Des Moines Register: How a new Iowa program seeks to keep mentally ill people out of jail while awaiting trial
By William Morris, Des Moines Register
Key Points:
- Community Support Advocates is launching an outpatient competency restoration program, a service the state currently doesn’t have.
- The program aims to help mentally ill defendants charged with nonviolent offenses become competent to stand trial.
- The goal is for the program to soon be fully operational and serving a dozen or more defendants at a time statewide.