Monday, November 04, 2002

Drug court: Another weapon in the fight (North Carolina)
Courier-Tribune story - "Another weapon in the fight against drugs was quietly introduced into Randolph County in March. Authorities are optimistic the program, called Drug Treatment Court, will benefit the community in the long run more than imprisoning substance abusers."  
  

Congress OKs health safety net measures
American Medical News story - "While most health care legislation got stuck in partisan gridlock this year, a bill expanding the health care safety net is one of the few to get signed into law. But communities in need of the help may have to wait a while longer, because Congress has yet to appropriate the funds needed to implement the programs."  
  

Presidential panel finds US mental health system 'dysfunctional'
Reuters Health story - "America's system for treating and rehabilitating persons with mental illness is in financial and bureaucratic disarray and is plagued by complexities that make it nearly impossible for many patients to receive needed care, according to a report issued Friday by a presidential mental health commission."  
  

Budget rule fuels spending (Iowa)
Des Moines Register story - "Iowa counties are considering spending more on mental-health and disability services to hang on to state money under a new use-it-or-lose-it rule, a maneuver that landed Johnson County in hot water. ... The talk stems from a 2001 state rule that says counties with a certain amount of money remaining at the end of a fiscal year receive less the following year for mental-health and developmental disability services. All but 16 counties in Iowa got less money than expected in fiscal 2002 under the new guidelines, which were meant to help solve state budget problems."  
  

State mental health pioneer dies at 89 (Oklahoma)
NewsOK.com on the death of Dr. Hayden H. Donahue, "the man credited with revolutionizing the treatment of Oklahoma's mentally ill."