Missourians who are arrested, deemed unfit to stand trial and ordered into mental health treatment are now detained in jail for an average of eight months before being transferred to a mental health facility. And that wait time used to be even longer.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Missouri Independent reporter Clara Bates about why wait times are so long for people who haven't been convicted of a crime, and what the state is doing in response.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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