Last week, a Santa Cruz County civil grand jury released a report exploring mental health care in county jails. It alleges that corrections staff abuses the use of solitary confinement intended for people having a mental health crisis and that the private medical contractor used by the jails provides inadequate staffing and over-prescribes medications’ dosages. 

County law enforcement and reform advocates agree there is a connection between being mentally ill and being in jail. They agree that the sheriff oversees the largest mental health care facility in the county. They disagree about what happens once inmates are inside. 

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Anna Leah comes to Local News Matters from over fifteen years in documentary film – including a docu-series examining the national reach of conspiratorial thinking, never-before-seen materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, and a history of currency. Currently, she is earning a master’s degree in feature writing, investigation, and data at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism (part of CUNY – the City University of New York). She focuses on building empathy with people who are often overlooked or oversimplified. More at annaleah.com.