Wyoming's Department of Corrections (WDOC) operates a relatively small state prison system -- in a state where mental health resources across the entire system are strained. The defining challenge in Wyoming's prison mental health picture is not primarily what happens inside WDOC facilities, but what happens before and around them: Wyoming has only one state psychiatric hospital, the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston, which has 104 total beds, only approximately 80 available due to staffing shortages, and only about 25 of those available for criminal justice system patients.
The wait for a bed at Wyoming State Hospital has reached approximately five months as of 2025-2026. County jails across Wyoming -- not WDOC state prisons -- are bearing the primary burden of housing people with mental illness who are waiting for that hospital bed, often for months, often pre-trial without a conviction.
In March 2026, Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 10 ("Contracts for holding and treating mentally ill detainees"), a law that authorizes the Wyoming Department of Health to reimburse county sheriffs for housing and providing treatment to inmates with mental health needs while they wait for Wyoming State Hospital. In 2025, Senate File 160 expanded court-supervised treatment programs to include mental health treatment.
Wyoming does not have active federal court oversight specifically of WDOC prison mental health care.
What Wyoming Prisoners Are Entitled To
Under Estelle v. Gamble (1976) and WDOC policies:
- Mental health screening at intake.
- Mental health care throughout incarceration based on assessed needs.
- Transfer to Wyoming State Hospital for inpatient psychiatric care when clinically warranted.
- Crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
- Behavioral health services and substance abuse programming.
Mental Health Screening at Intake
WDOC conducts health and mental health screening for all incoming prisoners at intake. The screening identifies mental health history, current diagnoses, and active psychiatric medications.
If your person has a psychiatric history, provide documentation at intake -- prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications -- to support accurate initial classification.
WDOC Mental Health Services
WDOC provides mental health services to its prisoner population, including:
- Mental health assessment and evaluation.
- Psychiatric medication management.
- Individual and group counseling.
- Substance abuse treatment programming.
- Crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
- Behavioral health services for co-occurring disorders.
For the most intensive mental health needs -- those requiring hospital-level inpatient psychiatric care -- Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston is the referral destination.
The Wyoming State Hospital
Wyoming State Hospital (831 Highway 150 South, Evanston, WY 82930; 307-444-0839 or 800-525-1116) is Wyoming's only state-owned psychiatric hospital. Key facts:
- 104 total beds; approximately 80 currently available due to staffing shortages.
- Approximately 25 beds available for patients in the criminal justice system (with flexibility depending on demand).
- Current wait time: approximately five months for a bed.
- Serves both civil commitment patients and court-referred forensic patients.
- Services: hospital inpatient treatment, activity therapy, trauma therapy, individual psychotherapy, integrated primary care, case management, case management for chronic disease/illness.
- Partners with community behavioral health centers for discharge and transition.
The 5-month wait time is not a WDOC-specific problem -- it primarily affects people who have been ordered to the hospital by a court for psychiatric evaluation or treatment and are waiting in county jails. However, WDOC prisoners who are transferred to Wyoming State Hospital by court order face the same backlog.
The Wyoming State Statute (Title 25, Chapter 10) defines "treatment" to mean diagnosis, evaluation, intervention, psychiatric medication, individual and group counseling, illness management, diversion services, and discharge planning -- with treatment beginning at the time of detention if the person voluntarily consents.
The Senate File 10 (2026): Jail Reimbursement Law
In March 2026, Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 10 ("Contracts for holding and treating mentally ill detainees"). The law:
- Authorizes the Wyoming Department of Health to enter into contracts with county sheriffs to reimburse them for the cost of housing and providing treatment to inmates with mental health needs while they wait for a bed at Wyoming State Hospital.
- Addresses the financial burden on Wyoming's 23 counties of housing untreated mentally ill people for months.
- Creates a statutory pathway for treatment to begin in jails rather than requiring transfer to Evanston for initial stabilization.
Governor Gordon called SF 10 "a great first step." The goal is that by better treating people inside jails, some inmates could stabilize enough to face court without ever needing to go to the Wyoming State Hospital.
Note: SF 10 specifically addresses the jail-based pipeline for pretrial mental health detainees, not sentenced WDOC state prisoners directly. However, it is directly relevant for people who cycle between the criminal justice system and the mental health system in Wyoming.
Senate File 160 (2025): Expanding Mental Health Courts
Wyoming Senate File 160 (2025) expanded court-supervised treatment programs to include mental health treatment. This legislative change expands the pathways through which individuals with mental illness can be diverted from standard criminal proceedings into supervised treatment alternatives.
Wyoming's Treatment and Diversion Courts
Wyoming's judicial branch operates treatment and diversion courts, which offer non-violent individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) a pathway to treatment and recovery instead of incarceration. Key developments:
Treatment court standards updated July 2024: Wyoming adopted new Treatment Court Standards on July 1, 2024 (developed with guidance from NPC Research), and treatment court teams received training on the updated standards.
Campbell County Mental Health Diversion Program (pilot): Serves as a pilot initiative screening eligible participants through multiple referral points, clinical evaluations, and risk assessments. Approved participants receive treatment and monitoring while their charges are held in abeyance. Outcomes are being analyzed to compare with traditional criminal justice methods.
2025 expansion: Two new diversion programs launched in 2025, and a toolkit is being developed to help other jurisdictions establish similar programs.
These diversion programs primarily affect the pretrial pipeline -- people who could avoid WDOC state prison through a treatment pathway. For people already in WDOC custody, the primary mental health pathways are in-prison services and Wyoming State Hospital transfers.
Wyoming Behavioral Health Division and Community Resources
The Wyoming Department of Health, Behavioral Health Division, oversees the community mental health system through a network of Regional Behavioral Health Organizations and community providers across Wyoming's counties.
Upon release from WDOC, prisoners with mental health needs connect with the regional behavioral health organization or community mental health center serving the county where they will live. Given Wyoming's rural geography, access to community mental health services varies significantly by location.
Wyoming Protection and Advocacy System (WYPANDA) at wypanda.com is the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy organization for Wyoming.
What Families Can Do
If your person is in WDOC custody and has a mental illness:
Provide psychiatric history at intake. Supply documentation of prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications to support accurate initial classification and medication continuity.
Know the Wyoming State Hospital pathway. If your person requires hospital-level inpatient psychiatric care, Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston (307-444-0839) is the referral destination. Ask whether a transfer or referral has been initiated and what the estimated wait time is.
Know the 5-month backlog reality. The wait for Wyoming State Hospital is approximately five months as of 2025-2026 due to the combination of bed limitations and staffing shortages. If your person is waiting for transfer, document the wait time and clinical condition throughout.
Know SF 10 (2026). If your person is in a county jail (pretrial) waiting for Wyoming State Hospital, the new SF 10 law authorizes the Wyoming Department of Health to reimburse the sheriff for housing and treatment costs while your person waits. This may enable some treatment to begin in the jail before transfer.
Know treatment court options. If your person is in the pretrial phase and has a serious mental illness, ask their attorney about mental health treatment court eligibility under Wyoming's updated standards (July 2024) and SF 160 (2025).
Ask about WDOC behavioral health programming. If your person is in a WDOC state prison, ask what specific mental health and behavioral health services are available at their facility.
Ask about reentry mental health connections. Ask what regional behavioral health organization or community mental health center has been identified in the county where your person will be released, whether a first appointment has been arranged, and whether Medicaid enrollment is underway.
File a grievance. WDOC has an administrative grievance process. File formal grievances for: failure to conduct mental health screening, denial of mental health services, failure to initiate Wyoming State Hospital referral when warranted, medication interruption, and failure to initiate reentry mental health planning.
Contact Wyoming Protection and Advocacy System. WYPANDA (wypanda.com) is the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy organization for Wyoming and monitors conditions for people with mental illness and disabilities in WDOC facilities.
Seek legal help. If your person has serious mental illness and is not receiving adequate mental health care, if Wyoming State Hospital transfer has been denied when warranted, or if the backlog wait is creating clinical harm, consult a prisoner rights attorney with experience in Wyoming's federal courts (District of Wyoming).
Frequently asked questions
How does Wyoming screen prisoners for mental illness?
WDOC conducts health and mental health screening for all incoming prisoners at intake, identifying mental health history, diagnoses, and active psychiatric medications. Provide psychiatric documentation at intake -- prior hospitalizations, diagnoses, and active medications. The screening determines mental health care assignment and, for those with the most acute needs, whether a Wyoming State Hospital referral is indicated.
What mental health services does Wyoming DOC provide?
WDOC provides mental health services including: mental health assessment and evaluation; psychiatric medication management; individual and group counseling; substance abuse treatment programming; crisis intervention; and suicide prevention. For prisoners requiring hospital-level inpatient psychiatric care, Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston is the referral destination. Wyoming's rural geography and limited behavioral health workforce affect service availability.
What is the Wyoming State Hospital's role in corrections?
Wyoming State Hospital (831 Highway 150 South, Evanston; 307-444-0839) is Wyoming's only state psychiatric hospital and the sole referral destination for WDOC prisoners (and pretrial detainees) requiring inpatient psychiatric care. It has 104 total beds (~80 available, ~25 for justice-involved), serves civil commitment and forensic court-referred patients, and provides inpatient treatment, therapy, case management, and transition planning. The hospital's wait time is approximately five months due to demand exceeding capacity.
What is the backlog problem at Wyoming State Hospital?
Wyoming State Hospital has 104 total beds, with approximately 80 available due to staffing shortages, and only about 25 designated for criminal justice system patients. The wait for a bed is approximately five months as of 2025-2026. Judges are ordering more people into the hospital than even a fully staffed facility could handle. The backlog creates a ripple effect through Wyoming's 23 county jails, where mentally ill people -- often pretrial without a conviction -- wait months for beds.
What is Wyoming SF 10 signed in 2026?
Senate File 10, "Contracts for holding and treating mentally ill detainees," was signed by Governor Mark Gordon in March 2026. The law authorizes the Wyoming Department of Health to enter into contracts with county sheriffs to reimburse them for housing and treating inmates with mental health needs while they wait for a Wyoming State Hospital bed. The goal is to enable treatment to begin in jails, potentially stabilizing people enough to face court without requiring hospitalization. The Governor called it "a great first step."
What is Wyoming SF 160 on mental health courts?
Wyoming Senate File 160 (2025) expanded court-supervised treatment programs to include mental health treatment, creating additional pathways for individuals with mental illness to receive supervised community-based treatment instead of following standard criminal prosecution. Combined with Wyoming's updated Treatment Court Standards (July 2024) and the Campbell County Mental Health Diversion Program pilot, SF 160 represents Wyoming's expanding commitment to mental health diversion at the front end of the criminal justice system.
What is Wyoming's Campbell County mental health program?
The Campbell County Mental Health Diversion Program is Wyoming's pilot mental health diversion program. It screens eligible participants through multiple referral points, clinical evaluations, and risk assessments. Approved participants receive treatment and monitoring while their charges are held in abeyance during compliance. Outcomes are being tracked for comparison with traditional criminal justice approaches, and a toolkit is being developed to help other Wyoming counties establish similar programs. Two new statewide diversion programs launched in 2025.
How does Wyoming handle mental health care at release?
WDOC coordinates with Wyoming's behavioral health system for reentry mental health connections. The Wyoming Department of Health's Behavioral Health Division oversees regional behavioral health organizations serving each county. Upon release, people with mental health needs connect with the regional provider in their county. Given Wyoming's rural geography, access varies. Ask what regional provider has been identified, whether a first appointment has been arranged, and whether Medicaid enrollment is underway.
What can families do if mental health care is denied in WY?
Provide psychiatric documentation at intake. Know the Wyoming State Hospital pathway and the ~5-month backlog reality. Know SF 10 (2026) enabling jail-based treatment while waiting for WSH. Know treatment court options for pretrial situations. Ask about WDOC behavioral health programming at your person's specific facility. Ask about reentry regional behavioral health connections. File WDOC grievances for screening failures, service denials, WSH referral denials, medication interruptions. Contact WYPANDA (wypanda.com) for legal advocacy.
Who oversees mental health care in Wyoming prisons?
WDOC manages mental health care operations within the state prison system. Wyoming Department of Health's Behavioral Health Division oversees Wyoming State Hospital and the community behavioral health network. No federal court actively exercises oversight of WDOC. Wyoming Protection and Advocacy System (WYPANDA, wypanda.com) is the federally mandated P&A organization monitoring conditions for people with mental illness and disabilities in WDOC. ---