New York NYC jails ordered to provide aftercare to those with mentally illness A NY State Supreme Court judge granted a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs in a lawsuit charging that NYC jails violate State mental health laws by failing to provide discharge planning to inmates with mental illness. NYC plans to appeal the decision. North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Services fall short for youth with mental illness The president of the Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has declared a crises in mental health services for youth. Dollars are limited, particularly for children who are not on Medicaid or the Oregon Health Plan, and the State has just 276 nationally accredited beds available for 24-hour care for kids with psychiatric disorders. One facility currently has a waiting list of 60 children.
New report offers recommendations related to dual diagnosis.
A task force charged with finding better ways to treat residents with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders recommends the State adopt the system described in a joint white paper from the Nat'l Assoc. of State Mental Health Program Directors and the Nat'l Assoc. of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. The task force also recommends the development of common administrative rules, performance measurement and reporting systems across divisions. Tennessee New study suggests significant underestimate of SED children Tennessee has grossly underestimated the number of children with SED in the State and more than half of the 80,000 children in need of services are not receiving care, according to a recent Vanderbilt University study. The study also found that TennCare is not doing any worse, and may be doing slightly better, than other State Medicaid programs in delivering mental health services to children. Texas Magellan pulls out of Dallas' NorthSTAR program Blaming funding and rising drug costs, Magellan Behavioral Health Services is pulling out of the Dallas area NorthSTAR program.