BOURNE – Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley has sent a letter to Governor Maura Healey vehemently opposing the closure of the Community Mental Health Center at Pocasset and the reduction of the number of case Manager positions in the state department of mental health.
She said the closure would reduce care access, resulting in more untreated mental health challenges leading to more people entering the criminal justice system.
“As Sheriff, I see daily the devastating generational consequences of the closure of in-patient mental health hospitals over the last 40 years. Without investment in community-based supports to replace these lost facilities, hospital emergency rooms and jails have become the de-facto mental health treatment providers.”
She added that in jails across the state, 60 to 80 percent of inmates suffer from mental illness, signaling a need for more service, not less.
The following is the full letter from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s office:
Dear Governor Healey,
I am writing today in vehement opposition to the proposals to close the Cape and Islands Community Mental Health Center at Pocasset and to reduce the number of Case Manager positions in the Department of Mental Health.
As Sheriff, I see daily the devastating generational consequences of the closure of in-patient mental health hospitals over the last 40 years. Without investment in community-based supports to replace these lost facilities, hospital emergency rooms and jails have become the de-facto
mental health treatment providers.If Pocasset is closed, access to care becomes even more difficult, resulting in more mental health challenges being left untreated and more people entering a downward spiral into the criminal justice system. At a time when, in jails across the Commonwealth, 60% – 80% of our populations suffer from mental illness, we need more beds and services, not less.
At the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, we work hand-in-hand with the Department of Mental Health case managers in treating and re-integrating our incarcerated individual population. If case manager positions are reduced, there would be a direct and negative impact on the availability of post-release mental health care. Currently, 69% of our population is prescribed at least one psychiatric medication. Incarcerated individuals receive both mental and behavioral health care from our in-house medical department. Unless these services can be sustained post release, their recovery will not last. They will once again commit crimes and once again put the public at risk.
Case managers ensure clients maintain stability and community tenure, often serving as the only consistent support system. Case managers prevent services from becoming siloed, facilitate communication between providers and natural supports, and reduce emergency department visits and inpatient admissions. Case managers also oversee vendor contracts and conduct suicide screenings to identify and address suicidality early on. For us at the jail, these case managers work to provide supports that help keep people out of the criminal justice system as well as allow us to have a continuity of mental health care for those being released from our jail.
Since Covid-19, DMH referrals have increased by approximately 30%. They need more staff to handle the added caseloads, not less.
Money will not be saved by these proposed cuts. Patients in crisis will end up in our jails and emergency rooms, where treatment costs are even higher. Even more costly, however, is the human toll, the collateral damage to public safety and our first responders, and to our families,
children, and communities when mental health issues go untreated.I urge you to reconsider these proposals. While our state, and the nation as a whole, faces a mental health crisis, we cannot close facilities and reduce staff that provide support to those who need them the most.
I would welcme the opportunity to work with you to find solutions to these community challenges.
Very truly yours,
Donna D. Buckley
Barnstable County Sheriff