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The Ontario government has announced the hiring of new nurses, social workers, psychologists and recreational to help improve the health and well-being of inmates in the province’s jails.
In a release Thursday, the government said it intends to address “immediate priorities” in correctional facilities by providing “better access to programs and services, improved facilities and more time out of cells for those in segregation and those with mental health issues.”
It comes just weeks after an Ottawa jail inmate hanged himself in his segregation cell in the jail’s health-care unit on Nov. 30. Justin St-Amour, 32, died in hospital eight days later, after his family removed him from life support. The diagnosed schizophrenic was in the jail after allegedly threatening his disability support worker.
A support group for inmates and their families held a vigil for St-Amour outside the Ottawa jail Wednesday evening. The jail has long been criticized for its lack of mental health treatment for inmates.
Related
According to the ministry of community safety and correctional services, the new initiatives include:
-Hiring an additional 239 staff to increase supports for inmates, particularly those with significant challenges related to long-term segregation. This includes: 24 correctional officers, 22 nurses, 22 mental health nurses, 22 social workers, 32 recreational staff and eight psychologists, in addition to 46 institutional managers and other program staff;
-Enhancing services for inmates on remand and those serving custodial sentences to ensure they have access to a standardized set of core services, spiritual services and programming with a focus on enhanced mental health and well-being of inmates;
-Implementing dedicated segregation managers at institutions with higher segregation rates to help reduce the use of segregation and support inmates as they transition back to general population;
-Retrofitting, repairing and repurposing existing spaces, including common rooms and yards. The ministry said that could include installing TVs, changing/upgrading doors and repainting and creating new day areas
The ministry also plans to address needs for inmates with mental health issues, and intended to:
-Provide additional mental health court support workers;
-Fund pilot programs in Toronto and Hamilton to provide specialty psychiatric beds for acutely ill inmates who have needs that are too complex for general hospitals;
-Provide additional release from custody workers to help improve the reintegration of offenders with mental illness as they transition back into the community, helping to reduce the likelihood of re-offending;
-Expand the availability of “safe beds,” which provide time-limited emergency housing for people experiencing a mental health crisis with high-intensity care as an alternative to hospital or jail;
-Develop cross-training programs for detention centre staff to help them better manage people with mental health challenges and seclusion protocols.
More to come.
aseymour@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
In a release Thursday, the government said it intends to address “immediate priorities” in correctional facilities by providing “better access to programs and services, improved facilities and more time out of cells for those in segregation and those with mental health issues.”
It comes just weeks after an Ottawa jail inmate hanged himself in his segregation cell in the jail’s health-care unit on Nov. 30. Justin St-Amour, 32, died in hospital eight days later, after his family removed him from life support. The diagnosed schizophrenic was in the jail after allegedly threatening his disability support worker.
A support group for inmates and their families held a vigil for St-Amour outside the Ottawa jail Wednesday evening. The jail has long been criticized for its lack of mental health treatment for inmates.
Related
- OCDC failing inmates with mental illness, supporters say
- Mentally ill inmate turned away at hospital before hanging self: lawyer
- Ottawa jail inmate dies in hospital, eight days after hanging himself in segregation cell
- Lawyer says jail didn't notify her after mentally ill client hanged himself
According to the ministry of community safety and correctional services, the new initiatives include:
-Hiring an additional 239 staff to increase supports for inmates, particularly those with significant challenges related to long-term segregation. This includes: 24 correctional officers, 22 nurses, 22 mental health nurses, 22 social workers, 32 recreational staff and eight psychologists, in addition to 46 institutional managers and other program staff;
-Enhancing services for inmates on remand and those serving custodial sentences to ensure they have access to a standardized set of core services, spiritual services and programming with a focus on enhanced mental health and well-being of inmates;
-Implementing dedicated segregation managers at institutions with higher segregation rates to help reduce the use of segregation and support inmates as they transition back to general population;
-Retrofitting, repairing and repurposing existing spaces, including common rooms and yards. The ministry said that could include installing TVs, changing/upgrading doors and repainting and creating new day areas
The ministry also plans to address needs for inmates with mental health issues, and intended to:
-Provide additional mental health court support workers;
-Fund pilot programs in Toronto and Hamilton to provide specialty psychiatric beds for acutely ill inmates who have needs that are too complex for general hospitals;
-Provide additional release from custody workers to help improve the reintegration of offenders with mental illness as they transition back into the community, helping to reduce the likelihood of re-offending;
-Expand the availability of “safe beds,” which provide time-limited emergency housing for people experiencing a mental health crisis with high-intensity care as an alternative to hospital or jail;
-Develop cross-training programs for detention centre staff to help them better manage people with mental health challenges and seclusion protocols.
More to come.
aseymour@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
