Jail inmates sue to get mental health treatment

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 (Dec. 28, 2021) 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 were 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 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.