...Social Policy: Texas Mental Health Elizabeth Awad University of Texas at Arlington Social Policy: Texas Mental Health Historical Background A recent change in the Texas law was passed for the Code of Criminal Procedure under the 84th Legislature, Under Texas Law Article 46B.102. CIVIL COMMITMENT HEARING: MENTAL ILLNESS is covered when (a) the court determines that the defendant may be a victim of mental illness, then the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant should be court-ordered by the state of Texas to mental health services under Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code. And (b) Proceedings from the committed defendant determine that they should be court ordered mental health services that are governed by Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code. “Mental Health does not respect zip codes, mental health affects everybody and formed the Texas State of Mind to ensure that Texans can have access to mental health help when they need it” states Tom Luce, Chief Executive Officer of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute who decided to advocate for court ordered and non-court ordered state funded mental health treatment for all Texans (Texas State of Mind., 2015, March 24). Texas Mental Health has been a longstanding concern for Texans and Americans altogether. In 2014, The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute initiated to help serve Texans. Back in July and August of 2012, The Meadows conducted a quantitative research project to its previous...
Words: 1324 - Pages: 6
...applied to their non-mentally ill peers. Arising from recent class action lawsuits challenging the quality of mental health care delivery in the nation’s prisons, prison mental health professionals have been called on to play an increasing role in the inmate disciplinary process. Referral questions include whether an inmate is competent to proceed with disciplinary proceedings and whether mental illness may have contributed to the rule violation. Prison mental health professionals participating in inmate disciplinary proceedings must therefore be familiar with relevant clinical, legal, and ethics issues. Little has been written in the psychiatric literature, however, examining this important role for prison mental health professionals. After first reviewing core legal and constitutional concepts, the author presents the results of a nationwide survey examining the role for mental health professionals in the inmate disciplinary process. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide a comprehensive review of this subject. Most prison systems have procedures for punishing prisoners who violate prison rules and for removing inmates from the general population for disciplinary or safety reasons. (For the purpose of this article, the terms “prisoner” and “inmate” will be used interchangeably. “Mental health” and “custody” are sometimes used to denote the mental health and custodial staffs of the prisons.) Serious offenses that bring about disciplinary action can result...
Words: 4795 - Pages: 20
...2010;13:116-124 Mental Health Stigma: What is being done to raise awareness and reduce stigma in South Africa? 1 R Kakuma1,2,3, S Kleintjes3, C Lund3, N Drew4, A Green5, AJ Flisher3,6, MHaPP Research Programme Consortium7 Health Systems Research and Consulting Unit, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada 3Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa 4Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 5Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development (NCIHD), University of Leeds, United Kingdom 6Research Centre for Health Promotion, University of Bergen, Norway 7The Mental Health and Poverty Project (MHaPP) is a Research Programme Consortium (RPC) funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID)(RPC HD6 2005- 2010) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DfID. RPC members include Alan J. Flisher (Director) and Crick Lund (Co-ordinator) (University of Cape Town, Republic of South Africa (RSA)); Therese Agossou, Natalie Drew, Edwige Faydi and Michelle Funk (World Health Organization); Arvin Bhana (Human Sciences Research Council, RSA); Victor Doku (Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana); Andrew Green and Mayeh Omar (University of Leeds, UK); Fred Kigozi (Butabika Hospital, Uganda); Martin Knapp (University of London, UK); John Mayeya (Ministry of Health, Zambia);...
Words: 8070 - Pages: 33
...MHF Module: Investing In Mental Health Mental Health Worksheet Part 1 Research mental health in a a country other than the United States. An example of a mental heath problem is provided below. |Example: | |According to the World Health Organization (2005) Botswana, Africa, spends only 1% of the country’s health budget on mental health. The | |country does offer locations in communities for the training of mental health nurses. There are also community care facilities for | |patients suffering from mental disorders. However; due to a lack of psychiatrists in the country, the mental health trained nurses are | |responsible for all aspects of mental health services for the population. These nurses are also responsible for training others in mental | |health. According to the World Health Organization there are only 1.1 psychiatric beds per 10,000 people and only .7 beds in mental | |hospitals, the rest being in general hospitals. In 2005, there were only .3 psychologists and 3 social workers per 100,000 people, the | |country did not have any neurologists and doctors had to come from neighboring countries to help with the mental health needs of Botswana. | Select a country and a mental health issues within that contry. Then compose a 150- to 200- word description of the probem (...
Words: 792 - Pages: 4
...1-Given the increasing longevity of Americans and the costs of providing long-term care, anticipation of the costs should be a major element of every family’s financial planning. Current information suggests however, that very few families or individuals give this consideration. What factors might impede this advance planning? What measures might be effective in raising awareness among the Americans about this important matter? Age, diagnosis, and ability to perform personal self-care and the sites of care delivery vary widely. Also, the unrelenting progression of time is the one constant that expresses the diverse range of life's possibilities. According to Calmus (2013), Long-term care in the United States is in crisis. The current system is not meeting the needs of the frail elderly and disabled populations. As the 77 million baby boomers enter retirement, the Long-term care crisis will likely grow, both because of the sheer number of the baby boomers and because of medical advances that have increased longevity. Regrettably, few have prepared to pay for their Long-term care, either through insurance or savings. Policymakers need to move swiftly to reform the current system to ensure that tomorrow’s retirees have access to high quality care without bankrupting future generations. According to the article "5 Big Reasons Why Americans Don't Save Their Money," Savings aren’t just important for buffering life’s emergencies; research shows that financial assets, more than income...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...the purpose of the paper: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the increased incidence of non-adherence mental health medications in the homeless population 2. State the problem your intervention addresses, and target population: The problem is limited knowledge about different support services, and being able to access, retain and follow treatment plan. This simply boils down to limited knowledge regarding community resources and being able to know how to access those resources The target population is the mental health Homeless Population in California/Yolo County 3. State your proposed intervention: The intervention is a supportive service program intended to assist the mental health homeless population in guiding them to be able to seek local resources so they can access, retain, and follow their treatment plan, and limit the amount of...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was created by, and is an agency within, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It was formed to lead public health efforts to advance behavioral health of the nation, and to make substance use and mental disorder information, services, and research more accessible. The mission of the SAMHSA is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illnesses on America's communities. Important parts of providing the community with health services is prevention, treatment, recovery support services for behavioral health; this is to improve our health and reduce costs to individuals, families, businesses, and governments. This goal of these important aspects is to prevent costly behavioral health problems, provides treatment and services for people with mental and substance use disorders, and build strong and supportive communities. The basic purpose of the SAMHSA is to provide better health for all Americans, in different ways than other organizations. The leadership SAMHSA provides, along with various resources, is to help the U.S. Act on the knowledge of four main facts: behavioral health is essential for overall well being, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover from mental and substance use disorders. SAMHSA provides leadership and devotes its resources, including programs, policies, information and data, contracts and grants, to help the U.S. Act on the knowledge that:...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...as a team we are researching what the effects are that a behavioral specialist has on the behavioral control for the mentally disabled. While not all clients have improvement, with evaluation in methodology in mental illness, the causes of the positive or negative program outcomes become the primary focus of study. Behavioral specialist teach their clients the skills that they need to improve on their personal social skills. Unlike other research methodologies, evaluation research is usually initiated by someone's need for a decision to be made about policy, program management, or strategic planning. It is important to understand the effects that a behavioral specialist has on the mentally disabled. With evaluation in methodology in mental illness, the causes of the positive or negative program outcomes become the primary focus of study. Using program goals and actual individual and group performance measures in meeting these objectives, evaluation researchers attempt to locate factors related to the actual program outcomes. Traditionally, an evaluator will work directly with program leadership, staff, and consumers to determine the most salient factors that define program performance concerning the goals of a program. In ideal evaluation study situations, mental health service program staff, directors, funding sources, and all other groups that have a stake in the investigation are invited into the variable identification phase to identify the critical program variables to be...
Words: 1210 - Pages: 5
...governance practice and has shown that its programs and activities align with their mission. “Empowering youth to overcome barriers and strive towards healthy and self-sufficient lives” is the mission statement of Services, Inc. Services accomplishes their mission by providing integrated mental health, medical and family planning, and case management services in a manner sensitive to adolescents. They also offer a special prenatal program that offers services by a prenatal specialist, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner. The program also offers nutritional counseling and an outreach program offers classes, support, and education. Mental health services provide individual, group, and family counseling either through their organization or at St. Paul schools that are designed to treat adolescent issues and problems such as depression, school issues, relationship problems, abuse, family problems, and stress. Services also offer a variety of support groups. In addition, they provide services specifically to homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth through . is a drop-in outreach center located in Downtown St. Paul that provides a variety of services including case management, counseling, mental health services, GED preparation, food, clothing, transportation, advocacy, and referrals to help them find housing...
Words: 626 - Pages: 3
...changes in approach to mental health/illness within Australia from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. You will need to include at least three (3) government enquiries/investigations which have helped shape government direction in the provision of mental health services. A Federal Government Inquiry released in the same year as the 1955 State Grants (Mental Institutions) Act provided large amounts money to institutions for capital works, was damning of the ‘inadequate’ mental health system, highlighting low standards of care, abuse and overcrowding (Stoller, 1955). As a result of this, there was a wider general interest in mental health. In what could be the beginnings of deinstitutionalisation in Australia, as the report also called for an increase in community services. Funding provided by the government in the seventies was pivotal to the establishment of community mental health services being more assessable with outreach and after care programs being setup in hospitals. This also heralded the beginnings of many Non government and independent services. * In 1983, the Richmond Report, release in New South Wales, advocated strongly for further deinstitutionalisation and an increase in community services for people with psychiatric disabilities. It suggested a change in funding arrangements from hospitals to community based care services, the expansion of integrated community based services, the separation of developmental disability services from mental health services and a decrease...
Words: 646 - Pages: 3
...Safety and Mental Health are crucial elements in early development of children. As early care professionals is important that we are knowledgeable of the facts that are associated with safety and care of children as the effects of safety and the mental health of children can have a lifelong effect on them. The affect that it may have on them depending on the type of environment can be a positive impact which can lead to greatness or the a negative impact which can lead to a lifelong of pain an heartache that stem from not being a safe environment when not in the comfort of their home or not being properly diagnosed at early age because their early care professional was not knowledgeable of the signs to look for. In this paper I will discuss the difference between mental health and mental illness, along with the effects of a safe environment and the importance of the role of an early care professional. Young Children’s Mental Health Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder. It is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Mental illness is when one is not able to cope with the daily life obstacles; usually one has to be medicated in order to cope with daily life. A person has been diagnosed by a medical professional with a mental illness and mental illness range from all...
Words: 1292 - Pages: 6
...Mental Health Care Disparities: Consequences of Ineffectiveness and Lack of Access for Minorities Ebony Marinnie RN Rowan University Mental Health Care Disparities: Consequences of ineffectiveness and lack of access for minorities For ages mental illness has been seen as the ultimate curse. The mentally ill were seen as possessed, hidden from society, and never talked about. In America, it is estimated that 26.2 percent of people ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosed mental disorder in a given year (Kessler,Chiu, Walters, & Demler, 2005). The aforementioned statistics reflect those that have sought or been forced into treatment. There are many left uncounted due to lack of access and ineffective treatment secondary to a number of reasons. Considering history, discrimination, personal perception, socioeconomic status, educational backgrounds and a host of other reasons many minority groups are reluctant to seek out treatment in what many may consider a system of mental health created and sustained primarily for the middle and upper-class White America. In fact, 60 percent of people with mental illnesses do not receive treatment (Kessler et al., 2005). The purpose of this paper is to discuss mental health care disparities in minority populations within American society, and to suggest some needed changes to close the gap in America. One quarter of all Americans meet the criteria for having a mental illness and a quarter of those have a disorder that significantly...
Words: 2360 - Pages: 10
...the community” (Alarid & Del Carmen, 2011, p 3). With the number of offenders growing community corrections seeks to reduce recidivism, impose appropriate punishment upon offenders, as well as prepare offenders for re-entry into society. These missions or goals of probation and parole agencies are diminished due to an emergent amount of offenders with mental illnesses entering the community corrections system. “Within the context of the overall grown in community corrections populations, probation and parole officers are coming into contact with a disproportionately high number of people with mental illnesses (most of whom have co-occurring substance use disorders)” (Prins & Draper, 2009, p 1). Moreover research has found that offenders with mental illness are some of the most complex group to supervise within community corrections (Prins & Draper, 2009). “More than 60 percent of severely mentally ill offenders released from prison in 2005 returned to prison within two years” (Missouri Department of Corrections, 2011). In addition to higher recidivism rates than offenders without mental illness, offenders with mental illness are more likely to be violent recidivists (Ditton, 1999). Nearly 1 in 5 violent offenders on probation were identified as mentally ill (Ditton,...
Words: 2623 - Pages: 11
...earthquake was found to have rendered over 300,000 people homeless and 18,000 people also reported to have lost their lives mainly by drowning. About 6000 thousand individuals were injured and over 2400 people went missing. Psychological Impacts of Earthquakes Asian Disaster management Centre in Japan stated that there had been several earthquakes like the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in January 1995, Mid Niigata Earthquake in October 2004 and the northeastern Japan earthquakes on 11th March, 2011. Policy on earthquake disasters in japan ensures prompt and elaborate dealing with earthquake disasters through early warnings and evacuations. Though the institution claimed success in the effectiveness of the policy, victims thought otherwise stating that the policy was ineffective since many lives were being lost. Another aspect criticized was the emergency response rebuked for being ill prepared in disaster management. The earthquake raised degrees of stress, depression and other mental illnesses, especially among those who lost their loved ones (Alexander,2005). A visit to therapy institutions dealing with disaster victims A visit to one specific therapy center that deals with kidney problems caused by the earthquake was significant at the moment. The Nephrology therapy center painted a disturbing picture of the high number of victims seeking help with less qualified personnel. Nevertheless, restoration of normalcy was up to date with dialysis being exercised on the victims with...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
