(Cross-posted from The COFAR Blogsite) Last year, State Auditor Suzanne Bump approved a proposal to privatize mental health services in southeastern Massachusetts after the for-profit Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP) … [Read more...]
Maura Healey Talks Prisons and Guns
Dem candidate for MA attorney general Maura Healey bears the mark of the progressive — she wants to go to the root of big problems and solve them. Click below to hear how she’d tackle two complex, interrelated areas of … [Read more...]
Understanding and Compassion: Essential Ingredients to Mental Health Reform
In the wake of the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, mental health reform is back in the national spotlight. There are risks associated with mental health reform when it comes to crime prevention. These risks … [Read more...]
Mental health parity does not exist
Want to bring the BMG community’s attention to an impressive speech made during budget debate Thursday night by freshman Sen. John F. Keenan, who called insurance companies out on the carpet for failing to meet obligations under the … [Read more...]
ANOTHER inmate suicide, yesterday, in Shirley MCI – with POLL!!
Here is the story: http://www.boston.com/news/loc... Once again, history of suicide attempts. History of mental health problems. Dead - and with over crowding, cuts in prison mental health, cuts in staffing, cuts in mental … [Read more...]
I don’t get our governor
It's not about civil rights. He's all over that map. It's not about the rule of law or court settlements. It's not about getting people out of large institutions, since the child and adolescent funding is designed to keep them at home as … [Read more...]
ALERT – Rosie D. leads to improved mental health services for minors receiving MassHealth
[I received this information via a Special Education listserv in which I participate, as I am also active in the field of Special Education. This information is critical for teachers, social workers, police, parents, and others. … [Read more...]
DMH lays off 100 case mgrs in response to having funding cut – lets throw more kids under the bus!
DMH had its funding cut - and laid off 100 case managers, stripping them from 3000 cases and adding those cases to the 350 remaining case managers. Once again, that is "throw the kids and the mentally ill under the bus." There … [Read more...]
Yale study shows both bullies and those they bully at increased risk of suicide
Yale researchers reviewed 37 studies in several countries. The conclusion is that BOTH those bullied and bullies themselves are at increased risk of suicide - see http://www.sciencedaily.com/re... A zero tolerance for bullying, and … [Read more...]
Seven Suicides in Massachusetts prisons this year – WHY??
My point, again, is that money spent on prisons and incarceration is money falling into a bottomless pit. Human capitol is diminished and tax dollars generate no economic benefit. A prison model based on retribution and … [Read more...]