Wednesday, February 05, 2003
MEDLINE Abstracts- Cultural Competence A collection of recent MEDLINE abstracts compiled by the editors at
Medscape Psychiatry. [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Child, Adolescent and Family Branch This CMHS Program Spotlight on the Branch that "promotes and ensures that the mental health needs of children and their families are met within the context of community-based systems of care" includes links to related topic pages, publications, and Internet resources.
Judicial notebook: Determining trial competency Article in the new
APA Monitor on the US Supreme Court agreeing to decide "whether the government may force a nonviolent mentally ill defendant to take psychotropic medication in order to render him competent to stand trial."
FY 2004 Budget Fails to Prioritize Mental Health An NMHA News Release - "In today’s uncertain times, Congress must act to preserve the Medicaid safety net and provide much needed increases for mental health funding. The National Mental Health Association is deeply concerned that the Administration’s budget for FY 2004 encourages states to cut benefits provided by Medicaid, while proposing virtually no increase in overall funding for community mental health programs under the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration."
Kids With ADHD Suffer More Injuries Health Scout News story at
PsycPORT first, population-based comparison between kids with ADHD and their peers without the disorder, which appears in the February issue of
Pediatrics.
Medicaid Proposal Receives Mixed Reaction February 3
Hartford Courant story - "The Bush administration Monday cited its sweeping new proposal to overhaul health care for the poor as an example of its commitment to improving that care, but reaction elsewhere ranged from noncommittal to hostile. Administration officials, who first announced the proposal Friday, said the new Medicaid plan would give states greater flexibility to target scarce dollars at poor people who need health care the most. Critics said the plan could cause some poor people to lose crucial services."
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division, urges Premier Eves to remember mental health February 3
Canadian News Wire story - "The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division, is urging Premier Ernie Eves to make mental health care a key priority during his February 4th and 5th negotiations with the federal government. To reinforce that message, the CMHA is placing an open letter advertisement in the Ontario edition of tomorrow's Globe and Mail, asking the Premier to remember that mental health matters to all Ontarians."
Two mental health agencies to merge (Ohio) Cincinnati Business Courier story - "Two of Hamilton County's largest mental health agencies, CRI and Queen City Case Management Inc. (QC/M), are merging operations in hopes of providing better service and reducing administrative costs."
Missing links: Homelessness risk to vulnerable people (UK) Story at
The Guardian - "Thousands of Britain's most vulnerable people risk losing their homes because of lack of cooperation between local authority housing and social services departments, research today suggests. The study, by homelessness charity Shelter, found that implementation of the new Homelessness Act was being hampered by failure of social services to share information."
State looks for places to help mentally ill (Massachusetts) Daily News Tribune story - "State officials yesterday were trying to determine where 4,900 severely mentally ill people would go for intensive therapy now that they've been taken off the Medicaid rolls in a cost-cutting move by the governor. Roseanne Pawelec, spokeswoman for the office of Health and Human Services, said the Department of Mental Health was reviewing how many of the 4,900 people would be eligible for DMH services."
Advocates: Cuts will be disaster for mentally ill (Massachusetts) Boston Herald story - "Thousands of patients with mental illness will be on their own April 1 as a result of Gov. Mitt Romney's decision to cut funding for day treatment centers. About 40 such centers around the state, each serving about 50 patients, will be forced to shut down."
