In June 2020, the Illinois Auditor General released its report on mental health care in Illinois prisons. The report followed a permanent injunction issued in federal court finding that the Illinois Department of Corrections was “not in substantial compliance” with a settlement agreement both sides agreed to in December 2015.
The auditor general notes that the IDOC was required to hire a certain number of staff to provide mental health care and certify compliance with designated areas of treatment and care. The auditor general’s office tested the results supplied by the IDOC for each facility, noting the acknowledgements of shortcomings by the state in several areas. The auditor took exception to the data presented by the IDOC.
“The compliance rates cited by the Department are misleading and incorrectly imply the Department has exceeded court-ordered compliance requirements,” said the auditor’s report.
Why is the auditor general’s report significant today?
With no court oversight or settlement agreement currently in place, the minimal progress made as a result of the Rasho agreement is no longer subject to monitoring. The failures outlined five years ago are no closer to reaching a constitutional level of mental health care today.
To read the excerpt of the auditor’s report with introductory comments from attorney Harold Hirshman, please follow the link:
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