State examines its role in south-central Kansas homicide case
On Thursday, superintendent of state hospitals
"We have to get to the facts," he said.
The Star first reported the incident Sunday. Brown was sent to
On
On Thursday, Kansas Rep.
"It seems like a huge failure of the system," Moore said. "In my mind, at this moment, it's the result of a system under stress that failed both these families."
Rein and other state officials, citing privacy laws, did not comment on the specifics of the incident. But in general "obviously, there are things, especially in hindsight, you wish you would have done differently," Rein said.
The incident will serve as an important backdrop to ongoing conversations about the state's mental health system. Some critics say treating the mentally ill costs too much and doesn't work, while others say the system is underfunded and understaffed.
Much of the attention is now focusing on the state hospital in
It's designed for a maximum of roughly 200 patients at any one time. In 2014, it often exceeded that cap, forcing the institution to deny admittance to patients who might be treated at private or community-based mental health facilities -- or held in area jails.
This year,
Critics, including Brown's father, say the overcrowding may have contributed to the decision to release Brown prematurely. Some members of the study committee said Thursday there is evidence some patients are released too soon.
In June, Gov.
"We need to decide what kind of hospital we want," said
Others, though, said they are worried the state is considering a long-term reduction of space at
"We think we don't have enough beds now," said
The Adult Continuum of Care Committee is expected to make recommendations later this month to the
It spent Thursday sorting through the tangle of issues surrounding mental health care: insurance coverage, law enforcement, treatment strategies, substance abuse concerns and more.
It also talked about money.
Several members said the state's overall spending on mental health care is insufficient to treat those who need help. Reducing or closing
Some said the state should reconsider expanding
There was no firm indication of that Thursday. But KDADS official
"We really need to be thinking, what is working in our current climate?" he said. "There's no magic checkbook that's going to pump a lot of additional funding into our system at this point."
To reach
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