Beshear criticizes DOJ report that found Kentucky violates rights of Louisvillians with mental illness

Gov. Andy Beshear said his administration wants to fact-check the now-public findings of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into Kentucky’s reliance on psychiatric hospitals in Louisville.

Justice Department officials said Tuesday they have reasonable cause to believe Kentucky’s state government is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Their investigation, which started in 2022, found too many Louisville residents with serious mental illnesses are getting placed in psychiatric hospitals when there are better ways to assist them.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which is under the governor’s jurisdiction, oversees the operation of publicly funded mental health services in Louisville.

Beshear said his team heard nothing from the Justice Department for more than 11 months – until this week, when the agency announced the results of its investigation. He suggested some findings could be outdated because the state made improvements during that gap in communication.

“So we just want to make sure that we're on the right track, that we are serving everyone, that we are putting mental health first, but that the report is also accurate,” he told reporters during an unrelated visit to the city Wednesday.

Mayor Craig Greenberg’s spokesperson, Kevin Trager, said the DOJ report acknowledged that Louisville Metro Government recently expanded its Deflection program , which sends a mobile crisis response team – instead of police – to some 911 calls. Now that initiative runs 24 hours a day.

“We know Louisville’s health care providers and first responders are working hard to serve our most vulnerable residents,” Trager said.

He added that Greenberg plans to work with state leaders on the broader issue of ensuring Kentuckians facing mental health crises get proper care.

“But ultimately, cities like Louisville need our federal partners to help provide comprehensive resources and investments if we are to make the meaningful progress we all want,” Trager said.

DOJ investigators said the state can prevent many hospitalizations by improving access to community-based services like peer support, individualized case management and mobile crisis teams.

Beshear said the DOJ report glossed over the way multiple sectors of government – not just the state executive branch he leads – play a role in the mental health system. Judges, for example, sometimes make the call to institutionalize someone.

“There's a lot of complexity underneath it that isn't necessarily in the report,” he said. “But at the same time, if it means we can serve our people better, if it means we can reduce crime, if it means we can get people better stabilized, then that's a good thing.”

A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Beshear said his team intends to meet with the Justice Department, listen to their input and move forward.

He said some aspects of the agency’s report can provide a “very good guidepost,” and he hopes the findings will spur the Republican-run state legislature to invest more money in relevant services, like state-provided mobile crisis teams.

Beshear praised people who work locally in the mental health field and suggested the Justice Department report didn’t sufficiently recognize their good work.

“We have more mental health providers in Louisville than just about any other part of the state, and they work really hard. There wasn't a lot of mention of them in this report,” he said. “So I'd like to say to each of them: Thank you for everything that you're doing.”