State officials look into mental health alternatives

Miami Herald reports: State lawmakers and top state officials on Friday morning will tour the psychiatric unit at the Miami-Dade’s Pre-Trial Detention Center to learn about alternatives to jailing mentally ill inmates. On the tour will be Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman, a longtime mental health advocate.

Leifman pushed a bill through the House last spring that aimed to provide community care for mentally ill inmates who are being treated in expensive state psychiatric hospitals. The bill, however, died in the Senate.

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Author: Rick Outzen

Rick Outzen is the publisher/owner of Pensacola Inweekly. He has been profiled in The New York Times and featured in several True Crime documentaries. Rick also is the author of the award-winning Walker Holmes thrillers. His latest nonfiction book is “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for Pensacola’s Maritime Park.”