News ReleaseINDIANAPOLIS – Indiana officials are pursuing additional reforms to the state’s criminal competency system as a surge in court-ordered mental health evaluations continues to overwhelm psychiatric hospitals, county jails and community treatment providers. Referrals for competency restoration have increased about 477% since 2013, leaving hundreds of defendants waiting for evaluations or treatment before their criminal cases can proceed. The growing demand has reshaped Indiana’s state psychiatric hospitals, where roughly 70% of patients are now involved in criminal cases. As forensic admissions have increased, fewer beds remain available for people seeking civil mental health treatment because of severe mental illness or dangerous behavior. Officials are now considering additional reforms, including narrowing which cases require competency evaluations, creating a statewide roster of evaluators and improving data collection to better measure the effectiveness of existing programs.