Thousands of prisoners treated for mental illness

[Photo: AP]

The nation's largest prison system has spent more than $36.5 million on psychotropic drugs to treat thousands of offenders in the past four years, according to federal Bureau of Prisons data supplied to USA TODAY.

Nearly 10% of the 216,000 inmates are receiving medications designed to treat an array of illnesses, from depression and bipolar disorder to acute schizophrenia. The BOP's disclosure comes as government officials have raised questions about the costs of confining such large populations, while advocates for the mentally ill argue that prisons and jails have become the new repository for people with mental illness.

The annual drug costs have been declining because of the increasing availability and reliance on generic medications, but federal prison officials say the number of inmates being treated has remained steady.

Nearly 20,000 federal inmates are on psychotropic medications, according to the BOP, which is dealing with increasing overcrowding — the system is about 43% over capacity — and spiraling overall costs. About 25% of the Justice Department budget supports the BOP's operation. In an attempt to ease overcrowding, the U.S. Sentencing Commission last week approved a measure that would make nearly 50,000 inmates eligible for sentence reductions.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/24/prisoners-mental-illness/13093899/