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April 20, 2007 Topics
in the Update: Special Housing Unit (SHU) Bill Update and Settlement Information Press Conference and Rally This was a very busy week for us in the Capitol between the issues of Jonathan’s Law (note April 18th mental health update) and the Special Housing Units (SHU) bill for people in prison with psychiatric disabilities. The SHU bill has long been a priority to MHANYS and our membership across New York State. There was a very well attended press conference and rally held this past Tuesday in Albany on the SHU bill. On top of family members telling their dramatic story about their loved one’s life in solitary confinement in the SHU, the chief sponsors of the Assembly and Senate were also in attendance. Senator Michael Nozzolio made it clear that he was going to continue his leadership in fighting for the SHU bill in the Senate. Assembly sponsor, Jefferion Aubry also clearly articulated his stance in support of the SHU bill. Both sponsors have shown real leadership on this issue. The rally was a moving testament to the people across the country who have taken their own lives because of being housed in these special housing units in prisons. Settlement Agreement On the same day as the rally, Disability Advocates, Prisoner’s Legal Services, Prisoner’s Rights Projects of the Legal Aid Society and the law firm of Davis, Polk and Wardwell announced the tentative settlement agreement with the state that increases treatment and housing for inmates with mental illness in prisons. This lawsuit was originally filed in federal court in NYC on May, 2002. It was brought about originally in response to the treatment of prisoners with mental illness being held in 23 hour a day lockdowns in Special Housing Units. Among the tentative results of the settlement are:
There are several other initiatives which will be detailed when the official agreement is announced. The final agreement before U.S. District Judge Gerald Lynch is scheduled for April 27, 2007. The work of the litigants and the state in developing a settlement agreement will have a positive impact for many years to come for people currently in the SHU’s especially around residential programs and improved mental health screenings. There have been several people ‘in the trenches’ who have worked on this litigation for many years and we are all very appreciative of their tireless efforts on behalf of individuals with psychiatric disabilities living in prisons. However, there are several parts of the SHU legislation not addressed in the settlement agreement including a strong oversight component and training for correction officers. Also, notably, though it is an improvement to lessen solitary confinement from 23 hours to 22, we believe that SHU’s should be completely eliminated for people with psychiatric disabilities in prison. We will continue to work with the bills sponsors to fight for passage of strong SHU legislation. With Bob Corliss joining the staff of MHANYS, much of his time for the rest of legislative session will be dedicated to this issue.
Reaction to Virginia Tech Shooting: Our hearts go out to the individuals who lost their lives in the shooting at Virginia Tech. All of us feel great sympathy for their families and friends. As we find out more and more, we are very moved by the courage of many people who gave their own lives so that other could live. We are also mindful that this is an especially vulnerable time for many individuals. Earlier this week, we distributed some guidelines from our national organization, Mental Health America that will help in providing coping skills for educators and families. We also know that in times like these, there is often a rush to judgment. We are very concerned that this is reflected in the media coverage by stigmatizing people with psychiatric disabilities. People with psychiatric disabilities are being painted by many as violent and maniacal---bringing back those old, ugly stereotypes. As if the 1 in 5 people in the United States with a diagnosed mental illness are all ‘teetering on the edge’ and are in desperate need of either a psychiatric hospital or prison. We know in most cases that nothing could be further from the truth. Time and time again when a tragedy arises, all the daily stories that comprise a life of courage and resiliency for people with psychiatric disabilities are ignored and instead the stigma of mental illness rears its ugly head. Our great hope is that when the vitriol of stereotyping people with psychiatric disabilities has lessened that we can have a serious dialogue about the thing that really matter—creating a mental health system that insures people with psychiatric disabilities receive services based on a comprehensive model of care with a philosophy of recovery. This is the best way to eradicate the stigma of mental illness. -Glenn Liebman- Listed below is a statement from David Shern, the President and CEO of Mental Health America Mental
Health America Warns Public to Avoid Diagnosing or Profiling Others
as a Reaction to the Virginia Tech Shootings ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 18, 2007) - The shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University affects Americans across the nation. As individuals, campuses and communities come together to respond to this tragedy, Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) warns the public - students, children, adults, educators and community leaders alike - to avoid diagnosing others with mental health problems or engaging in other "profiling." Wondering or discussing classmates, neighbors and colleagues mental health or potential for violence is not a productive way to deal with feelings of anxiety and fear. When disasters of any type occur many people react with a range of emotions - from anger, fear, depression and ‘numbness'; however, it is important to come together with friends and families to cope with these feelings productively and not begin diagnosing, profiling or asking ‘what if' questions that can be damaging and counterproductive to improving feelings of wellbeing and community safety. While it is important to share any suspicious incidents or behaviors with people in authority, this is a time to come together and support other students, friends and family members who may be struggling - rather than questioning their behaviors and possibly isolating others who are struggling with this tragedy. If feelings are overwhelming, help and support is available. Mental Health America can connect people with community resources and information. For information, please call 800-969-6642 or visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/.
MHANYS
Reception on May 3rd Featuring Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month with the MHANYS Reception and Silent Auction on May 3rd at the State Room in Albany. The event features Pete Earley, former Washington Post Reporter, and best selling author of Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health System. For more information and registration, log onto www.mhanys.org
IN THE NEWS: Settlement
Gives Mentally Ill Inmates More Treatment Targeted Toward Those
in Solitary Confinement ALBANY — As advocacy groups announced a lawsuit settlement Tuesday that will grant mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement more treatment, others called on the state to end the practice of isolating prisoners with psychiatric disabilities. The settlement, which has to be approved by the court, requires that severely mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement, known as the "box," receive at least two hours a day in out-of-cell treatment. The state will set up residential programs for 405 prisoners with serious mental illness, which are in addition to 310 beds the state made available after litigation began in 2002. Inmates in a 100-bed residential unit, part of the 405 total, will get four hours of out-of-cell programming, in addition to an hour of recreation. "It's going to make a tremendous difference. Currently, there are people with serious mental illness who are very, very ill in SHU(special housing units), receiving little treatment, and many of those people are discharged directly from those solitary confinement cells to the street," said Cliff Zucker, executive director of Disability Advocates Inc., which brought the lawsuit against the state. "And, obviously that's not good for the mentally ill individuals, nor is it good for the safety of the general population. So it's in everybody's interest to have good mental-health treatment in the prison system," he said. Former inmates who spent time in the "box," families, prisoners' rights groups and lawmakers said Tuesday that the settlement and about $54 million included in this year's budget for mentally ill inmates will make conditions better but more improvements are needed. Keeping people with psychiatric disabilities in isolation units amounts to torture and often exacerbates their illness, they said. They cited cases in which inmates have taken their own lives under those conditions and put the safety of correction officers and others at risk. Senate Corrections Committee Chairman Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, Seneca County, said he would move legislation to do that out of his committee next week. Assembly Corrections Committee Chairman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens, is the sponsor in his house. Lawmakers passed the bill last year but former Gov. George Pataki vetoed it. "We want the prisons in this state to be safer and more humane. That is our bottom line," Nozzolio said. The legislation calls for giving correction officers training on how to work with severely mentally ill inmates and requires outside oversight of how those prisoners are treated. "The winds of the budgetary climate change daily so that what may be policy today could be changed tomorrow. If you have in place a statute, that makes it ironclad, at least ... it will be much more permanent," Nozzolio said. Gov. Eliot Spitzer and lawmakers set aside more than $50 million for construction of special housing this year and about $2 million more each to hire staff in the Office of Mental Health staff and Department of Correctional Services. Funds for new Office of Mental Health staffing will grow to $9 million when construction is completed. "Through a considerable investment of state resources in the budget this year, the Spitzer administration has committed to providing significant improvements to the services and housing available for mentally ill inmates," said Christine Pritchard, a Spitzer spokeswoman. "In addition, we have agreed to a settlement agreement which will enact historical reforms in the manner in which mentally ill individuals are treated in the correctional system." Spitzer's office did not respond to a request for comment on the Nozzolio/Aubry bill. The state Attorney General's Office believes the settlement agreement is fair, said agency spokesman Arthur Harris. Part of the settlement calls for a review disciplinary sentences for mentally ill prisoners for the purpose of removing them from solitary confinement. Barbara Smalls of West Hempstead, Long Island, said change can't come soon enough for her 22-year-old son, Wayne Smalls, who has bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other psychiatric problems. He was due to be released in June from Southport Correctional Facility in Chemung County, but now he won't get out until next April. He was about to come out of solitary confinement but was sentenced to additional time for poor behavior related to his disabilities, his mom said. He was doing well and trying to get an education - he had increased his reading level to grade 6 or 7, up from grade 4 - but now, "being in that dark dungeon he doesn't have that self-esteem anymore," his mother said. "I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. I know how far he came and there's nothing I can do," she said. These are additional provisions in the settlement agreement between Disability Advocates Inc. and the state:
Source: Disability Advocates Inc., Prisoners' Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society, Prisoners' Legal Services of New York, the law firm of David Polk & Wardwell.
Helping
Foster Children Become Better Parents Amy Cooper sits in a circle with seven pregnant women and one new mother demonstrating the techniques of infant massage. Massage, she explains, can be a valuable tool to help a newborn deal with tension and stress, sleep more and cry less, and connect with a mother in a physical way. One woman seems surprised and slightly nervous about the idea that babies liked to be touched. "Some of us have negative experiences with touch, like if it was used to punish us," Cooper says. "For moms who haven't had good experiences, baby massage can be a positive way to respond to your baby when he or she is upset. Rather than neglecting or hurting your baby, you can massage.” The women in the group understand: They are all teenagers, all live in foster care, and most have experienced abuse and neglect themselves. Cooper’s class at Inwood House, a group home for pregnant and teenage mothers, is one of a handful of initiatives in New York City that aim to stop generational cycles of abuse by working with young moms. Like the massage class, many of these programs focus on educating mothers living in foster care. HELPING
CHILDREN WITH CHILDREN The national Nurse-Family Partnership has long helped low-income, first-time mothers learn to parent. In October, it started a special project in New York City to recruit girls who are in foster care, homeless, or coming out of jail from Rikers Island. The program works with the youth development programs at the Administration for Children’s Services and at foster care agencies to reach the teen parents. “We’re targeting them because these moms are more vulnerable,” says Julia Carter, a supervisor of the program. “They have all the questions any new mother would have, but less support.” Each expectant mom in the Nurse-Family Partnership is assigned a nurse, who visits with the mother while she's still pregnant. The nurse helps the mom get prenatal care and tries to help her cut down on unhealthy habits like smoking. Later, the nurse teaches the mother how to care for her baby, helps her to who her child is, and how they can form a relationship. A
SAFE PLACE TO BE A MOM So Melanie was relieved when her shelter sent her to the New York Foundling’s Crisis Nursery, an organization dedicated to “saving, preserving, and building families” that dates back to 1869. The lower Manhattan nursery -- which offers up to three weeks of free childcare to parents facing a crisis, emergency cash and goods, and counseling -- found out that Melanie was a victim of domestic violence and feared she couldn't keep her son safe. The Crisis Nursery helped Melanie obtain an order of protection against her abuser. They also gave her counseling on domestic violence, and connected her to a support program in her own community. Melanie is now living with her child and continues to stay in contact with the organization. "She feels more capable of meeting her son's needs," said Victoria Peña, the director of the Crisis Nursery. "And she knows she can always count on us for support." Peña says that facing a crisis without support can be more than even the most well-meaning parent can handle. And too often, such events send some children into foster care. By caring for the parent as well as the child, the Crisis Nursery hopes to make the family safer now and in the future – and enable the children to remain with their parent. "If we had programs like this in the outer boroughs abuse rates would drop and neglect would drop,” says New York Foundling Director Bill Baccaglini. But not all young moms agree. Some worry that accepting services will make their kids more likely – not less -- to get caught up in the city’s children’s services system. Young moms who have been in care themselves or have had negative experiences with city agencies can also find it hard to trust outsiders offering them services, especially ones connected to foster care. Because the Crises Nursery gets funding from the Administration for Children’s Services and must report evidence of physical abuse, for instance, some mothers fear that their children may be taken away from them. But the program’s organizes say they work to win the trust of the young mothers with histories of foster care. Then, the organizers say, the real work begins. One of the main challenges is teaching a young mother who had been abused or neglected how to communicate and bond with her baby in healthy ways. “The hardest thing for any new parent is realizing that this little baby is a person with its own personality,” says Carter of the Nurse-Family Partnership Program. “As new parents, you have to learn to work with that personality so that you can communicate and understand what your baby needs from you. I think when things go wrong is when there's no communication.” THE
POWER OF COMMUNICATION "Some of us get disappointed when we're looking at our baby and he or she looks away,” Cooper says. “It's not that they're rejecting you, but they're saying 'that was a lot to take in, give me a moment.’” Toward the end of her massage, Madison gets restless and begins giggling. She squirms while her mom tries to massage her face, and her mom has to stop. "That's OK," Cooper says, explaining that massage is simply a way of connecting and relaxing, and every baby has her own limits. "She's showing you she's had enough." Natasha Santos and La Quesha Barner are both writers at Represent, a magazine written by and for teens in foster care and published by Youth Communication. Additional reporting by Sasha Chavkin. |
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