After a judge blasted the state's largest agency for keeping a man with mental illness locked in jail for months, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) insisted in court on Wednesday that it is complying with state law.
A court case in Scott County is shining a spotlight on the issue of mental illness and treatment options for those deemed too sick for the criminal justice system.
Patrick Battees Jr. will begin receiving some services at a juvenile detention facility, but his attorney has asked a judge to order the state to explain why he has yet to be placed at a psychiatric hospital.