ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. FACING $4B GAP, CODEY TO PRESENT 'AUSTERITY' BUDGET
2. UNION PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE ESTABLISHES MENTAL HEALTH UNIT
3. COUNTY MAKES CHANGES AT JAIL
4. PROPOSAL WOULD EXPAND LIVING WILLS TO MENTAL HEALTH
5. TO TREAT OR NOT
6. BUSH'S BUDGET COULD PUT JERSEY IN A DEEPER HOLE
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FACING $4B GAP, CODEY TO PRESENT 'AUSTERITY' BUDGET
While frugality may be the key theme of Codey's budget message
today, he will seek more money to pursue his public crusade
to improve mental health services. The proposed 2006 budget
includes $40 million to boost various mental health programs.
Among the largest beneficiaries are 23 hospital-based screening
centers, which will get an additional $10 million to evaluate
patients in crisis and refer them for treatment. Last year,
these centers assisted people with mental illness on 100,000
occasions, said state Human Services spokesman Gary Brown.
Read the Star Ledger Report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1109688926277190.xml
Read the Governor’s Budget address:
http://www.state.nj.us/budget2005/text.html
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UNION PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE ESTABLISHES MENTAL HEALTH
UNIT
Millions of people are in jail and prisons because they
committed crimes due to their mental illness. Union County
has close to 50 such cases and the list keeps growing. The
plan is to eventually create a mental health court in Union
County -- similar to drug courts across the country -- where
defendants face a special judge who considers alternatives
to jail.
Read more in the Star Ledger:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/union/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1109482745280651.xml
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COUNTY MAKES CHANGES AT JAIL
The suicides of two jail inmates in the Camden County Jail
this year have prompted major changes in the facility's
mental health wing, county officials said. The jail's mental
health wing has been a focal point of problems. In the wing,
four inmates are routinely placed in cells built for one,
authorities said. The deaths there raised questions about
whether the jail's procedures provided enough protection.
Within the next six months, county officials hope to mitigate
crowding with new programs designed to avoid jailing of
mentally ill offenders. One step is providing training for
police officers on how to work with the mentally ill. Another
would allow nonviolent offenders to go to treatment, rather
than jail. The county is searching for funding outside of
the budget to support treatment programs, job training and
housing.
Read the Courier Post story:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m022605c.htm
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PROPOSAL WOULD EXPAND LIVING WILLS TO MENTAL HEALTH
A bill proposed in the state Assembly this week would allow
a sound person to help define his care, including limits
on medication, should they become mentally ill. Assemblyman
Douglas H. Fisher, D-Bridgeton, said he wanted New Jersey
to join seven other states that offer advanced directives
for mental health. He introduced a bill that he hopes will
pass before summer. These directives are like living wills,
in which a patient can legally forewarn doctors not to put
him on life-support systems.
Read the Gannett report:
http://www.injersey.com/gsbr/story/0,21421,1203457,00.html
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TO TREAT OR NOT
Involuntary outpatient commitment is one of the biggest
issues in the mental health field. On Wednesday, in Trenton,
the state's Mental Health Task Force will hear from experts
on the subject. (IOC is one of nearly two dozen mental health
issues being examined by the task force, which will deliver
its recommendations to Acting Gov. Richard Codey on March
31.
Read Jessica Adler’s Herald News Story:
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NjU3MDkz
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BUSH'S BUDGET COULD PUT JERSEY IN A DEEPER HOLE
Acting Gov. Richard Codey's effort to eliminate a $4 billion
state budget gap may be an even tougher struggle because
the state could lose millions in federal aid under President
Bush's proposed spending plan, according to a new study.
A Washington, D.C.-based policy research group has concluded
that Bush administration proposals would cost New Jersey
more than $200 million in the upcoming budget year and up
to $2 billion over the next five years.
Read the Star Ledger story:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1109225651264190.xml
Read the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Report:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-18-05health.htm
