CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) - A state lawmaker says he’s alarmed over plans to relocate psychiatric patients to Rhode Island’s juvenile detention center.
Robert Lancia, a Cranston Republican, said Monday the facility was designed for young men awaiting trial, not mental health patients at risk of harming themselves or others.
The state is renovating the Roosevelt Benton Center at the Rhode Island Training School in Cranston to house psychiatric patients from Eleanor Slater Hospital.
Youth were consolidated into another building to enhance security. A disturbance in July left two children and six staff members injured.
Construction is expected to be complete in June. Lancia says he’s concerned about safety.
Rebecca Boss, director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, told WPRI-TV the $7 million renovation will make the center a secure hospital.
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