In a new investigative report, Justice Department officials said they have reasonable cause to believe the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by relying too much on psychiatric hospitals.
The federal investigation began in 2022. Since then, the Justice Department determined thousands of people are sent to psychiatric hospitals in Louisville each year, with more than 1,000 people getting admitted multiple times. Many of those admissions can and should be prevented, the agency said.
“These findings demonstrate that the commonwealth of Kentucky fails to provide adequate community-based mental health services for individuals with serious mental illness in the Louisville Metro area,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky in a news release Tuesday.
“Beyond the violations, however, these findings are also about recognizing the dignity and potential of every individual who has mental illness,” he said.
The agency said psychiatric hospitals are “restrictive and often traumatizing settings,” and many local hospitalizations could be prevented by providing more community-based services.
Examples include mobile crisis response and crisis stabilization efforts, peer support and supportive housing and employment.
The Justice Department also found a lack of such services prompted law enforcement to routinely respond to mental health crises.
In a separate investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department, federal officials said LMPD violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by subjecting people with behavioral health disabilities to unnecessary or overly aggressive police responses.
That was one of many problems the Justice Department identified within the Louisville Metro Police. The agencies are negotiating a consent decree to address the issues.
In Tuesday’s announcement, the Justice Department thanked the state government for cooperating with its investigation and said Kentucky officials are already working to expand access to certain services, although more progress is needed.
