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Wyoming Department of Health officials and many county sheriffs hope proposed legislation will lead to more treatment for mentally ill people detained in county jails while they wait for a bed at the state’s psychiatric hospital in Evanston.

On Monday, the Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee will consider a bill that allows the health department to reimburse sheriffs for the cost of holding those inmates. While the bill simply authorizes the department to contract with sheriffs without dictating what services are provided, its backers say it’s a necessary step to get state government resources flowing toward a problem largely being shouldered

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