South Dakota Mental Health Task Force Working to Determine Scope of Work
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A task force proposed by the state's top judge to study issues surrounding mentally ill people entering the criminal justice system is trying to determine the scope of its work.
The Argus Leader reports the group's goal is to propose policy changes by October, but members of the task force must first decide what segment of the population with mental illness to focus on: anyone with a mental illness or only the seriously ill.
The task force met Friday in Sioux Falls and reviewed the reasons behind a recent increase in the number of court-ordered mental health competency evaluations.
Chief Justice David Gilbertson proposed the task force after the newspaper in Sioux Falls reported that a backlog of mental competency evaluations of criminal suspects is taxing county budgets and raising concerns about the rights of defendants.
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