Virginia County Sues State Behavioral Health System For Failing To Admit Youth In Behavioral Health Crisis

The Giles County, Virginia, Department of Social Services sued the state for a four-day delay in offering an inpatient bed to a foster youth in behavioral health crisis to a publicly funded state mental health bed. While waiting for a placement, the youth was confined to an emergency department for 96 hours, and eventually released without having received any treatment.

The complaint was filed against the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which oversees the state’s eight publicly funded mental health hospitals. It oversees the state-run Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents (CCCA), the only . . .