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June 28, 2007Update on Legislative Session The legislative session in Albany ended late last week. However, in Albany, there is no such thing as the end of session. Despite the acrimony between Governor Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Bruno over campaign financing reform, we suspect that the Legislature will be back in July to work on some unresolved issues. We are very pleased that several issues related to mental health and the criminal justice system have passed both house of the legislature. We need your help in getting the Governor to support these initiatives.
SHU
Bill Action: Presumptive
Eligibility The way the process currently works is that individuals in prisons and jails would have their Medicaid suspended. They would then have to go through an application process once they were released from jail or prisons. The Medicaid pending process can take several months. During that time, these individuals may not have access to medications and services. Several years ago the Medication Grant Program was put in place through the Office of Mental Health. This very successful program (I had to write this since I was the Director of the Program) allowed for individuals released from jails, prisons and hospitals to get medication while Medicaid was pending. However, it is not a comprehensive program for all Medicaid billable services. Passing this legislation will help eliminate unnecessary barriers and allow for immediate access to Medicaid. Re-entry into society for individuals in criminal justice settings with psychiatric disabilities is a difficult and complicated process. To the extent that the process can be streamlined, it would be a very positive step forward. Action No Agreement Reached on Timothy’s’ Law Expansion that would have included Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus Unfortunately, the legislature was not able to reach an agreement on the expansion of Timothy’s Law. We will continue to advocate for those changes. We will again need a strong grass roots effort in the future to see this bill come to fruition. Co-Occurring Disorder Task Force We are very pleased that Mental Health Commissioner Hogan and OASAS Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo have created a task force to look at issues of co-occurring disorders. This has long been a major agenda item to MHANYS and our members. We are pleased that MHANYS is included in this task force. OASAS,
OMH Announce Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo and Office of Mental Health (OMH) Commissioner Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., have announced creation of a statewide Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders to better address the needs of individuals afflicted by both chemical dependence and mental health issues. While strategies for promoting the recovery of individuals with co-occurring mental health and chemical disorders currently do exist, many do not reach the necessary levels to address treatment of this population on a large scale. The Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders will be charged with making recommendations for a more streamlined system of care for persons suffering from co-occurring disorders, with the goal of improving treatment outcomes and lessening costs for New York taxpayers due to unnecessary duplication of services. OASAS Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo said, “Collaboration is at the center of all we do here at OASAS, and we are pleased to work with our partners in the field of mental health on this important new venture. In 2006, 35 percent of patients in the OASAS system also suffered from a co-occurring mental health disorder. These individuals require a comprehensive treatment approach addressing both needs, and we’re confident that the recommendations of this Task Force will play an important role in our systems coming together on this issue.” OMH Commissioner Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., said, “As in the OASAS system, a high proportion of people with serious mental illness have co-occurring substance use problems. The last thing we should do when people are ready for recovery is to have bureaucratic barriers to integrated care. Because regulations, funding, and attitudes may all be involved, removing barriers will be hard work. But we owe it to consumers, families, providers and taxpayers to get it done.” The Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders will assist in the promotion of “Science to Practice” through an assessment of the current systems of care within OMH and OASAS and the identification of improvements in the delivery of care and outcomes. The Task Force will focus initially on a wide range of individuals (from adolescents to older adults), and make recommendations on how to better address the particular needs of sub-populations. To serve as a resource to the Task Force, experts in the field of co-occurring disorders treatment and evaluation will be invited to attend meetings and be available for consultation with the sub-committees. These individuals include: Robert Drake and Mark McGovern, Dartmouth Medical School; Stan Sacks and Richard Rosenthal, Co-Occurring Center for Excellence; and Mary Jane Alexander, New York State Nathan Kline Institute. Dr. Drake and Dr. McGovern have accepted an invitation to present an overview of best /emerging practices related to the treatment of individuals with co-occurring disorders. The Task Force, which is being organized currently, will be organized into sub-committees, based on three or four broad topics to be determined at the first meeting. Each sub-committee will summarize solutions for improving the implementation of clinically effective programs in OASAS- and OMH -licensed programs, increasing the likelihood of success for those in dual recovery. The Task Force’s recommendations will be presented in a report this fall, and it is anticipated that Commissioners Carpenter-Palumbo and Hogan will present its findings to Governor Spitzer shortly thereafter. MHANYS Annual Fall Conference to Feature Theme of Youth with Psychiatric Disabilities Transitioning to Adulthood The issue of youth in transition has been a major issue to our affiliates across New York State. Many affiliates run innovative programs in this area. The conference will provide a wonderful opportunity to bring together some of the leading experts to talk about the issues of youth in transition and discuss some promising practices. Our awards dinner and conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Albany on October 25th (awards dinner) and October 26 (the all day conference). Please feel free to contact Melissa Ramirez at mramirez@mhanys.org for more details or log on to our web page at www.mhanys.org for future updates.
In The News Spitzer
Eases Opposition To Anti-SHU Plan In the closing days of session, mental health advocates were determined as ever to see legislation passed that would end the practice of placing mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement. The situation wasn’t hopeless, despite the fact Gov. Eliot Spitzer recently said he did not support the bill. “We are working to sign an agreement with the Legislature on a bill that would reduce the use of” solitary confinement for mentally ill individuals, said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Pritchard. Supporters of the bill have been at odds with Spitzer over the adequacy of a settlement over solitary confinement for mentally ill inmates reached by Disability Advocates and the state Office of Mental Health and Department of Correctional facilities. Bill sponsors Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens, and Sen. Thomas Nozzolio, R,C-Seneca Falls, contended their bill (S.333B/A.4870C) is necessary in spite of the settlement. They said the legislation was essential because it would constitute an overall ban on the placement of the seriously mentally ill in solitary confinement while the court-sanctioned settlement still allows the practice. Under the settlement, inmates placed in solitary must be provided with more out-of-cell time and more therapy. Special Housing Unit, or SHU, is the name given to a solitary confinement cell where inmates can be locked up for just short of 24 hours a day. The lawmakers also argued their legislation would create a permanent statute, whereas the settlement will only be effective for a few years. “While we really appreciate the advances made in the settlement, it just reduces their time in this abominable setting,” said Harvey Rosenthal, executive director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. Deborah Ashline of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New York State said on behalf of her organization, “We can’t condone torture with counseling.” While a spokeswoman for Spitzer denounced the bill as too expensive and unnecessary in light of the settlement two weeks ago, Pritchard now said it was the governor’s goal to remove mentally ill inmates from solitary confinement “without outlawing such confinement completely.” Bob Corliss, Director of Forensic Services for the Mental Health Association in New York State, said Spitzer changed his stance on medical marijuana after learning more about the issue, and “I hope he is applying the same kind of thinking to this bill.” The practice of placing the seriously mentally ill in solitary confinement has been called inhumane and unjustly biased against the mentally ill. Advocates have spoken out that the mentally ill are unfairly represented in solitary confinement because they are punished for behaviors that are symptomatic of their mental illness rather than given treatment. The conditions for the mentally ill in solitary confinement have been attributed to multiple suicides and the exacerbation of mental illness. Advocates for the mentally ill say rather than rehabilitating prisoners, they are often introduced back into the community sicker than when they were first incarcerated. “I think the more people who have come to understand this issue, the more repulsed they are that it goes on,” said Corliss. “It’s not a practice that should really go on. Hopefully he [Spitzer] sees that.” Similar legislation passed both houses of the Legislature last year, and was vetoed by former Gov. George E. Pataki. The bill was passed again in the Senate earlier this month. Better
Protecting the Vulnerable With time running out on the legislative clock, the State of New York is close to enacting three new laws that would set welcome national examples for criminal justice reform. Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the Assembly and the Senate need to work quickly to iron out any differences and ensure these vital reforms are signed into law. The most important is the Safe Harbor Act, a groundbreaking initiative that would require the courts to treat sexually exploited children as victims in need of counseling, shelter and help rather than treating them as criminals. The goal is to give American children the same protections as foreign-born people who are smuggled into the United States to be used as sex slaves. The Assembly version of the bill does just that. It also permits the courts to take into custody children who reject treatment and refuse to meet the conditions of the new law. Unfortunately, an 11th-hour change in the wording of the Senate version would allow individual judges to decide whether a sexually exploited child should be given shelter or be treated as a criminal. That defeats the whole purpose and needs to be dropped. The Assembly and Senate have already passed a far-sighted bill that would outlaw disciplinary isolation for prison inmates with serious mental illness. Too often these prisoners end up harming themselves or attempting suicide. The bill also calls for expanded health care services for the mentally ill and improved training for corrections officers. Mr. Spitzer needs to sign this bill. He also needs to sign another important bill that would end the state practice of declaring people ineligible for Medicaid once they land in prison. Inmates would still be barred from receiving Medicaid-funded services. But by remaining on the rolls, these inmates — many of whom are gravely ill — would be able to get access to Medicaid services promptly upon release. Under the previous arrangement, released inmates often remained without care for dangerously long periods of time. The change would make a world of difference in the lives of newly released inmates who suffer from H.I.V. and AIDS, mental illness and other maladies that require prompt and continuous access to medication. Having gotten this close, Mr. Spitzer and legislative leaders need to ensure that these bills that would protect some of New York’s most vulnerable residents become law. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/opinion/28thu2.html |
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