ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. 7 FAULTED IN ANCORA SLAYING
2. BRUNO STEPS FORWARD AS DHS HEAD
3. CODEY: "WE MUST OFFER PROTECTION TO THOSE WHO NEED
IT MOST"
4. PEDIATRICIAN TAKES REINS AS STATE CHILD ADVOCATE
5. EXPERTS URGE LAWMAKERS TO HELP EASE GROWING MENTAL HEALTH
CRISIS IN SENIORS
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7 FAULTED IN ANCORA SLAYING
A two-month investigation revealed employees ignored hospital
policies for more than a week leading up to the killing
of one patient by another at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital.
"This is human error all down the line," Ellen
Lovejoy, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services,
which oversees Ancora, said Thursday. "It's unacceptable."
Read more:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060915/NEWS01/609150370/1006
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BRUNO STEPS FORWARD AS DHS HEAD
Faces rough Senate confirmation path
Clarke Bruno says Gov. Jon Corzine handed him a "dream
job" by choosing him to run the Department of Human
Services, state government's largest and most complex bureaucracy.
Bruno, an attorney and former counsel to the New York City
Department of Homeless Services, is expected to begin work
as acting commissioner today while awaiting Senate approval.
But he could face a rocky confirmation hearing before the
Senate Judiciary Committee, whose chairman says he is concerned
Bruno is not up to the task.
Read the Star Ledger story:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1158557590254830.xml&coll=1
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CODEY: "WE MUST OFFER PROTECTION TO THOSE WHO NEED
IT MOST"
There are more than 8,000 chronically homeless people in
New Jersey, and 50 percent of adults with severe mental
illness live at home with their aging parents. A wait for
housing for a person in the state system can be as long
as five years. To compound the problem, the overall housing
shortage makes recovery from mental illness almost impossible.
It destroys the quality of life for people with mental illness
and their families and puts unnecessary and extraordinary
costs on the residents of this state.
If we are ever to restore the public's trust in the institutions
of government, we need to start with the simple notion that
we must offer protection to those who need it most.
Read Senator Codey's Op Ed article:
http://www.nj.com/opinion/ledger/perspective/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1158214285325900.xml&coll=1
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PEDIATRICIAN TAKES REINS AS STATE CHILD ADVOCATE
Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday appointed a pediatrician to
run New Jersey's Office of the Child Advocate, the state's
"watchdog" over private and government agencies
that serve children.
E. Susan Hodgson will assume the post Nov. 13, after resigning
as co-director of the Dorothy B. Hersh Child Protection
Center in New Brunswick, one of four specialized facilities
in the state that evaluates and treats children who have
been seriously physically or sexually abused.
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1158127992264510.xml&coll=1
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EXPERTS URGE LAWMAKERS TO HELP EASE GROWING MENTAL HEALTH
CRISIS IN SENIORS
Senior citizens have high rates of mental illness and the
country's highest suicide rate when compared with other
age groups, a panel of mental health experts told a congressional
committee Thursday.
Appearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging,
the experts said poor access to mental health care, inadequate
training for primary care physicians and even apathy among
seniors was contributing to a growing mental health crisis
among those older than 65.
Read the full story:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-na-suicide15sep15,1,6728652.story?coll=la-health-medicine
