Legislative Auditor: 1/3 of county jail inmates in MN on medication for mental illness

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - A new report from the state Legislative Auditor found more than one third of county jail inmates in the Minnesota are on medication for mental illness.

Legislative Auditor James Noble told the state Senate Thursday that the current system has many gaps to fill and not enough funding, adding in 2014, 18 percent of the people in public programs for the seriously mentally ill had been arrested and 10 percent had been convicted of a serious crime.

Noble said his office also found limited compliance with state law to complete the discharge plan for mentally ill inmates and that a majority of incompetent defendants were kept in jail and not in mental health facilities.

Some senators expressed frustration with the Department of Human Services for not having a comprehensive health plan for the state.

“You’re hearing loud and clear, we need a plan,” Sen. Carla Nelson said to the DHS.