The state's Band-Aid approach to mental heath funding and treatment is failing those who need help, and costing taxpayers millions. The consequences of untreated mental illness have been hidden for too long. If we want to change what a recent presidential commission called our "broken" mental health system, the state must focus on front-end solutions that get to the root of the problem, instead of focusing on stopgap measures such as shortterm incarcerations, that only prolong suffering and drive up costs. [continues 458 words]
The consequences of untreated mental illness have been hidden for too long. If we want to change what a recent presidential commission called our "broken" mental health system, the state must focus on front-end solutions that get to the root of the problem, instead of focusing on stop gap measures like short term incarcerations, that only prolong suffering and drive up costs. Being mentally ill is not a crime, but too many people who need treatment are ending up in our jails and prison systems due to their illnesses. Many are unable to get timely treatment in their local communities due to long waiting lists. As a result, many suffer psychotic breaks that lead to behaviors that cause their arrest. [continues 315 words]
There are three times more mentally ill people in prisons than in mental health hospitals. lorida's law enforcement and corrections systems have become the state's de facto mental health treatment providers. More often than not, our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and parole officers are being forced to serve as the first responders and overseers of a system ill equipped to deal with the consequences of an under-funded treatment system that is stretched beyond capacity. While headline-grabbing tragedies often serve to define the problem in the eyes of both the public and our policy makers, the day-to-day realities for our officers and judges are much different. [continues 670 words]
Florida's law enforcement and corrections systems are rapidly evolving into the state's de facto mental health treatment providers. More often than not, our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and parole officers are being forced to serve as the first responders and overseers of a system ill equipped to deal with an underfunded treatment system that's stretched beyond capacity. While headline-grabbing tragedies often define the problem in the eyes of the public and our policy-makers, the day-to-day realities for our officers and judges are much different. [continues 551 words]
Florida's law-enforcement and corrections systems are rapidly evolving into the state's de facto mental health treatment providers. More often than not, our law-enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and parole officers are being forced to serve as the first responders and overseers of a system ill-equipped to deal with the consequences of an underfunded treatment system that's stretched beyond capacity. While headline-grabbing tragedies often serve to define the problem in the eyes of both the public and our policy-makers, the day-to-day realities for our officers and judges are much different. A more familiar scenario is one in which an officer responds to repeated incidents involving an individual known to have a history of mental illness. With nowhere to take him or her for treatment or crisis intervention, the officer is forced to place the person under arrest, often for such minor infractions as disturbing the peace or making lewd gestures at passing vehicles. [continues 599 words]
Florida's law enforcement and corrections systems have become the state's de facto mental health treatment providers. More often than not, our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and parole officers are being forced to serve as the first responders and overseers of a system ill equipped to deal with the consequences of an underfunded treatment system that is stretched beyond capacity. While headline-grabbing tragedies often serve to define the problem in the eyes of both the public and our policy-makers, the day-to-day realities for our officers and judges are much different. A more familiar scenario is one in which an officer responds to repeated incidents involving an individual known to have a history of mental illness. With nowhere to take him or her for treatment or crisis intervention, the officer is forced to place the person under arrest, often for such minor infractions as disturbing the peace or loitering. [continues 612 words]
