Home / Crime and Justice / Waiawa prison to house mentally ill inmates
Waiawa prison to house mentally ill inmates
22 Aug
Summary
- New mental health unit planned at Waiawa Correctional Facility.
- Inmates must be minimum security, stable, and near release.
- Plan aims to improve care following a class-action lawsuit.
The head of Hawaii's state prison system intends to transform part of the minimum-security Waiawa Correctional Facility into a specialized unit for prisoners with mental illness. Currently, these individuals are housed in the larger Hālawa Correctional Facility.
The planned conversion will repurpose an entire dormitory at Waiawa to offer a more therapeutic and less restrictive environment. Inmates eligible for transfer must be minimum-security, stabilized on their medications, and within 60 months of their parole or release dates.
This move is part of a settlement following a class-action lawsuit that highlighted inadequate mental health services and understaffing in state prisons. Experts identified 63 male prisoners whose needs could not be met at Hālawa but did not require hospitalization.
Corrections officials plan to transfer approximately 43 inmates, starting with about a dozen. The department is ensuring 24-hour medical staffing and a psychiatrist will be in place before any transfers begin, addressing concerns about preparedness and specialized care.
While praised by some, the plan faces scrutiny from legislators questioning the facility's suitability for specialized mental health treatment due to its open, minimum-security design.
