A federal judge on Friday ordered Washington state to pay more than $100 million in fines for failing to provide timely competency evaluations and treatment to mentally ill individuals who are charged with crimes.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman found that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services had breached a 2015 settlement agreement that required it to cut down wait times for competency evaluations and treatment to 1-2 weeks.
While Pechman acknowledged that “several factors impacted the rise in wait times,” she criticized the department’s “lack of foresight, creativity, planning, and timely response to a crisis of its own making.”
In particular, the judge said that she was “unpersuaded” that the Department of Social and Health Services “adequately planned for and took reasonable measures to address the bed shortage” at the state’s psychiatric hospitals.
Washington state has previously been found in contempt for violating the 2015 settlement agreement on two other occasions and has faced roughly $400 million in fines, according to court documents.
Courts can order competency evaluations if there is a reason to doubt whether a person is competent to stand trial. If an individual is found incompetent to stand trial, the state is required to provide restoration services.
Under the settlement agreement, Washington state is required to conduct competency evaluations within 14 days of a court order for individuals in jail and within seven days for those at state hospitals.
Individuals who are found to be incompetent to stand trial must be admitted to receive treatment within seven days.