ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. N.J. BYPASSES MEDICAL PRIVACY ON GUN CONTROL REGISTRY
2. NJ SUPREME COURT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MENTAL HEALTH REPORTS
3. SUSPECTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS PRESENT CHALLENGE
4. ONE STEP FORWARD ON MENTAL HEALTH PARITY
5. HOLT, RUNYAN PUSH OUTREACH AID FOR VETERANS
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N.J. BYPASSES MEDICAL PRIVACY ON GUN CONTROL REGISTRY
The names of hundreds of thousands of current and former New Jersey residents who have been involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities have been added to an FBI database used to bar firearms purchases by people with criminal records or a history of mental illness. New Jersey court officials said that they began forwarding digital records to the FBI earlier this year and that they expect to complete the program by the end of May. The Civil Commitment Automated Tracking system has turned over identities of 280,000 people subject to involuntary civil commitment dating to 1975 in 16 of the state’s 21 counties. Officials of the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts say they expect the total number of people whose names have been sent to the FBI will reach about 420,000.
Go to the story:
http://www.redstate.com/dloesch/2013/04/29/new-jersey-bypasses-medical-privacy-to-assist-feds
-in-gun-control-registry/
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NJ SUPREME COURT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MENTAL HEALTH REPORTS
The Report of the Supreme Court Interbranch Advisory Committee on Mental Health Initiatives has been published and is available for public comment. The Advisory Committee, chaired by Hon. Wendel Daniels, P.J.Cr., was charged with developing advice on how to improve the Judiciary’s response to individuals with mental health needs. The Advisory Committee reviewed existing services and programs and examined various issues surrounding the interaction of mentally ill individuals with the judicial system. Based on that review and examination, the Advisory Committee developed a series of recommendations designed to enable more effective responses to people with mental illness, including the expansion of existing programs and procedures and the establishment of new initiatives.
View the Public Notice:
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/notices/2013/n130402a.pdf.
See the full report:
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/reports2013/mentalillness.pdf
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SUSPECTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS PRESENT CHALLENGE
IN WHAT has become an all-too-common occurrence in recent months in North Jersey, this week a man with a history of mental illness came into a confrontation with police. The outcome turned tragic when, after allegedly stabbing one officer, the man was shot by one or more police on the scene. This particular confrontation played out in Passaic, but it bears some similarity with other recent police shootings — in Paterson, in North Bergen and in Leonia — in which men either highly agitated or with a known history of mental illness came into contact with armed police one way or another and were eventually shot dead. Given the frequency with which these incidents occur, clearly a greater emphasis on dealing with mental-health issues is needed.
Read the Herald News editorial:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/204803831_The_Record__A_delicate_balance.html
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ONE STEP FORWARD ON MENTAL HEALTH PARITY
Yesterday, the United States District Court for the District of Vermont became the first court in the country to interpret the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008—and that decision is favorable to mental health patients. In C. M. v. Fletcher Allen Health Care, Inc., plaintiff C. M. challenges her health plan’s administration of mental health benefits. The Court disagreed, finding that “the Parity Act was promulgated to eliminate impermissible disparity in the benefits afforded for mental health and substance abuse disorders when compared to those afforded medical/surgical conditions.
Read more:
http://www.psychiatry.org/advocacy--newsroom/news-releases
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HOLT, RUNYAN PUSH OUTREACH AID FOR VETERANS
A $40 million initiative to provide counseling to military veterans and active duty members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological traumas hangs in the balance as Congress debates whether to pay for it once again. The funding, initiated in 2011 and pushed again by Reps. Rush Holt (D., N.J.) and Jon Runyan (R., N.J.), pays for suicide prevention and other forms of outreach to service members. A measure that would have made funding for treatment permanent was blocked in the Senate two years ago. Holt and Runyan, held a news conference Tuesday in Trenton to call on members of the House to support the program again.
Learn more:
http://articles.philly.com/2013-05-01/news/38960330_1_veterans-affairs-rush-holt-military-veterans
