Calls for more mental health support were made at the Minnesota Capitol on Thursday after state lawmakers drastically reduced the proposed funding for treatment.

Sheriffs and county attorneys across the state say the people who need treatment are being kept in jail instead of receiving help due to a lack of capacity in facilities across the state.

Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable, flanked by sheriffs and county attorneys from across the state, said some individuals could be waiting days, weeks, months and in one case, an entire year without receiving the care that they need.

“These individuals need treatment, not incarceration,” Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable said. “They are patients, not criminals; they need hospitals, not jails. Because of the lack of capacity in Minnesota’s mental health treatment facilities, we are criminalizing mental illness and it must stop.”

Their main concern is a lack of funding for mental health facilities, combined with a pause on the 48-hour rule, which requires the Department of Human Services to transfer someone to treatment within 48 hours if they’re found mentally unstable.

Authorities say a change in funding happened during backroom budget negotiations that they and the public were left out of.

The group said the proposed funding was drastically reduced, and even that smaller amount of funding would be contingent on the passage of a bonding bill.

You can learn more about the 48-hour rule by CLICKING HERE.