Early this summer more than 80 people were being held in county and city jails in Maryland, even though courts had said they needed in-patient mental-health care. Now the number is about a dozen. We ask Van T. Mitchell, Maryland Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, what changes have made it more likely detainees will get mental-health services, and what challenges lie ahead. Does the state have enough mental-health workers, and enough beds to meet its obligations? We also talk about Maryland’s growing epidemic of overdose deaths related to heroin and fentanyl.
Van Mitchell, Maryland Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene
