Conclusion
According to a landmark consensus report from the Council of State Governments
(CSG), it is important to "streamline administrative procedures to ensure
that federal and state benefits are reinstated immediately after a person
with mental illness is released from jail."(17)
The CSG consensus report recommends that states suspend Medicaid benefits,
as opposed to terminating them, commence discharge planning at the time
of booking and continue the process throughout the period of detention,
and develop a process to ensure that inmates who are eligible for public
benefits receive them immediately upon their release.
In addition to being a humane and a cost-effective approach, helping
individuals with serious mental disorders to access their benefits upon
release can be part of a more comprehensive state approach to support
community integration. Under the Supreme Court's ruling in L.C. v.
Olmstead, states must avail themselves of all resources that can
be used to support an individual with a disability living in the community.
Failure to assist people being released from jail or prison in quickly
accessing federal Medicaid, disability and other benefits to which they
are legally entitled undermines a state's ability to achieve the community
integration mandate of the Supreme Court's ruling in Olmstead.
Adjusting state and local policies and procedures to ensure immediate
access for released inmates with serious mental disorders to the benefits
and services to which they are entitled will greatly improve the prospects
of many adults and juveniles with serious mental disorders for a successful,
productive, crime-free and independent life in the community. By definition,
this will result in safer communities and reduced public expense for the
incarceration of people with serious mental disorders.
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