Lawmakers to Travel to Bozeman to Discuss Jail Standards
A group of legislators will be in Bozeman Thursday to discuss the possibility of adopting state standards to govern the treatment of county jail inmates who are mentally ill.
The Jail Standards and Suicide Prevention Subcommittee of the Law and Justice Interim Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in the Community Room of the Gallatin County Courthouse. Members of the subcommittee are Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman; Rep. Bob Ebinger, D-Livingston; and Rep. Gary Perry, R-Manhattan (chair).
The public is invited to attend the meeting and will have an opportunity to comment. An agenda is available at www.leg.mt.gov/ljic.
The subcommittee is looking into ways to reduce the number of suicides in county jails by providing better screening tools to identify inmates with mental illnesses. The lawmakers are expected to discuss potential legislation to create a mental health videoconferencing crisis network in Montana, modeled after a system in Kentucky. The subcommittee also will consider whether to establish statewide jail standards on mental health care for inmates.
For more information, contact Sheri Heffelfinger, committee research analyst, at 406-444-3596.
