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ACLU, Pa. settle suit over delays in court-ordered treatment for jailed defendents

The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services on Wednesday announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit over treatment delays for defendants who courts had ordered be given mental-health care.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services on Wednesday announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit over treatment delays for defendants who courts had ordered be given mental-health care.

In an October lawsuit, the ACLU and its co-counsel, Arnold & Porter, alleged that severely mentally ill defendants languished in Pennsylvania's county jails, sometimes for more than a year, while awaiting treatment to restore competence, so they could stand trial.

Under the settlement, Pennsylvania agreed to add nearly 200 treatment slots, including at least 50 in supportive housing in Philadelphia. The agreement calls for at least $1 million to be spent on supportive housing in Philadelphia in the first 90 days of the agreement.

The ACLU said there was now a wait list of 220 people for 190 slots at two state hospitals, in Norristown and at Torrance State Hospital in Westmoreland county, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh.

"Our oft-forgotten clients will, hopefully, be forgotten no more," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania and one of the lawyers on the case.

Ted Dallas, secretary of the Human Services Department, called the settlement a "good first step toward addressing a long-standing issue that has affected Pennsylvanians for too many years."

Dallas estimated the cost of the settlement at $5 million to $10 million a year.

One unresolved issue is the "maximum allowable wait time" between the court-ordered restoration treatment and transfer to an appropriate setting.

The settlement gives the DHS, the ACLU, and other parties 90 days to negotiate, which DHS did not want to do on this matter during the overall settlement discussions, according to the settlement filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

"In terms of figuring out what that time period is, there are a couple of factors at play," Dallas said. "One is, we're not the only players in the system. There are judges involved, D.A.'s, public defenders."

"It's not just a function of how well we do our job," Dallas said.

The deal must be approved by Judge Sylvia H. Rambo.

According to the ACLU, federal courts have found that delays of more than seven days between a judge's commitment order and treatment are unconstitutional. The civil rights advocacy group said that eastern Pennsylvania appeared to have the longest wait times in the nation, some extending to 600 days.

The settlement calls for every person on the waiting list for treatment and every person in the forensic health system to be evaluated within 60 days to see if they are receiving the appropriate level of care.

hbrubaker@phillynews.com

215-854-4651 @InqBrubaker