Underfunding of Psychiatric Services for the Civilly and Criminally Committed

As illustrated by the State of Oregon, a lack of inpatient psychiatric resources for civil commitment and restoration of competency to stand trial has become an increasing problem. In California, the government of Los Angeles County has studied this problem and identified potential solutions. The proposed solutions not surprisingly involve increased resources, including additional inpatient psychiatric beds. Despite recognition of a potential solution, however, sufficient resources have not yet appeared in Los Angeles County. The study of the civil and criminal commitment systems for individuals with mental illness in Oregon and Los Angeles County reveals considerable overlap between these systems and suggests that the two systems be considered as a part of a single mental health system adversely affected by a variety of factors such as homelessness, substance use, and the COVID-19 pandemic.