April 2015 Additional articles, videos, and information from around the nation
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New Mexico Senator: Assisted Outpatient Treatment Saves Money, Lives
http://watchdog.org/198778/assisted-outpatient-treatment/
Police and the Mentally Ill: LAPD Unit Praised as Model for the Nation
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/03/09/50245/police-and-the-mentally-ill-lapd-unit-praisedas-m/
Racing Against the Clock, Heaton Tries to Stall Institute Closures
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/29/iowa-mental-healthinstitutes-closure/70621356/
Des Moines Register: Medicaid Plan Is Gift For Private Firms
From Social Security to Medicare, Republicans have pushed to privatize government entitlements. Now
Gov. Terry Branstad seeks to hand over management of Iowa’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program to a few
private companies. The public should be skeptical. The more than 500,000 poor and disabled individuals
and families in Iowa who rely on Medicaid should be asking questions. The federal government should
be reluctant to approve the waiver that Iowa needs to privatize a program funded by state and federal
dollars. (3/22)
Mentally Ill Seniors Shifted Out of State Institution
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2015/03/25/seniors-moved-clarindainstitution/70462902/
Her Name was Kylee Forrest http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-blog/124-
tx/2769-her-name-was-kylee-forrest
Guardian Recalls Joy from 4 year old, would call ‘Dad, my Dad!’ before death
http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2015-02-03/guardian-recalls-joy-4-year-old-would-calldad-my-dad-death#.VOpwm_nF_jj
Early Cognitive Decline Predicts Later Psychosis in Children with a DNA Deletion Syndrome
https://bbrfoundation.org/brain-matters-discoveries/early-cognitive-decline-predicts-laterpsychosis-in-children-with-a-dna?utm_source=eNews+List&utm_campaign=fcf4afc850eNews_3_25_2015_A_B_Test&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fb7d503c0e-fcf4afc850159733549
Proposed Diversion Program Would Keep Mentally Ill Out of Jail, In the Fold
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/292238491.html
10 Years Later, LA’s Skid Row Remains an Urban Dystopia
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-skids-20150304-column.html?lat#page=1
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It’s Time to Stop Recycling the Mentally Ill http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-
us/our-blog/103-mn/2778-its-time-to-stop-recycling-the-mentally-ill
Shocking Video of Police Shooting Shows Why We Need to Talk About How Cops Deal With the
Mentally Ill http://fusion.net/story/105371/shocking-video-shows-why-we-need-to-talk-about-
how-police-deal-with-the-mentally-ill/
Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis Improves Functioning, Recovery, Study Finds
http://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/coordinated-specialty-care-for-first.html
Iowa Needs Long Range Plan for Mental Health System http://www.press-
citizen.com/story/opinion/contributors/guest-editorials/2015/02/22/iowa-needs-long-rangeplan-mental-health-system/23767363/
The Des Moines Register: Ratings Drop For Nearly Quarter Of Iowa Nursing Homes
Nearly a quarter of Iowa's nursing homes will see their performance ratings drop as a result of changes
in the way the federal government assesses standards of care at long-term care facilities. The revamped
ratings, which will be posted Friday on the government's popular Nursing Home Compare website, raise
the bar on what criteria must be met to achieve a top score on its five-star scale. (Kummer, 2/20)
Teen Suicide and the Oscars http://www.childmind.org/en/press/brainstorm/teen-suicide-and-
oscars-graham-moore
Preventing Suicide with a ‘Contagion of Strength’
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/02/25/385418961/preventing-suicide-with-a-contagion-ofstrength
Two Urbandale Middle School Girls Commit Suicide
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2015/02/24/urbandale-middleschool-suicides/23967273/
Statement Released by Friends of Veteran Found Dead at Park
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2015/02/24/friendsstatement-richard-miles-veteran/23972549/
Where Virginia's Mental Health System Failed
Washington Post--NAMI Mary Giliberti
Mental wellness warriors: Fighting for those who need it most
CNN (Jan. 17) Demi Lovato and Fred Frese listed--refers to NAMI convention in Sept.
Depression a rising concern among seniors
Orlando Sentinel (syndicated)--NAMI Ken Duckworth
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The Des Moines Register: Health Groups Urge Caution On Medicaid Privatization
Representatives of hospitals, doctors and nursing homes joined with patient advocates Wednesday to
urge the Iowa House to pass a bill giving legislators some oversight of the state's shift to privately
managed Medicaid. "If managed care is done right, it can do some important and innovative measures
to improve quality and access, as well as reducing costs," said Mary Nelle Trefz, a lobbyist for the Child
and Family Policy Center. "But that's an important caveat: If it's done right." (Leys, 3/25)
The Associated Press: Groups Express Support For Iowa Bill On Medicaid Oversight
The Iowa Legislature should have more oversight of this year's plans to transition the state's Medicaid
program into private managed care, representatives for several medical groups told a House panel
Wednesday. (Rodriguez, 3/25)
Three Cops, a 17-Year-Old and 'A Cry For Help': Why Did Kristiana Coignard Die?
Guardian--NAMI Ron Honberg
Va. inmate had been restrained, fitted with anti-spitting mask before death
Washington Post *NAMI Ron Honberg
Patient Advocates Seek Open-ness on Mental Hospital Closures
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2015/03/27/mental-health-institutesdisability-rights-iowa/70567862/
Senator Rand Paul Clarifies Remark about Disabled
Washington Post--NAMI Ron Honberg
GAO Audit finds big gaps in funding for mental health
Cox TV News stations--NAMI Ron Honberg (video)
NPR: New York City To Teens: TXT ME With Mental Health Worries
The majority of teenagers with mental health issues don't get help. But maybe if help were just a text
message away — they wouldn't be so hesitant to reach out. That's the thinking behind NYC Teen Text, a
pilot program at 10 New York public high schools that allows teens to get help with mental health issues
by text. (Singh, 3/27)
Iowa Plans to Close 2 of its 4 Mental Institutions; Advocates Worry about Potential Problems
Associated Press--NAMI Ron Honberg
After Years Of Spending Cuts to Mental Health Programs, Lawmakers Have Begun to Boost
Funding for the Most Effective Approaches
Insurance News Net--NAMI Andrew Sperling and State Legislative Report
Kansas latest to engage in mental health drug debate
Salina Post--NAMI Andrew Sperling
Obama Administration to Investigate Insurers
NY Times--NAMI Andrew Sperling
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Bipolar Teen's Death Highlights Frequency of Violent Encounters w/Police
Yahoo News--NAMI Laura Usher
Colonial Health Center opening paves way for peer-support program
GWU Hatchet--NAMI Darcy Gruttadaro
"Five Priorities for Addressing Mental Illness" - guest column
“I'm tired of hearing stories from suffering families,” writes Liza Long. “It's time for the experts to sit
down and have a real conversation about mental illness.” READ IT ALL...
"Severe Mental Illness Brought My Son to His Knees" - personally speaking
I am forced to live without my son. It’s still difficult to talk about what happened to Joshua, but I’m
speaking up to help others. Senator Murphy’s bill would clarify HIPAA and help hurting people like my
son and my family. READ IT ALL...
"More Mental Health Courts, More 'Human Kindness'"
Paton Blough spoke candidly to a Senate subcommittee last week about the criminal acts he committed
while suffering from untreated bipolar disorder and urged support for a proposal that would establish
more mental health courts in South Carolina. Indeed, increasing the number of mental health courts is
not only the smart thing to do, it is the kind thing to do. READ IT ALL...
5 Things to Know About Eating Disorders http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/eating-disorders/5-
things-know-about-eating-disorders?GUID=63C890DD-0158-4259-AF50FFE3D61EE098&rememberme=1&ts=27022015
Meet the 91-year-old whose wartime PTSD makes him the perfect guide for today’s veterans
They come into our office at the VA hospital in Montrose, N.Y., hesitantly. Eyes filled with doubt, hands
restless. They want us to help them file compensation claims for disabilities resulting from their military
service. Some have debilitating physical injuries, but almost every one also displays mannerisms —
fidgeting in their seats, knees bobbing up and down during interviews, avoiding eye contact — that
indicate that they have PTSD. The symptoms jump out at me because I have lived with PTSD for more
than 70 years. Read full article »
The Associated Press: Workers At State Mental Health Facility Get Layoff Notices
Layoff notices are going out to employees at a state mental health institution in Mount Pleasant that is
slated for closure. [Iowa] Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy McCoy says Thursday that
notices had gone out to 36 workers. The layoffs will be effective April 6. There currently are about 74
people working at the facility. (3/5)
Mental health: Gaps remain in juvenile mental health care- The Las Cruces Sun-News
"Nationally, between 60 to 70 percent of kids in the juvenile justice system have a mental health
disorder and roughly 90 percent have experienced at least one traumatic event," said Terri Williams,
deputy secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections in a news statement from July 28, 2014. This
falls closely in line with what child psychiatrist George Davis said recently in a phone interview. Davis,
the director of CYFD juvenile justice services based in Albuquerque, has vast experience in the
adolescent juvenile justice population and said that he believes 90 percent have been "severely
compromised and are victims of neglect and abuse." More here.
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The Des Moines Register: Is Medicaid Privatization About Money Or Health?
Iowa Medicaid leaders stress that the main reason they're shifting the $4 billion program to private
management is because they hope doing so will improve participants' health. But some people fear the
real point is to save serious money by limiting services. At a public hearing in Des Moines Friday,
Department of Human Services Director Charles Palmer called the shift "a major venture" and "a
journey." The department plans to turn over most of the state's Medicaid program to two to four
managed care companies, starting next January. (Leys, 3/6)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Needs To Get A Handle On Medicaid Costs
The way Iowa provides health care for its neediest citizens is about to change dramatically, and I am
concerned it may lead to lower-quality care at a higher cost to Iowa taxpayers. Some 564,000 lowincome Iowans are covered by the state Medicaid program, which costs $4.2 billion per year. ...
Currently, Iowa runs its own Medicaid program under a “fee-for-service” model for the majority of the
Medicaid patients in the state. Gov. Terry Branstad and the director of the Iowa Department of Human
Services, Charles Palmer, want to move Iowa Medicaid to a “managed-care” model administered by
private companies. (State Rep. John Forbes, 3/9)
Four Factors That Lead to (or Protect Against) Suicide
http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/conference-365/2015/03/09/four-factors-lead-protectsuicide/
"Mental Illness on Trial" to Screen March 19 in Manhattan
"Mental Illness on Trial," the latest mental health documentary produced by the Treatment Advocacy
Center, will premiere March 19 as an official selection of the Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York
City.
"What we set out to do was frame the story of how mental illness became criminalized in America and
punctuate it with a personal story,” says Dr. Gary Tsai, a member of the Treatment Advocacy Center’s
Psychiatric Advisory Board and co-director of the documentary. “The result was powerful, and we're
grateful that the Socially Relevant Film Festival will bring it to a larger audience."
The video features former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn
Stratton and psychiatrists Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D.,
and Sally Satel, M.D., describing the forces that
produced today's grim mental health landscape,
where half a million people with untreated serious
psychiatric disease live on the streets or behind bars.
Woven throughout is the personal journey of codirector Doris A. Fuller’s family.
Full release of the documentary will follow later in
2015. Click here to watch the one-minute trailer.
Leashing the Black Dog: My Struggle With
Depression
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http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/03/09/leashing-the-black-dog-my-struggle-withdepression/
Senate OK’s bills Opposing Branstad’s mental health plans
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/11/iowa-mental-healthbills/70181328/
USA Today: Policing Mentally Ill Overshadowed By Race Debate
Deep in a White House examination of policing tactics is a recommendation that left unaddressed,
officials say, will contribute to continued fractures in law enforcement's relationship with the public,
similar to the racial divide.The report by the Task Force on 21st Century Policing urged authorities to
offer training to deal with a disturbing number of violent encounters between police and the mentally
ill. And, the panel concluded, Congress should pay for it. (Johnson, 3/12)
JAMA Pediatrics: Widening Rural-Urban Disparities In Youth Suicides, United States, 1996-2010
[Researchers sought to] examine trends in US suicide mortality for adolescents and young adults across
the rural-urban continuum. ... Longitudinal trends in suicide rates by rural and urban areas between
January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2010, were analyzed using county-level national mortality data
linked to a rural-urban continuum measure that classified all 3141 counties in the United States ....
Across the study period, 66 595 youths died by suicide, and rural suicide rates were nearly double those
of urban areas for both males (19.93 and 10.31 per 100 000, respectively) and females (4.40 and 2.39
per 100 000, respectively). Even after controlling for a wide array of county-level variables, rural-urban
suicide differentials increased over time for males. (Fontanella et al., 3/9)
Why solitary confinement is a form of modern-day torture - Fusion
As of 2013, there were 80,000 men and women in solitary confinement in the United States, some of
them as young as 14 years old. In this illustrated op-ed video, artist Molly Crabapple explains the
psychological and physical trauma suffered by those forced to spend 22-24 hours a day alone sometimes for arbitrary reasons, like reading the wrong book, or having the wrong tattoo - in a grey,
concrete box. (According to the U.N. 15 days in solitary is torture.) "There is no limit to how long
someone can be held in solitary confinement," says Crabappple. "And very little evidence is needed to
justify holding a person in solitary indefinitely." More here.
This Is My Brave, founded locally in Virginia. We all know the power of storytelling…so many of
us in the MHA community have personal stories of mental health and mental illness, and many
have run programs highlighting those important stories. This is My Brave is a local non-profit
that puts on a live presentation of touching essays, original music, and poetry performed by
individuals living with―or loving someone with―a mental illness. As they say on their website
“The power of the human connection through the telling of personal experiences will grab hold
of the audience for the show’s ninety minutes and beyond.”
This is What Teen Depression Looks Like http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elise-jamison/this-is-
what-depression-l_b_6830810.html
Mental Health Diversion Practices Work http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-
blog/92-id/2791-mental-health-diversion-practices-work-
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Advocates Urge Lawmakers to Improve System, not just new prison
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865623810/Advocates-urge-lawmakers-to-improvesystem-not-just-new-prison.html?pg=all
Police Shooting of Mentally Ill Homeless Man Symptom of Failed Mental Health System
http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-blog/85-california/2784-policeshooting-of-mentally-ill-homeless-man-symptom-of-failed-mental-health-system
MinnPost: Legislative Proposals For Mental Health Include Crisis Teams, First-Episode Care
The Minnesota Department of Human Services’ mental health proposals for the 2015 legislative session
focus on further strengthening the state’s mental health system — and filling gaps in coverage in many
regions of the state. The set of legislative strategy proposals, which focus on the needs of children and
adults, acknowledge that mental-health concerns are a growing issue statewide. Mental illness affects
one in four Minnesotans, the proposals claim, saying state budgets must be adjusted to reflect that
reality and support new systems designed to address the needs of the thousands in the state living with
mental illness. (Steiner, 3/13)
The Des Moines Register: Four More Hospital Systems Form ACOs
Iowa’s largest health insurer continues to add hospital systems to its collection of health-care providers
that have signed accountable care organization contracts. (Leys, 3/16)
The Associated Press: Police Shootings Of Mentally Ill Reveal Gaps In Care
Police crisis intervention efforts and diversion courts are helpful in stemming the violence, but those on
the front lines say states need innovative programs and more must be done to get people early and
provide preventative care to curtail explosive moments of crisis. (Warren, 3/19)
The Associated Press: Iowa DHS Leader Defends Changes To Medicaid
The head of the Iowa Department of Human Services on Thursday defended the decision to close two
state mental health facilities and switch the state's Medicaid program to private management, saying
the changes will save money and offer people better care. DHS Director Charles Palmer told the Senate
Human Resources Committee that the department was facing budget shortfalls when he recommended
closing the facilities in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. (Rodriguez, 3/20)
The Des Moines Register: Stand Up For Mental Health Services, Joan Becker Urges
Iowa families affected by mental illness need to speak up to keep the state from cutting precious
services, Joan Becker said at a Statehouse rally Thursday. Becker has campaigned statewide and
nationally for improved mental health care since shortly after her mentally ill son, Mark, fatally shot
Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas in 2009. She maintains that her son did not receive the
treatment he needed for schizophrenia and other troubles before his delusions led him to kill his former
coach and longtime family friend. He is now serving a life prison sentence. (Leys, 3/19)
Empire’s Brave Bipolar Journey http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/empires-brave-
bipolar-journey-403#axzz3UwUygiSi
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Cleveland Woman, with Mental Illness, Died After Police Used Takedown Move, Brother Says
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/cleveland_woman_with_mental_il_1.htm
l
Hundreds Shut Down Decatur, for #AnthonyHill, U.S. Veteran Killed by Police
http://newsone.com/3097687/anthony-hill-protest-decatur-georgia/
More Training Sought After Fatal Shooting by Milwaukee Police
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/autopsy-planned-thursday-on-man-shot-by-policeat-red-arrow-park-b99260307z1-257512561.html
14 Mentally Ill Individuals Killed by Cops in 2014 http://reason.com/blog/2014/08/20/mentally-ill-
killed-by-cops
Rural Youth Suicides Almost Double Rates in Urban Areas
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/rural-youth-suicides_n_6867420.html
Brain Networks Differ Among Those With Severe Schizophrenia, Study Shows
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-brain-networks-differ-severe-schizophrenia.html
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