ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. ACT NOW ON OUTPATIENT COMMITMENT LAW!
2. FULL PARITY ADVANCES IN N.J.
3. LAWMAKERS QUESTION MAN'S CONFINEMENT
4. HIGH COURT TO REVIEW INSANITY DEFENSE
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ACT NOW ON OUTPATIENT COMMITMENT LAW!
The New Jersey Legislature is in its closing days and with
it the end of Governor Codey’s term. Advocates are
urged to Contact the members of the Senate Health, Human
Services and Seniors Committee now and let them know how
important legislation (S2760) that would authorize outpatient
commitment to treatment is to you and what it will mean
to your family. The real life stories of NAMI advocates
are the most powerful testimonial to the need for this law.
List of Health Committee members:
http://www.naminj.org/advocacy/advocacy_alerts.html
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FULL PARITY ADVANCES IN N.J.
In a resounding success for the mental health community,
the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee unanimously
approved Assembly Bill A-333/S544, which provides full parity
for mental health and substance abuse treatment in the state
of New Jersey. The legislation now moves to the Senate and
the Assembly Appropriations Committees.
Contact the Assembly Appropriations Committee to support
A333:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/assembly.asp
Contact the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
to support S544:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/Senate.asp
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LAWMAKERS QUESTION MAN'S CONFINEMENT
Spurred by a mother's testimony, lawmakers are calling on
the Department of Human Services to explain why a New Lisbon
man was confined for more than two years at a Burlington
County institution without a judge's consent. Members of
the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee on Monday
approved a bill requiring state officials to obtain a court
order before sending a developmentally disabled person to
a lockup at the New Lisbon Developmental Center. Those rules
didn't apply to those who were diagnosed with a mental illness
and a developmental disability.
Read more from the Star Ledger:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/11339385478250.xml&coll=1
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HIGH COURT TO REVIEW INSANITY DEFENSE
Eric Michael Clark's personality began a dramatic transformation
in 1999. The promising teenage football player started obsessing
about the coming millennium, running up his parents' credit
cards buying supplies and spending hours each day on survival
preparation. Then, on June 21, 2001, the 17-year shot to
death Officer Jeff Moritz in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Clark's lawyers don't dispute that he killed Moritz, but
they say as a diagnosed schizophrenic he should be receiving
treatment at a state mental hospital rather than serving
a 5-years-to-life prison sentence. The Supreme Court said
Monday it will review Clark's case, jumping into an issue
it avoided for nearly two decades under the late Chief Justice
William H. Rehnquist.
Read more:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/NEWS06/512060449/1012
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CODEY SPENDS A NIGHT AT GREYSTONE
He booked himself into Greystone on Tuesday. There was
no court order, no police involvement. It was a voluntary
overnight commitment to the state psychiatric hospital for
one Richard J. Codey. Yes, the state's acting governor.
Trying to keep the spotlight on mental-health issues, Codey
checked in at the nearly 600-patient hospital in Parsippany
for a 14-hour, firsthand look at how patients live and the
care they receive.
Read Lawrence Ragonese’s story:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1133446657244160.xml&coll=1
