The State of Nevada will pay more than $753,000 in court-ordered fines for failing to provide timely mental health treatment to criminal defendants at a psychiatric facility in Sparks.
The Nevada Board of Examiners — which includes the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state — approved the payment on Tuesday following a contempt ruling issued by a Washoe County district court judge in April. The court found the state in contempt for delays in delivering mental health care to defendants deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The sanctions stem from treatment delays affecting nine defendants assigned to the Lakes Crossing Center in Sparks. Under the court order, the state must pay $500 for each day a defendant did not receive timely treatment.
As of mid-April, the accumulated fines reached $216,000, but the total for the current fiscal year is projected to reach $753,500, according to a memo from the Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH), the agency responsible for mental health services. The funds will be directed to the Washoe County general fund.
This development marks the latest chapter in a long-standing issue of delayed mental health care intended to restore defendants’ competency to stand trial. While wait times have improved — dropping from an average of 122 days in 2022 to 74 days as of February 2025 — state officials acknowledge that challenges remain.
In its April memo requesting sanction approval, DPBH projected that fines could total $3.6 million over the next two-year budget cycle. Since September 2022, the agency has paid approximately $181,000 in fines, according to legislative hearing records.
The DPBH highlighted progress made over the past two years to expedite treatment, but admitted that wait times are still well above its goal of providing care within 20 days. Efforts include expanding treatment capacity for Southern Nevada defendants and constructing a new mental health facility scheduled to open in 2029.
Additional programs funded by the American Rescue Plan — designed to support defendants awaiting treatment and transition long-term patients to skilled nursing facilities — are set to expire with the current budget cycle. However, the agency plans to continue funding for patient placement programs in its upcoming two-year budget.
The agency’s budget also allocates $17.6 million to add 21 beds for Southern Nevada patients and fund 53 new positions dedicated to defendant mental health care.
This payout follows an 18-month legal battle after the Nevada Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling requiring continued daily fines. The case originated from a Clark County judge’s contempt order against the DPBH over delayed care, despite state arguments that the sanctions were financially unfeasible.
The agency has faced similar lawsuits concerning mental health treatment delays since 2005. One such case resulted in a consent decree mandating transfer of incompetent defendants to treatment within one week of a competency order; that decree expired in 2020.
Nevada continues to lag behind nearly all other states in mental health services and ranks worst nationwide for youth mental health care.
