Dauphin County launches plan to keep people with serious mental illnesses out of prison

Across the nation, 17 percent of people in prison have a serious mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

That trend plays out in Dauphin County as well, where 16 percent of Dauphin County Prison inmates have a serious mental illness, according to recent findings from the Council of State Governments Justice Center. 

Dauphin County is launching a plan, based on the findings of that study, to change that trend.

The county hopes to keep those with serious mental illness out of prisons and to get them involved in community behavioral health services. The program is part of a national initiative called ‘Stepping Up,’ and comes two years after Dauphin County passed a resolution to be part of the effort.  

Citing the study, County Commissioner George Hartwick III said people with serious mental illnesses often spend more time in prison than other inmates. They also return to prison more frequently, often for minor offenses.

This does them a disservice and also wastes criminal justice resources on people who are of low risk to the public, Hartwick said. 

The plan would change the way the court system works with people who have a serious mental illness, Hartwick said. 

He says the plan also involves embedding mental health experts with law enforcement. 

“The ability for us to have maybe a response team that deals in a more mobile crisis way along with law enforcement at the very first interaction could help to de-escalate that situation and stop it from being something that would be tragic.”

The county is seeking a federal grant to help fund the program.