[Vision2020] Idaho judges ponder increase in mental commitments

[Kai Eiselein]

What else is really sad is that fact that even when someone has mental health issues that could pose a danger to others, they often AREN"T committed.



________________________________
> From: thansen at moscow.com 
> Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 08:18:25 -0800 
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
> Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho judges ponder increase in mental commitments 
>  
> Courtesy of today's (December 16, 2013) Spokesman Review. 
>  
> ---------------------------------- 
> Judges ponder increase in mental commitments 
> Some suspect cuts in social services 
>  
> BOISE – The courts have seen an exploding number of involuntary  
> commitment cases in recent years, according to an annual report from  
> the Idaho Supreme Court, and that has some judges wondering if budget  
> cuts to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the poor economy  
> are partly to blame. 
>  
> Last year more than 4,500 mental commitment cases were filed in state  
> courts – an 82 percent increase compared to five years ago, according  
> to the report. Idaho Supreme Court administrator Patti Tobias said  
> there wasn’t any research examining the cause of the increase, but an  
> informal poll of magistrate judges throughout the state had some  
> speculating that cuts to IDHW staff and offices across the state, a  
> lack of affordable mental health care, drug abuse, limited health care  
> access and the faltering economy could all be contributing factors. 
>  
> “It’s a tough question with a complex set of factors,” said Ada County  
> Deputy Prosecutor Michael Anderson, who handles many mental  
> commitment cases. 
>  
> Usually, involuntary commitment proceedings begin when an emergency  
> room physician, police officer or official of another facility  
> initiates a “mental hold” on someone out of concern that the patient is  
> a threat to themselves or others, Anderson said. A judge has to be  
> notified of such holds within 24 hours, triggering the case filing. 
>  
> Sixth District Judge Paul Laggis said he suspects that cuts to IDHW are  
> a big factor in the increase in case filings. Laggis said he frequently  
> discusses the “plight of adult mental health care” with the mental  
> health professionals who work with his court. 
>  
> “They tell me the state used to have clinicians who would actually make  
> contact with people at their homes to see how they were doing, if they  
> are taking their meds,” Laggis said. “They’d check their pulse, so to  
> speak, to see if they’re deteriorating to the point where they might  
> need intervention.” 
>  
> But many of those services have been cut in recent years. 
>  
> The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, like all state agencies,  
> faced significant budget cuts with the recession. In 2009 and 2010, 35  
> workers, including 28 clinicians, were laid off from the department’s  
> Adult Mental Health Program. Several of the department’s regional  
> offices were also closed in rural communities through the state. 
>  
> In 2011, IDHW officials advised lawmakers that mental health services  
> had taken a 19 percent budget cut since 2008, forcing the agency to  
> prioritize by first funding intervention services for people in  
> imminent danger to themselves and others, pushing to the bottom of the  
> heap services for those who don’t have insurance. 
>  
> ---------------------------------- 
>  
> Idaho's answer to the mental health issue . . . cut the mental health  
> budget, forcing these indivuals to fend for themselves. 
>  
> It's easier for those Idahoans suffering from mental health issues to  
> obtain a gun than to obtain health assistance. 
>  
> Sad, isn't it? 
>  
> [image.jpeg] 
>  
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . . 
>  
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on) 
> http://www.MoscowCares.com 
>  
> Tom Hansen 
> Moscow, Idaho 
>  
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still 
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill." 
>  
> - John Lennon 
>  
>  
>  
> ======================================================= List services  
> made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the  
> Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com  
> ======================================================= 		 	   		  
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