Thursday, December 30, 2004

Jail mental health unit gets a needed reprieve (Massachusetts)
Story in The Republican - "In a state prison system that has come under heavy criticism for its emphasis on warehousing inmates rather than rehabilitating them, Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr. stands out as someone who is getting it right. One of the ways the sheriff gets it right dates back to 1994 when he established an acute-care unit at the jail for an estimated 25 percent of inmates with mental-health problems..."  
  

New law allows court-ordered treatment for mentally ill (Florida)
Story in the Sun Sentinel on a new law that takes effect Jan. 1 - "Until now, the state could commit a mentally ill person only if a judge deemed the person a threat to themselves or others. Short of that risk, a person was released. Under the change, Florida courts will be able to order that mentally ill people undergo community-based treatment if they have a history of not taking their medications and have behaved violently once in the past three years."