Across the country, local communities are coping with increasing numbers of mentally ill and substance abusing individuals within their jails and in their neighborhoods. Over 22% of the United States population is estimated to have a diagnosable mental illness. Additionally, 4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are mental disorders major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Statewide statistics illustrate the tremendous demand that has been placed upon law enforcement and the justice system. The Florida Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse has found that the criminalization of mental and addictive disorders has become a critical problem throughout Florida. Many persons with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders find themselves in criminal justice rather than treatment settings, often with long-term, negative consequences. Individuals with mental illness and their families have historically been treated as second-class citizens who need to plead for services and attention. Brevard County has begun to recognize their need and intervene in a proactive manner. It is essential that this awareness continue.

• Nearly one in four inmates in Florida jails have a mental illness a three-fold increase since 1992
• More than 10,000 people in Florida jails have a severe mental illness almost five times as many people as in state psychiatric hospitals.
• Half of all youths in Florida's juvenile justice commitment programs have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness.
• Inmates with a mental illness are up to six times more expensive to care for than other inmates, and their average length of incarceration is significantly longer
• In 2000, there were 34 percent more Baker Act cases (80,869) than DUI arrests (60,337).
• At least 271 and possibly as many as 451 officers were injured in altercations with people with severe mental illnesses.
• In 1968, one out of five cases nationwide in which a person with mental illnesses was fatally shot by law enforcement occurred in Florida. (Eight of 35 documented cases.)
• At least 22,000 homeless people in Florida have a mental illness.
• In Fiscal Year 2000-2001, the Department of Children and Families Substance Abuse program served a total of 201,039 clients, of whom 125,023 were adults and 76,016 were children. This constitutes a 10 percent increase in clients over the previous Fiscal Year.
• The 2001 Florida Legislative Special Session C reduced funding for substance abuse treatment for inmates and probationers, and some non-residential drug treatment programs by $26.7 million, reducing the number of FTEs by 85. In addition, $8.5 million funding from the 2001-2002 budget intended for the operations of 738 additional juvenile commitment/treatment beds was eliminated.
• Mental health and addictive disorders are significant public health problems; more than 80 percent of child welfare cases in the nation involve either substance abuse or mental illness.
• Sixty to eighty percent of all crime is related to substance abuse. The majority of persons in juvenile justice and corrections facilities have mental or addictive disorders.
• A two-year study of the Chicago-based Bridges Program found that mental health treatment of felony offenders reduced jail times and hospital stays by 80 percent to 90 percent, resulting in significant savings for state hospitals and county jails
• Only 40 percent of adults and 33 percent of children with mental illnesses who depend on publicly funded services receive treatment.
• Florida lacks a comprehensive, coordinated system for providing services across the multiple service setting comprising the mental health and substance abuse system.
• The waiting list for Florida's forensic psychiatric hospitals routinely exceeds 100, resulting in significant delays in transferring jail inmates for court-ordered treatment.

The Commission on Mental Health and Community Solutions

was created by Board of County Commissioners Resolution
2001-295, August 28, 2001.

Summary

It has been the mission of the Commission on Mental Health and Community Solutions (CMHCS) to review current procedures in the criminal justice processes as to their effectiveness in accommodating and treating persons with mental illness and substance abuse problems and explore implementation of evidence-based practices for the present and future. The CMHCS has been and continues to be focused on the persons whose lives have been constrained and voices silenced by the effects of mental illness, substance abuse, and the stigma that accompanies them on a daily basis.

The impetus for the Commission was the account of the tragic death of Robert Marshall Ferris II while incarcerated at the Brevard County Detention Center.

2007 Meeting Schedule

Final Report (pdf)

Commission On Mental Health
And CommunitySolutions
Phone:(321) 633-2076
Fax:(321) 633-2170
E-mail: Tammy.Harris@brevardcounty.us