Judge rules in favor of WA counties in suit over behavioral health treatment
A Pierce County Superior Court Judge has ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by a majority of Washington counties against the state Department of Social and Health Services.
The lawsuit, filed in August, alleges that the department has selectively refused to provide behavioral health treatment and evaluations to patients exiting the criminal justice system.
On Friday, Judge Michael Schwartz granted a preliminary injunction ordering the DSHS to evaluate and commit civil conversion patients — criminal defendants who are unfit to stand trial and are committed to a state facility. It also requires the department to provide proper notice when releasing patients back into the public.
“Today’s ruling affirms the state's basic obligation to evaluate the behavioral health needs of people in the legal system who can not be tried because they lack the ability to aid in their own defense, and to give them an opportunity for meaningful treatment," King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a news release.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/10/09/behavioral-health-lawsuit-dshs.html