Thursday, February 17, 2005
Incarceration of Youth Who Are Waiting for Community Mental Health Services in California A report (in
Adobe Acrobat format) from the US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform - Minority Staff Special Investigations Unit - " The U.S. Surgeon General has found that debilitating mental disorders affect one in five U.S. youth, but access to effective treatment is often limited. This report documents what happens to California youth with mental illnesses when treatment is not available. It finds that hundreds of California youth are inappropriately incarcerated every day to wait for community mental health services." The report was brought to our attention at the
Open Minds web site.
$6.3 Million Available to Fund Family and Juvenile Drug Courts SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds for family and juvenile treatment drug courts. These grants will provide funding to be used by treatment providers and the courts to provide alcohol and drug treatment, and services to support treatment, including assessment, case management and program coordination for those in need of treatment drug court services."
$22 Million Available for Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds for cooperative agreements to develop integrated home and community-based services and supports for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families. It is expected that approximately $22 million will be available to fund up to 22 cooperative agreements to encourage the development and expansion of effective and enduring systems of care. The annual award amount will be approximately $1 million in total costs (direct and indirect) for year one; $1.5 million for year two; $2 million for year three; $2 million for year four; $1.5 million for year five and $1 million for year six. The actual award amount may vary, depending on the availability of funds. The cooperative agreements will be administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services."
Disparities Toolkit The Health Research and Educational Trust "with its partners, is pleased to present this toolkit for collecting race, ethnicity, and primary language information in health care organizations. It is designed to help hospitals, health systems, community health centers, health plans, and other potential users in understanding the importance of accurate data collection, assessing organizational capacity to do so, and implementing a framework designed specifically for obtaining information from patients/enrollees about their race, ethnicity, and primary (preferred) language efficiently, effectively, and respectfully."
Rising health costs could bankrupt state, Perry says (Texas) Houston Chronicle story - "Rising health care costs will soon bankrupt Texas and other states without help from the federal government and private employers, Gov. Rick Perry said Monday. Perry said the federal government must increase federal funding for Medicaid and give the states more flexibility over the health care program for the poor. At the same time, he added, Texas needs to find a way for more private employers to purchase health care coverage for their workers..."
Senators Question Adequacy of Bush Budget for Veterans New York Times story - "Senators of both parties said on Tuesday that President Bush's budget for veterans' health care would not provide enough money to maintain services at current levels, much less care for thousands of veterans streaming back to the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan. Five veterans groups, including the American Legion, denounced a proposal in Mr. Bush's budget that would double the co-payment charged to many veterans for prescription drugs and require some to pay a new fee of $250 a year for the privilege of using government health care. Senator Larry E. Craig, Republican of Idaho, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said the Department of Veterans Affairs would need more than the $30.7 billion for medical care in Mr. Bush's budget just 'to maintain current levels of service' in 2006." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
F.D.A. to Create Advisory Board on Drug Safety New York Times article - "Responding to widespread criticism of the government's handling of drug safety problems, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it was creating a board to advise it on drug complications and to warn patients about unsafe drugs. Dr. Lester M. Crawford, the acting commissioner of the drug agency, said the board would be made up of scientists drawn from throughout the federal government. The board, which is to make its conclusions public on a Web page, will not have independent power to force the withdrawal of drugs but will simply advise the F.D.A., Dr. Crawford said. In addition, he said, the agency will soon tap into large databases, including those at the Medicare agency, to uncover dangerous side effects in drugs already on the market. The agency said it would increase the number of fact sheets that patients receive with prescriptions." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Gov. Blunt slammed for mental health budget cuts (Missouri) Joplin Independent story - "Governor Matt Blunt’s Fiscal Year 2006 budget recommendations would slash nearly $41 million from the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s general revenue for community treatment and rehabilitation services. Psychiatric services and alcohol and drug treatment programs would lose an additional $20 million in federal funds because of the reduction in state matching funds. An additional $24 million in federal funds for mental retardation and developmental disability services would be lost. Thousands of Missouri’s citizens would be affected by this $85 million loss in funding."
$70M OK'd for mental health (Pennsylvania) Bucks County Courier Times story - "In what could be the largest single county contract awarded this year, the Bucks County commissioners approved a $70 million deal Wednesday with a Newtown Township company to manage mental health services and drug counseling for thousands of people. The move renews an existing contract with Magellan Behavioral Health to continue coordinating such services for Bucks for two years. The money comes from the state, which sets aside funding for Bucks to provide various mental health services to people who qualify for Medicaid assistance."
Bill seeks mental-health audit (Arizona) Arizona Republic story - "Legislators want the state's auditor general to investigate whether taxpayers are getting their money's worth from a $1.3 billion mental-health contract. Under a bill sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, the audit would look at how ValueOptions and the Arizona Department of Health Services provide services to the Valley's mentally ill. The legislation, House Bill 2413, which passed the Government Reform and Government Finance Accountability Committee on Wednesday, is the latest in a string of calls for more oversight of the system that provides care to about 50,000 people..."
