Tuesday, June 24, 2003

NMHA Provides Five Communities With Grants to Address the Needs of Families Living With Mental Illness
NMHA press release - "The National Mental Health Association is awarding five Invisible Children’s Project grants to communities nationwide to address the needs of families in which a parent has a mental illness. The Invisible Children’s Project is designed to provide access to mental health services, help parents in their parenting role, maintain family stability, and prevent youth from developing mental health or related problems." See also the press release NMHA Provides Crisis Response Planning Grants to Six Communities.  
  

Medicare Drug Benefit Calculator
This new online calculator from the Kaiser Family Foundation "allows users to enter their prescription drug costs to determine what they would pay under leading Medicare reform proposals being considered in the House and Senate."  
  

NAMI
The NAMI web site has made a major overhaul, boasting a new design, new content and an easier navigation system for finding resources at the site. See, especially, It's Healthcare, Not Welfare on the Oklahoma Health Care Authority recent report on a potential solution to meeting basic healthcare needs for many of Oklahoma's uninsured and Action Looms On Medicare Prescription Drugs Legislation in the Policy-Advocacy-Action section. A low graphics version of the site is also available.  
  

Health care task forces to apply study results (Florida)
Keysnews.com story on a Monroe county task force "created to explore better ways to provide health care is offering 15 recommendations and an action plan it says can be used as a road map for health care providers and social service agencies. ... Recommendations include additional school-based health services, more mental health and substance-abuse services, expanded access to licensed in-home services, adult day care and assisted-living facilities throughout the county, and a greater focus on abuse of children, adults and elderly. "  
  

Black Women Mental-Health Needs Unmet (California)
Women's e-News story on the California Black Women's Health Project - "Sixty percent of African American women suffer from depression, but few seek professional help because of the communal stigma and because there are few providers specializing in African American issues. Now, new mental health initiatives are reaching out ."  
  

Mental health centers lacking oversight (Utah)
Salt Lake Tribune story - "Utah's publicly funded mental health system lacks fiscal oversight but a legislative audit, released Monday, stopped short of citing any misuse of funds. The audit, reported to the Legislative Audit Committee on Monday, found 'insufficient' oversight of the 10 state-funded mental health centers by the counties that operate them. "