Ellison praises bonding bill, which includes money for mental health services

Attorney General Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Attorney General Keith Ellison is praising part of the state’s recently passed bonding bill that puts more financial resources into expanding treatment capacity in the state.

The $55 million will fund 50 new beds in mental health facilities in Minnesota.

Sheriffs, deputies, police officers, and others testified that without an open bed, those having a mental health crisis are placed in jails, despite never being convicted of a crime.

Ellison says the bill will improve wait times, which had grown to almost 60 days on average for Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center in 2023.