NC RISE program seeks to improve mental health options for incarcerated defendants

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A targeted program is coming to the Wake County Detention Center aimed at improving mental health services for inmates who doctors deem unfit to stand trial.

Officials say this program should speed the process for restoring competency and lessen the cost significantly.

In a news release from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), this expansion "will allow defendants to move through the judicial process more quickly. NC RISE aims to strengthen and improve capacity in both the legal and behavioral health systems in North Carolina."

There are 23 inmates at the detention center waiting for a bed at Central Regional Hospital to get treatment.

They were all deemed incapable of proceeding to trial, which typically happens because of a mental health concern or some type of substance use disorder.

This new program will allow those inmates to be treated at the detention center instead, which the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says will cost about one-fifth of what it would cost to send them to the hospital.

It's called the NC RISE Program - RISE stands for Restoring Individuals Safely and Effectively - and it also includes a handful of new services the inmates wouldn't have received before: targeted treatment to help them improve enough mentally to finally stand trial.

They've done this in Mecklenberg and Pitt counties and seen success. It has dramatically lessened the time that it takes to get an inmate to trial, which Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe says is good for everyone involved in the case - victims especially.

"For everyone that's been a victim of a crime, until they have some closure, they continue to suffer, so we believe that the earlier we can get a court date so that people can be held accountable, it serves the greater good for all," Rowe said.

In Mecklenberg and Pitt counties, inmates waited for 140 days on average to restore competency. This program cut that by almost two-thirds - down to just 50 days.

If they see similar success in Wake County, officials hope to continue expanding this program to other North Carolina counties.