Prisoners With Mental Illness Still Waiting For Treatment

Series produced by Side Effects Public Media

Caption: PRX default Series image
PRX default Series image 

In 2007, 12,000 inmates with mental illness sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, alleging the agency punishes inmates with mental illness instead of properly treating them.

A settlement was reached in 2016, when the state agreed to revamp mental health care and provide better treatment.

But a federal judge has ruled that care remains “grossly insufficient” and “extremely poor.”

In 2007, 12,000 inmates with mental illness sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, alleging the agency punishes inmates with mental illness instead of properly treating them.

A settlement was reached in 2016, when the state agreed to revamp mental health care and provide better treatment.

But a federal judge has ruled that care remains “grossly insufficient” and “extremely poor.”


2 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Prisons Seek Solutions For Mentally Ill Inmates
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Prisoners With Mental Illness Still Waiting For Treatment
Caption: Nearly 800 inmates with serious mental illness have been transferred to Joliet Treatment Center and three other similar treatment facilities. Two layers of barbed-wire fence surround the campus, which includes single-story "dorms," a dining hall, a gym, a, Credit: Christine Herman, Side Effects Public Media
Inadequate treatment of mentally ill prisoners is a problem across the U.S. When psychiatric institutions began closing down in the 1950s, they we...

  • Added: Jan 28, 2019
  • Length: 07:18
Prisoners With Mental Illness Still Waiting For Treatment
From: Side Effects Public Media
Series: Prisoners With Mental Illness Still Waiting For Treatment
Caption: The Joliet Treatment Center, located just southwest of Chicago, is one of three mental health treatment facilities now providing mental health care to 765 of Illinois' sickest inmates. The facilities were created as part of a lawsuit settlement., Credit: Christine Herman, Side Effects Public Media
In 2007, 12,000 inmates with mental illness sued the Illinois Department of Corrections, alleging the agency punishes inmates with mental illness i...

  • Added: Jan 28, 2019
  • Length: 03:58