Thousands of people with mental illnesses are ending up in jails, prisons and juvenile detention facilities instead of getting the treatment they need and deserve, members of a coalition said Thursday.

The result: Taxpayers are spending exorbitant amounts on Corrections, and the state is turning its back on its social responsibility.

State Rep. Rick Jones, former sheriff of Eaton County, said managing the jail is the hardest job for sheriffs. He said they are constantly dealing with issues such as self-mutilation and suicide watches.

"I very distinctly remember the case of a young woman who actually bit her own finger off," said Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican who was jail administrator for five years. "We need to work harder, harder to divert people prior to getting into the law enforcement system, harder to divert them from jail into treatment."

The Michigan Partners in Crisis vowed to lead the charge in fighting for changes in how the state handles people with mental illness who get into trouble with the law.

The group includes judges, law enforcement officials and mental health advocates.

Warren District Court Judge Dawnn Gruenberg noted that $2 billion is spent annually on the Corrections budget. Growth in that budget has led to cuts in other areas, such as funding for community colleges and universities as well as local governments.

State Rep. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, said that it costs between $8,000 and $11,000 to provide out-patient mental health services, compared with about $40,000 to incarcerate a mentally ill person in a state prison.

C. Patrick Babcock, former mental health director under Govs. William Milliken and James Blanchard, said the mental health crisis stems from decisions made after the state began closing state psychiatric hospitals 25 years ago.

"We had in mind an effective mental health system that would serve people humanely and professionally and in the community," Babcock said. "The problem is something went drastically wrong in the process. We stopped making an investment in the community side."

Catherine Sinnamon of Birmingham detailed the experience of her son, who suffered from emotional disorders. She said the police and courts sent him to juvenile detention facilities, where he received no mental health treatment.

That, she said, started a downward spiral that ultimately led to his suicide at the age of 20.

"Something has to be done," Sinnamon said. "This is long overdue."

For the full article, see Chris Andrews, "Coalition tackles mental health of prisoners", Lansing State Journal, January 25, 2008.