SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Three jail inmates have filed a class-action lawsuit over delays in getting treatment to restore their mental competency.
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported Tuesday that the inmates — Juan Alvarez, Aubrey Archambeau and Joseph Baker — filed the lawsuit against the South Dakota Human Services Center in federal court last week.
They contend they’ve been ordered to go to the center to restore their mental competency earlier this year but they still haven’t been sent to the facility and remain in jail.
The state Department of Social Services didn’t respond to the newspaper’s request for comment on the lawsuit.
The center is the state’s public mental health hospital. It’s been suffering from chronic staffing shortages that have limited the number of patients it can accept. State lawmakers formed a committee this past year to review mental health services and consider changes to the system. They could introduce legislation on the issue during the next session.
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