Jail faces mental health unit probe
SANTA CLARA COUNTY FACILITY MAY NEED STATE LICENSE
By Pete Carey
The place where Santa Clara County’s Main Jail cares for its most severely mentally ill prisoners has been operating without a state license for five years since the state said its cells were too small to provide safe emergency care.
As jails and prisons increasingly house people with severe mental illness, the question does arise: how are prisons to provide adequate care? Prisons are not built with the concept of providing human service; they are built to punish by providing minimal space and facilities. I am not purpoting that prisoners should have luxury digs. However, as our mental health care system continues to fail its constituents, and they then commit crimes and end up in jail, the least we can do is provide basic, humane care for their illness. However, I’m not certain that licensing is the solution. Why not provide funding and education to staff so they can do what is needed? I’ve worked in government and know how much money is wasted in the process of creating regulations and getting companies to meet the standards.