The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) has made significant strides in improving what the agency called a “crisis” in 2022 — hundreds of seriously mentally ill defendants stuck in county jails across the state, waiting for a bed at a state-run treatment facility. Two years ago, the KING 5 Investigators’ series “Mentally Ill, Waiting in Jail,” exposed more than 500 people in the state were stuck behind bars with no treatment available and no trial on the horizon. Currently, that number is down to just 15 people. In 2022, incarcerated patients were waiting to get transferred to a state hospital for up to nine months, while state law and a federal judge’s ruling mandated the transfer happen within seven days. In the last few months, DSHS has met that timeframe with the average wait time now at five days. READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/investigators/washington-makes-major-progress-crisis-mentally-ill-defendants-waiting-in-jails/281-74157b92-f738-449b-bde2-f6215ddc1f49