Sept. 17 on The Story: Like Oregon, the state of Washington has struggled in recent years to handle criminal defendants with severe mental illness who wind up in county jails. Oftentimes, these defendants are found legally unfit to aid in their own defense, and require intensive treatment at a secure psychiatric facility before the case can move forward. Two years ago, there were more than 500 people stuck behind bars with no access to the treatment they needed. But unlike Oregon, Washington has made major strides lately — reducing that number down to just 15, and slashing wait times from nine months to an average of five days. So, how did they do it? Simply put, the state legislature and officials acted quickly to expand capacity for state psychiatric care, and they're just getting started. Watch more The Story videos: http://bit.ly/watchTheStory Follow The Story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheStoryKGW Follow The Story on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thestorykgw