North Raleigh Today

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office have joined forces to enhance services for defendants with mental illness who have been judged as Incapable to Proceed (ITP) to trial. This collaboration builds upon the NC RISE program's successes in Mecklenburg and Pitt Counties, aiming to ensure that appropriate behavioral health care is accessible at critical times for residents of North Carolina.

Defendants identified as ITP require assistance to restore their competence for trial proceedings. The expansion of the NC RISE program at Wake County Detention Center will enable these individuals, who are ineligible for community-based services, to receive necessary treatment while in detention.

NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai emphasized the advantages of offering capacity restoration services in detention centers and communities. He stated, "By making capacity restoration services available in detention centers and communities, we are able to get people the care they need faster and moving through the judicial process more quickly." He further noted the department's efforts to enhance capacity restoration in North Carolina and to develop healthcare strategies to address long-standing justice system issues.

Before the implementation of NC RISE, capacity restoration services were predominantly accessible through state hospitals. However, many individuals deemed ITP did not necessarily require hospital-level care. According to the NCDHHS, diversifying these services across various settings helps facilitate quicker access and reserves psychiatric hospital beds for those in need of more intensive care.

Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe acknowledged the program's value for supporting individuals and expediting judicial processes. He remarked, "This program provides our agency and community with a valuable tool to support individuals while also helping move cases through the court system more efficiently."

Initial data from the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, where the NC RISE program began in December 2022, indicates a notable decrease in referrals to Broughton Hospital by 60% for ITP individuals. Furthermore, about 82% of program participants have regained competence to proceed in the judicial process. The average duration for capacity restoration through the detention-based program is approximately 50 days, compared to over 140 days in a state psychiatric hospital setting.

Recovery Solutions, formerly Wellpath Recovery Solutions, oversees the Mecklenburg County program and will also manage services in the new NC RISE initiative at the Wake County Detention Center. This program will offer psychiatric care, individual and group counseling, psychoeducation, and case management.

Dr. Robert Cochrane, Director of Forensic Services at NCDHHS, lauded detention center-based capacity restoration programs as a cost-effective model. He stated, "Detention center-based capacity restoration programs are an innovative and cost-effective model for improving services for people who are ITP."

Funding for NC RISE partly comes from an unprecedented $835 million investment aimed at transforming behavioral health and resilience for North Carolina families, with $99 million allocated for improving mental health services for justice-involved individuals.

By expanding such service options, NCDHHS aims to enhance the legal and health systems' capacities to better serve the state’s population.