Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Funding Sources of Ohio Treatment Initiative Revealed Press release from the Drug Policy Alliance - "Misled into believing that a treatment initiative would have cost taxpayers money instead of saving it, Ohio voters rejected a treatment instead of incarceration initiative in this year's election. ... Using his incumbent status, Ohio Governor Bob Taft was able to elicit large contributions for political donors to fund a misinformation campaign aimed at undermining the initiative." The release indicates that two-thirds of the funds raised by the campaign against the drug offenders treatment initiative "has come from people and businesses whose employees have contributed generously to the governor" and that one third of the funds came from alcohol distributors.
Drug Effective for ADHD Story in
Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs on new research published in
The American Journal of Psychiatry which indicates that the drug atomoxetine is an effective treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Rh Incompatibility Could Up Schizophrenia Risk Reuters Health story at
Yahoo on a study in the December issue of the
American Journal of Human Genetics which indicates that a blood mismatch between a pregnant woman and her fetus may double the risk of schizophrenia.
Mental health funds scrutinized (New Hampshire) Portsmouth Herald story - "The acting commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services said she will take action immediately to alleviate legislators’ concerns about $2.7 million in state and federal Medicaid funds being held by the department outside the state’s budgeting process."
Mental health reform alters delivery of services (North Carolina) Smoky Mountain News story on the state's "massive reform" of its mental health system - "The reform, known as 'State Plan 2002: Blueprint for Change,' will take hundreds of therapists now working in school programs, group homes and day programs out of the ranks of public employees, and recast them as private service providers, who are contracted to provide services. How many of them will choose to be a part of this new system, which will most likely mean working for less money and fewer, if any, benefits, is a big question."
Valley kids seek psychiatry services (California) Fresno Bee story - "Fresno County health officials, pediatricians and mental health workers are struggling to develop a plan to help hundreds of troubled children now that the only psychiatric hospital in the Valley treating adolescents will eliminate the service in a few weeks."
Building A Network For Mentally Ill Hispanics (New Jersey) Story from
The Record reprinted at
InteliHealth on Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics, a project of the private, non-profit New Jersey Mental Health Institute. The story notes that "For Latinos with mentally ill family members, the best support may come from others in the community struggling with the same problems."
New alliance formed to provide community mental health care (Indiana) Chetserton Tribune story on a new alliance has formed in Porter County to improve access to mental health care for patients of the county’s two community health centers. Porter-Starke Alliance is a collaboration among Hilltop Community Health Center, the Portage Township Community Healthcare Clinic and Porter-Starke Services.
Psychotherapy Shows a Rise Over Decade New York Times story - "The number of Americans who received psychotherapy increased slightly from 1987 to 1997, according to a large national study, and rose significantly for two groups: older adults and the unemployed. But the average length of time patients spent in the consulting room dropped precipitously over the same period, the study found, and the percentage of patients who combined psychotherapy with psychiatric medication nearly doubled." [Viewing
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