Sacramento County doubles down on jail therapy

Five months in, Sacramento County is doubling down on an experiment in which mentally incompetent criminal defendants receive treatment in jail.

Typically, when someone facing felony charges is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, that person is placed on a waiting list to receive treatment aimed at restoring their competency at a state hospital. This past summer, the county entered into a new arrangement with the California Department of State Hospitals and University of California to provide those services in-house—or in-jail, as it were.

On February 23, county supervisors agreed to expand the program from 16 beds to 32 beds. The state requested the expansion, which could see inmates brought in from outside counties, and has agreed to pay for it at a slightly reduced per diem rate, whether the beds are occupied or not.

UC Davis Health Services, which provides the treatment, stands to receive up to $1.9 million now.