Bill on inmate mental health care passes committee unanimously - WHSV

RICHMOND, Va. (WCAV) — A Virginia House of Delegates committee unanimously endorsed a bill to improve mental health care in jails in the Commonwealth on Tuesday.

House Bill 1942 was patroned by Delegate Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) and it passed the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.

"This bill would, for the first time, establish actual standards for mental health care in Virginia jails," said Bell. "These standards would be developed and enforced by the [state] Board of Corrections."

The legislation would also require jails to coordinate inmate mental health care with health providers in the community.

Bell says the bill was prompted by the death of Jamycheal Mitchell, a mentally ill inmate who died in a jail in Hampton Roads.

He also says it was proposed and endorsed by the Deeds Commission, which works to study mental health reform for the General Assembly.

"We would like to divert mentally ill people from jail where possible," added Bell. "However, when they are in jail, we want them to receive effective mental health care and to coordinate with community care after release. The goal is to stop people from cycling in and out of jail because of a mental illness."

HB 1942 now heads to the House Appropriations Committee.

Another Bell-patroned bill proposed by the Deeds Commission is HB 2666, which would establish training standards for mental health awareness for law enforcement officers.

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