Friday, July 18, 2003
Campaign for Mental Health Reform July 14 NMHA press release - "As America’s public mental health system faces its greatest crisis since World War II, The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, NAMI, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and National Mental Health Association announce the formation of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform. The Campaign will work to address the nation’s failing mental health system and to aggressively advocate for much needed change. The Campaign founders and 12 other partners strive to make access, quality and recovery the hallmark of our nation’s mental health system."
Mentally ill children face life without necessary services Op/ed column in
USA Today by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee - "While no law requires parents to give up custody of their children to access mental health services, this sometimes is the only answer for families who cannot qualify for Medicaid. Some states have passed laws to limit or prohibit custody relinquishment. But simply banning the practice is not a solution, because mentally ill children and their families remain without the services and care they require. What we need instead is a coordinated system of community-based and home-based services so children can remain with their families while receiving care..."
Gene Causes Depression After Stress, Study Finds Reuters Health story at
Yahoo - "Having a short version of a certain gene may make people more susceptible to depression after stressful events such as losing a job or a loved one, researchers said on Thursday. People only have to inherit one copy of the gene, from either parent, to become more vulnerable to depression, the researchers in Britain, New Zealand and the United States found. The finding, published in Friday's issue of the journal
Science, could be the first to show stress as an environmental factor in causing disease..."
Welfare of children in state lags behind rest of nation, study says (California) Mercury News story - "California's 9 million children lagged the rest of the nation's youngsters in physical, mental and educational well-being, even during the boom years of the late 1990s, when children typically were faring better, according to a new report released today. California's higher rates of immigration and poverty helped fuel the disparities, according to the report by the Public Policy Institute of California, which based its study on the 1999 National Survey of American Families. ... the state ranked particularly low in providing mental health services to children. Only 21 percent of California children with serious behavioral problems were receiving services, compared with 30 percent nationally." At the Public Policy Institute of California web site, you can view or download the
full report and a
research brief (both in
Adobe Acrobat format).
Report on Mental Health Due UPI story at
iVillage.com that provides an overview of the work of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health - "Mental health advocates are hoping a soon-to-be-released presidential commission report on the nation's beleaguered public mental health system will drastically change how adults and children receive treatment."
Rowland to release some mental health funding (Connecticut) Stamford Advocate story - "Amid concerns that the state's budget impasse could force some local agencies to cut mental health and addiction programs, Gov. John G. Rowland has decided to release some state funding to them. Rowland will send out checks next week to eight private, not-for-profit local mental health authorities across the state, according to a letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press."
