ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. N.J. ADVOCATES PLACE FOCUS ON MEDICAID CUTS
2. CHRISTIE CALLS FOR STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL TO CLOSE
3. MENTALLY ILL PERSONS POSE CHALLENGE TO COPS, COURTS
4. IN NEW JERSEY, PROPER CARE EXISTS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL
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N.J. ADVOCATES PLACE FOCUS ON MEDICAID CUTS
Advocates for the poor and disabled Monday called on lawmakers to restore funding to several critical programs slated to be cut in Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed $29.4 billion budget. The advocates, speaking in Paramus as the state Senate Budget Committee kicked off the Legislature’s review of the budget, said they fear Christie’s yet-to-be detailed plan to overhaul Medicaid, and his proposals to increase co-pays.
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/nj_budget_hearings_focus_on_me.html
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CHRISTIE CALLS FOR STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL TO CLOSE
A year after Gov. Chris Christie's plan to shut down Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital was met with a firestorm of criticism, the governor again wants to close a state hospital.
But this time Christie is mum on which of the state's five hospitals could be shuttered.
The governor's budget message says only that a state hospital is to be closed by June 30, 2012, with a potential savings of $9 million.
See the full story:
http://www.app.com/article/20110306/NJNEWS10/103060348/Christie-calls-for-state-mental-hospital-to-close
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MENTALLY ILL PERSONS POSE CHALLENGE TO COPS, COURTS
When police are called to deal with someone who is acting out or potentially violent, the reported conduct is usually attributable to one of three things: criminal behavior, intoxication or mental illness, according to Hopatcong Police Chief John Swanson.
Health and criminal justice officials across the country are increasingly setting their sights on the last item in that list, through specialized police training and designated mental health courts, to guide people through the system instead of creating a wayward cycle that clutters prisons with people who need help.
Read more:
http://www.njherald.com/story/news/06MENTALHEALTH3-11
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IN NEW JERSEY, PROPER CARE EXISTS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL
The Star-Ledger article headlined “Fragile minds, limited options” (Feb. 16) and the subsequent editorial “Closing hospitals could put mentally ill in subpar places” (Feb. 18) at best presented gross misinformation about the discharge of patients from state psychiatric hospitals. At worst they represented sensational scare tactics.
Read Commissioner Valez’s Op Ed:
http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2011/02/in_new_jersey_proper_care_exis.html
