Eastern State Hospital says wait times reduced for mental heath inmate evaluations
State hospitals have taken steps to reduce the wait times for mental heath inmate evaluations.
Karen McDonald with Eastern State Hospital says a recently opened ward has reduced the number of people for evaluations or treatment to restore competency by 67% as of last Friday.
A report submitted to a federal judge by the state's Behavioral Health Administration found that over a six-month period, jails spent almost $1.7 million to house defendants waiting for competency evaluations.
Benton County spent over $152,000 and Chelan spent around $65,000.