands.

- - Our state has the secondhighest number of suicides in the nation.

- - Jails aren't treatment facilities. They were never intended to be.
But funding for mental health services has never kept pace with
demand. As a result, we have a system that's failing the sickest and
the most vulnerable.

If the state truly wants to reduce crime and addiction, it must make a
commitment to get this population into community-based treatment.

We recognize that these are challenging times for our state. Directing
more dollars to treatment will help relieve the burden on the
criminal-justice system, save lives and taxpayer dollars.

John Rutherford, who is Jacksonville's sheriff, is state director for
Florida Partners in Crisis, a coalition of criminal-justice officials,
judges and mental health advocates.