Laura's Law Implementation: My letter to Mr. Peter Schworm of The Boston Globe

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My letter to Mr. Peter Schworm of The Boston Globe

Dear Mr. Schworm,

Regarding your article in The Boston Globe; Shooting renews debate about public housing; Aug. 14, 2011:  I strongly agree with the statement from your article:

‘Mental health advocates said the housing debate misses a broader point: that those with severe psychiatric disorders need personal care to live independently.
“No matter what the housing situation, they need to have wraparound services to manage the illness,’’ said Lynda Cutrell of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “There have to be eyes on the individual.’’I agree with your article that it could have saved Kelly Thomas’ life. If Kelly Thomas would have been able to get treatment when his family first tried to get it for him, he would not have been on that bench that fateful night and would still be alive today. ‘

I also agree with Kristina M. Ragosta article on this event in boston.com, It's untreated mental illness that leads to tragedies; Aug. 20, 2011 where she states:

‘The fact that people with untreated mental illness are more violent than the general population - both to others and to themselves - is well established, but continually ignored by Massachusetts lawmakers. The most urgent lesson of the tragic shooting of 75-year-old William Thomas allegedly by a fellow public housing resident with a history of mental illness is not that those with mental illness should be housed separately, but that they should receive needed treatment to avoid being a danger to themselves or others.
Representative Kay Kahn has championed legislation to address this. Massachusetts should support her efforts to create a court-ordered treatment law that would make it possible for individuals too ill to seek care for themselves to receive the help they need - before tragedies occur. Disregarding or misrepresenting the link between nontreatment and violence is a disservice that protects nobody.’

My son has schizophrenia and is with us today due to compliance to treatment.  Without treatment, my son would and has been violent due to command hallucinations and the belief that humans have been replaced by aliens.  Now he is stable on the right treatment and he is non-combative, gentle, loving, compassionate, helpful, and can, once again, reason logically.

With severe mental illness, time is brain.  That is one of the major reasons we need to implement legislation that would implement a court-ordered treatment law.  So that by early intervention we can save the brain cells that are needed for a recovery. Along with continued wrap=around services that support of that individual's recovery.

Please do all you can by publishing articles in support of assisted out-patient treatment now.  You can contact Kristina M. Ragosta, Legislative and Policy Counsel for the Treatment Advocacy Center in Arlington, VA. Or go to http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org and learn how this works and why it helps before another avoidable tragedy takes place!

Sincerely,

Deborah Fabos
23401 Park Sorrento #54
Calabasas, CA.  91302
vida_5150@hotmail.com

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County Government Works: Nevada the First — and Only — in the State

By David Liebler on April 25th, 2011

During County Government Month in April, CSAC is presenting blogs and short video features on 14 award-winning programs from 10 counties that demonstrate effective, original and cost-conscious ways counties are serving their citizens.

The peace and serenity of Nevada County was shattered in early 2001 by gunfire that resulted in the death of three innocent bystanders shot by a mentally ill local resident. One of the victims was 19-year-old Laura Wilcox, an intern at the County Behavioral Health Department. This tragedy set her parents, the state Legislature and Nevada County on a long and often controversial path that has resulted in Nevada being the only County in the state to fully implement an Assisted Outreach Treatment Program.

This program is the product of “Laura’s Law,” legislation passed in 2002 that allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. It’s a law modeled on similar laws found in New York and other states around the country. But even though the program is law, it is not without its critics. In fact, Nevada County Behavioral Health Director Michael Heggarty candidly admits that even he had concerns about the program before it was launched. Two years later, he is a staunch supporter of the Assisted Outreach Treatment Program and often speaks of its merits throughout the state. The county’s latest data shows that the program has saved more than $500,000 in the past two-and-a-half years. But more importantly, its advocates strongly believe it makes the community safer and gives those being treated a new opportunity. Nevada County Superior Court Judge Tom Anderson oversees the judicial side of the program. He adamantly states that it is making Nevada County safer and, at the same time, helping individuals before it is too late.

All 24 individuals referred to the program in Nevada County had been in and out of hospitals and/or jail with a history of violence or threats of violence toward others. And of those 24, only five had to face court orders to undergo treatment. The others agreed to voluntarily participate in treatment. For some, this treatment has resulted in the opportunity to work again and begin the process of becoming active contributors to the local community.

For Michael Heggarty, Judge Anderson and other supporters, this isn’t a program strictly about statistics; it’s a program about offering a new way to help people who previously fell through the cracks and ended up imprisoned, hospitalized, homeless or worse. It’s a program aimed at ensuring the horrors of that January 2001 day are not repeated in Nevada County.

Congratulations to Nevada County for showing that “county government works.” To review a short video of this program, click here.

County Government works, which is why Californians prefer to have programs and services managed and operated at the local level. The county programs featured by CSAC during County Government Month are 2010 CSAC Challenge Award recipients. These awards recognize the innovative and creative spirit of California county governments as they find new and effective ways of providing programs and services to their citizens. The Call for Entries for the 2011 CSAC Challenge Awards is being distributed this month.

About David:
David Liebler is the Director of Public Affairs and Member Services for the California State Association of Counties. He can be reached at dliebler.at.counties.org.

Only Two Counties In California Have Implemented Laura's Law:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laura's Law is a California state law that allows for court-orderedassisted outpatient treatment. To qualify for the program, the person must have a serious mental illness plus a recent history of psychiatric hospitalizations, jailings or acts, threats or attempts of serious violent behavior towards self or others. A complete functional outline of the legal procedures and safeguards within Laura’s Law has been prepared by NAMI San Mateo.^[1]

The law was named after Laura Wilcox, a young woman who was killed by a mental patient who had refused treatment. Modeled onKendra's Law, a similar statute enacted in New York, the bill was introduced as Assembly Bill 1421 by Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, a Democrat from Davis. The measure passed the California Legislature in 2002 and was signed into law by Governor Gray Davis. The statute can only be utilized in counties that choose to enactoutpatient commitment programs based on the measure. As of 2010, Nevada County has fully implemented the law and Los Angeles County has a pilot project. In 2010 the California State Association of Counties chose Nevada County to receive its Challenge Award for implementing Laura’s Law.^[2]

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My letter to Mr. Peter Schworm of The Boston Globe

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