My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, or MHMR, granted over $30 million to an Arlington mental health hospital for competency restoration services to help reduce the long state hospital waitlist.
Perimeter Behavioral Hospital of Arlington will receive the state funds. Increasing the number of state hospital beds quickly was not possible, so contracting the services out to local hospitals was proposed as an alternative, said Susan Garnett, CEO of Tarrant County MHMR.
Competency restoration is ordered when an individual accused of a crime is evaluated and deemed unable to participate in their own defense due to mental illness or an intellectual disability. The person is sent to a state hospital for treatment with the goal that they are eventually able to stand trial…