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Speaker Interview: Facility Design for Mental Health in the Corrections and Detention Environment

By Richard C. Eimer AIA posted 10-29-2014 11:30 AM

  
Scott Frakes, Deputy Director of Prisons, Command A, for Washington State Department of Corrections will be presenting at the 2014 AAJ Conference for the following session: Facility Design for Mental Health in the Corrections and Detention Environment. Scott and 2 other speakers will be discussing the need for the design of more appropriate facilities for the mentally ill in the corrections/detention environment. I had a chance to ask Scott a few questions about his presentation this coming November.

In the past, how has mental illness been addressed in a conventional prison and jail design?

Washington State has been putting thought into prison design for the mentally ill since 1980, but the early days focused on high security space for the dangerously mentally ill. By the 1990s we began to think about housing design to provide residential mental health treatment to lower risk offenders. Early efforts focused on simple changes to existing units; offices on the unit, carpet, paint colors. In the 2000’s we began building new residential treatment space, providing smaller sized units, treatment space, small outdoor yards accessible from the unit. In 2011 we created a minimum custody residential treatment unit, providing mentally ill offenders the opportunity to transition to the community from our least restrictive housing/setting. 

Currently, are there one or two significant planning differences between how a typical prison is designed vs a prison or jail that will house mentally ill inmates?
In my world view, you don’t separate the two anymore than necessary. Residential treatment units are co-located with general population beds. Higher security MI RTUs (mentally ill residential treatment unit) may be within a separate perimeter, but co-located with general population beds in an adjacent perimeter (walking distance, or a very short drive). Prisons without RTUs should include some features that facilitate out-patient serves (office and treatment space) 

What is an example of a new trend that you are beginning to see for new prison designs for mentally ill inmates?
Small units with 1 and 2 person cells, offices/treatment space on the pod, RTUs located in the same compound as general population. I can’t say that this is new, but these are designs that are working. 

What are 2 or 3 best practices for designing and planning to accommodate a mentally ill inmate population?
For Medium custody MI offenders that require an RTU, offering a combination of 1 & 2 person cells, space for delivery of services on the unit, and keeping the total number of offenders in a pod at 80 or below are practices that work well for the WA DOC 

What is a good example of an innovative program that addresses the needs of mental illness in a secure environment?
WA DOC uses a five level classification system, with Level 5 (Maximum Custody) being the highest and most restrictive custody level. Offenders are demoted to MAX custody based on risk. There are a small number of WA DOC offenders that are dangerously mentally ill, and warrant MAX custody – but should not be housed in a MAX Custody unit due to their mental illness. The Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) provides 36 MAX custody beds in a residential treatment setting. ITU offenders work through a 7 step program, with a goal of promoting to a less restrictive housing setting. The ITU offenders transition from escorted/restrained movement to unrestrained socialization activities – and when adequately treatment/medication compliant they move to general population. We rarely have 36 offenders in the ITU (current population is 26), a reflection of the efforts of staff to not house seriously mentally ill offenders in restrictive housing settings for any longer than is absolutely necessary.

Thank you Scott! I am looking forward to this presentation Thursday morning, November 6.
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