NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As part of her report to the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday, Vicki Mader with Horizons Mental Health Center told them about a milestone for Horizons in the Reno County Jail.
"If somebody's incarcerated and they are determined to be incompetent, they have to go through what's called restoration," Mader said. "That usually takes place in Larned. There's a very long wait list for that. There's been some changes at the state level that has provided us the opportunity to do some of that restoration actually in the jail. We started that recently, and we did complete our first restoration here in the Reno County Jail."
Mader sees it as a big win for the county, as it can get help for these people sooner.
"Not all people are eligible for that type of restoration," Mader said. "We want to provide it, if it's applicable for them. It can include medication services, getting individuals on medication, therapy, case management, whatever we need to do to help them get back to a place where they could be competent."
Once a person charged with a crime is found to be competent, it's important to go forward with the court process as quickly as is practical.
"There's some individuals that can wait years in jail to get to Larned," Mader said. "It's a big win for us. Related to being able to stand trial, we've had it to where somebody goes to Larned, they come back, they've completed the restoration process, they're good to go and court gets delayed and they decompensate and we have to start the process all over again."
To decompensate is to lose the ability to maintain normal or appropriate psychological defenses, sometimes resulting in depression, anxiety, or delusions.
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