Commissioners in Dallas County are escalating their efforts to get needed mental health services to county jail inmates deemed incompetent to stand trial.
These inmates must first have their competency restored before any criminal case can proceed. County officials have pointed out for months that the Texas state government is responsible for making that happen.
There is a long waiting list for competency restoration services in Texas, however. That means people who have yet to be proven guilty are languishing in county jails while they wait for an open spot in a state hospital.
鈥淭hey may be in great need of mental services and, turns out, did not commit this offense,鈥� Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important for 鈥� taxpayers, victims, and inmates that the state do its job.鈥�
Now, months after sending the Dallas County state legislative delegation , county commissioners are stepping up their actions.
Through a county attorney, commissioners sent a letter on Tuesday to the Texas Attorney General and the head of the Health and Human Services Commission. It said the county 鈥渄emands that within 30 days of this correspondence that HHSC designate State facilities with available beds鈥� to accept the more than 300 people currently in the county jail awaiting restoration.
鈥淭his is an attempt to resolve this matter without litigation and provide notice,鈥� the letter said. If the state fails to make the beds available, 鈥淒allas County will have no choice but to bring suit 鈥� to compel compliance.鈥�
The letter argues the HHSC is in violation of state criminal procedure law, which states that transportation to a mental health facility must happen 鈥渨ithin a reasonable amount of time and without undue delay.鈥�
County officials say the average wait time for a maximum security state bed for a male defendant was 831 days as of December 2022, and that health care for these inmates can top $469 per day.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission declined to comment. The attorney general鈥檚 office declined to comment.
Jenkins said the county hasn鈥檛 had success up to now in conversations with the state about the large number of people waiting for mental health services. The letter, he said, is another attempt to get it resolved.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of other things that our taxpayers need done that don鈥檛 get done because you鈥檙e spending nearly $800,000 a month on something that you needn鈥檛 spend your money on,鈥� he said.
Jenkins also said that other counties 鈥渕ay鈥� join the legal effort but did not provide additional details.
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