Public Citizen and the Treatment Advocacy Center shows challenges faced by county jails, almost all of which reported housing inmates with serious mental illnesses.
Whenever landing in jails and racking up prolonged incarceration time awaiting a state psychiatric bed, the incarceration rate for Americans with serious mental illnesses has reached a critical for ages being that a lot of these individuals are predisposed by their illnesses to committing minor crimes. Lots of them receive no or inadequate mental health treatment during their incarceration, that worsens their conditions.
By the way, the survey obtained responses from 230 sheriffs’ departments in 39 states that operate jail facilities or detention centers. John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center said, The horror stories from family members and law enforcement alike must galvanize the country to make substantial reforms to our mental health system that would allow necessary and appropriate treatment before people become entangled in the criminal justice system. These survey data constitute the most thorough national feedback on the perspective of county jail staff in more than two decades.
Press Room The survey obtained responses from 230 sheriffs’ departments in 39 states that operate jail facilities or detention centers.
These survey data constitute the most thorough national feedback on the perspective of county jail staff in more than two decades.
Whenever landing in for a whileed incarceration time awaiting a state psychiatric bed, the incarceration rate for Americans with serious mental illnesses has reached a critical for a while being that the majority of these individuals are predisposed by their illnesses to committing minor crimes. Loads of them receive no or inadequate mental health treatment during their incarceration, that worsens their conditions. Fact, public Citizen and the Treatment Advocacy Center shows challenges faced by county jails, almost all of which reported housing inmates with serious mental illnesses.
Problems still exist, insurance coverage for mental health care has taken strides under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Advocates this week took alternative route. Getty Images/PhotoAlto
Studies have revealed that coverage for treatment of mental illness often does not match that provided for other medical conditions, causing advocates to pressure Capitol Hill to enforce laws and pass new ones to reduce disparities in care. Just think for a moment. While targeting doctors, with the release of a guidebook offering details on mental disorders and how to get federal government in recent years has overhauled insurance coverage for treatment of mental health and substance abuse -jointly referred to as behavioral health. President Barack Obama’s health care law extended the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, passed in 2008, that requires mental health benefits in some employersponsored plans be provided on identical terms as other medical care. On top of this, mental health care is one of 10 benefits required to be provided in all plans sold, just like maternity care and vaccines. Obamacare also expanded coverage of behavioral health through private health plans sold on state and federal marketplaces, where Americans can buy tax subsidized plans on the basis of their income.
Recent analysis by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that significant barriers to care and to paying for care still exist.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness also has found thatfunding for mental illness at the state level has lagged. Meanwhile, lots of people still perceive mental health problems as different from other conditions.
Advocates been working to change the public perception of mental illness from conditions historically surrounded by mystery and fear -often hidden from public view -to illnesses that can be treated in the mainstream of modern medicine. As pointed out by the American Psychiatric Association, americans experience some kind of mental disorder or substance abuse problem at some point in their lives. Basically the misperceptions and disparity in services associated with mental health problems are attributable to stigma and misunderstanding, advocates say, not to a lack of people who suffer from their consequences.