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Mental health advocates meet in Tampa listen

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Tags: mental health care, jails

There is such widespread incarceration of people with mental illness that jails have become the largest mental health care providers in many communities, according to a report released in November by the Florida Supreme Court.

The report on how the state’s courts and social support systems manage citizens with mental illness recommends that mentally ill patients be moved out of jails and into treatment facilities that are almost always less expensive. An advocacy group for people with ment...