COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio is doubling the amount of medication it provides to mentally ill inmates as they leave prison in hopes of easing their transition and keeping them from committing new crimes.
The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction also is developing a program that could give the same inmates a prescription for up to two additional months of drugs, though they would have to find a way to pay for them.
DRC's Chief of Correctional Care Stuart Hudson says internal budget adjustments will pay for the program's expected $220,000 annual cost.
The change means inmates will receive 30 days of medicine when they leave instead of 14, for illnesses such as severe depression or schizophrenia.
An unsuccessful federal lawsuit in 2010 criticized Ohio's post-release treatment of mentally ill inmates.
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