The Justice Department and Attorney General Jim Hood issued the following press release:
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES Mississippi FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ADULTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
WASHINGTON
– The Justice Department today filed a complaint against the state of
Mississippi, alleging that it violates the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) by
failing to provide adults with mental illness with necessary integrated,
community-based mental health services. The community integration
mandate of the ADA and the Supreme Court’s decision
in Olmstead v. L.C. require states to make services available to
people with disabilities – including people with mental illness – in
the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.
The
state’s failure to provide services in community settings forces adults
with mental illness to access services and care in segregated state
hospitals, including the Mississippi State Hospital, East Mississippi
State Hospital, North Mississippi State Hospital and South Mississippi
State Hospital. Under
Olmstead, unnecessarily forcing people with disabilities to enter institutions to get services constitutes unlawful discrimination.
In December 2011, after conducting a comprehensive investigation,
the department found that the state’s system for serving individuals
with mental health disabilities violates the ADA. The department found
that the state unnecessarily institutionalizes adults and children with
disabilities and fails to ensure that they
have access to necessary services and supports in the community. The
state has recognized these failures but has not yet implemented the
required reforms to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
“When
individuals with mental illness receive the services they need, they
are better able to find meaningful work, secure stable housing, build
personal relationships, and avoid involvement with the criminal justice
system,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “For far too long,
Mississippi has failed people with mental illness, violating their civil
rights by confining them in isolating institutions.
Our lawsuit seeks to end these injustices, and it sends a clear signal
that we will continue to fight for the full rights and liberties of
Americans with mental illness”
“When
individuals with mental illness get the services they need and the care
they deserve, they can live and work in their own communities,”
said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of
the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Mississippi violates
the ADA by denying residents with disabilities the services the law
requires and the support they deserve, forcing
them to cycle in and out of state hospitals, emergency rooms and
jails. The Justice Department’s lawsuit demonstrates our firm
commitment to vindicate the rights of people with mental illness.”
“In
Mississippi, adults with mental illness receive inadequate mental
health care – care that is too often in segregated, institutional
placements,”
said U.S. Attorney Gregory Davis of the Southern District of
Mississippi. “Mississippi has not developed the necessary supports in
the community to prevent unnecessary institutionalization as required by
the ADA.”
The
complaint alleges that gaps and weaknesses in the state’s mental health
system too often subject adults with mental illness to needless trauma,
especially during a crisis. According to the complaint, adults with
mental illness who experience a crisis in Mississippi often spend days
in local emergency rooms and jail holding facilities that are
ill-equipped to address their needs, before ultimately
being transported to the state’s psychiatric hospitals. This costly
and traumatic process could be avoided if adults with mental illness
received proven and effective services in the community to prevent and
deescalate crises, enable them to maintain safe
housing and assist them in finding and holding employment.
Attorney General Jim Hood also issued the following statement:
Attorney General Jim Hood Calls for Collaborative Effort in Continuing to Improve State Mental Health Services
JACKSON—
A lawsuit filed today by the U.S. Department of Justice against the
state of Mississippi provides the most meaningful opportunity yet for
leaders to work together to continue to improve
the state’s mental health system, Attorney General Jim Hood said today.
The
federal government alleges that the state has violated the Americans
with Disabilities Act by housing mentally ill individuals in
institutions rather than community settings. The Department
of Justice has filed similar lawsuits in about a dozen states alleging
violations of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.
“This
lawsuit is a clarion call to all of us in state leadership to consider
how we care for the least among us and how we can make it better,”
Attorney General Hood said. “I see this litigation
as a challenge to our Legislature to find the resources we need to
continue to expand mental health services. This is a clear opportunity
for our Legislature, mental health professionals, our faith-based
community and all of us as Mississippians to come together
to determine an effective way to address issues related to our mental
health delivery system for years to come. It’s our obligation as
Christians and people of faith to take care of those who are unable to
take care of themselves. It’s time for each of us
to move forward to better fulfill that fundamental responsibility.
“The
state has made great progress in expanding community mental health
programs, and we will continue to push for expansion. We have come a
long way, but further work remains to be done.”
Attorney
General Hood said his office has been negotiating with DOJ for several
years in an effort to avoid litigation, which is expected to be a
considerable cost to the state at a time when
tax cuts have caused significant budget problems. However, the Attorney
General refused to accept the federal government’s demands for a
court-ordered consent decree that would bind the state to perpetual
federal oversight.
Attorney
General Hood had also hoped that good-faith efforts to address the
state’s mental health needs might allay the federal government’s
concerns. Thus, the Attorney General has encouraged
lawmakers for years to allocate additional resources to the Department
of Mental Health. The Legislature did provide some extra funding in
previous sessions, but this year actually cut the Department’s budget by
$8.3 million. Since 2008, the Department has
been forced to eliminate approximately 500 mental health beds, in
addition to 34 beds in 2016 because of the Legislature’s budget cuts and
its refusal to provide additional money for mental health programs.
“Not
only did the Department of Mental Health take a substantial budget hit,
the Legislature did not agree to a request for more than $12 million
for community mental health programs,” Attorney
General Hood said. “That would have helped us continue our expansion of
community-based mental health services and kept us moving in the right
direction, as we’ve consistently been doing already.”
The
Attorney General noted that Georgia has been involved in similar
litigation with DOJ since 2010 and has already spent more than $200
million.
41 comments:
What can the Federal Govt do if the state does have the money to pay for all the mental health required??? Let the feds come in and take over mental health.
Monkeys could do a better job of running the MS State Dept. of Mental Health than the bozos who run it now. They are paid exorbitant salaries to attend meetings, conferences and "retreats", while the mentally ill citizens of MS are thrown away. Bring in the Feds and expose the waste and corruption in this state agency!
Point one of two: The lawsuit has tremendous merit. The state either ignores mental health issues or advocates warehousing people with mental health problems in one of the regional hospitals. The law does not say "This is required if the state feels it can afford to do it." The law says "Do it."
Point two of two: Isn't it the AG's duty to defend the state against lawsuits rather than high-five the plaintiff?
"Let the feds come in and take over mental health."
Congratulations on recognizing what's happening! Pick up your prize at the counter.
Illegal drugs and prescription drug abuse has caused a great deal of this. Years of abuse accelerates the mental capacity and creates the mental illness. I know many will argue with me, but you need to see it happening in the workplace. It's a shame. Add the synthetic marijuana (spice) to the mix and I'm seeing it drive people crazy. I firmly believe people are not born with mental illness. I firmly believe it is caused by drug abuse.
4:33 - it's the attorney's job to educate the client on when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em, when to walk away, & when to run.
Representing a private client, I certainly wouldn't make a public statement like Hood's. But he represents the state of Mississippi, i.e., me and you and the whole dang crew. If there's no defense to the suit, maybe we should know this at the outset?
@ From The Bleachers
You were spot on.
90% of the time I usually rip the #MSLeg for most of the shenanigans they pull or for ignoring an issue.
But on this, the Feds (DOJ) came into a rural state waved their magic wand and said get it fixed. It's just not that simple Tristan.
Mississippi has 82 counties, imagine implementing a mental health community model for the state? Each one of those counties would need to have their own mental health "system" or "office" with mobile staff. Even if they were regional offices, they would need staff, vehicles, transport unit to actual mental health facilities for at risk patients, etc etc
Community base model sounds good, when you look back at facilities like Willowbrook State School in New York. But now the facilities are audited on a regular basis. From a fiscal standpoint, they are the most logical.
Bleachers, the AG knows the lawsuit has merit and there is no defense. Although many attorneys ignore ethics, technically you cannot mount a frivolous defense of a civil suit or a criminal charge. A criminal defense attorney, in the absence of any defense, can require the state to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but cannot fabricate evidence or intentionally mislead the jury. Again, many don't play by these rules, but they are real.
Hood warned the legislature and governor about underfunding mental health. What do you really expect him to do now? And no, I don't support him for governor.
5:17, you are the dumbest person I have ever met. That would be like saying cancer, hypertension, or lupus is purely an enviromental issue. I am glad you aren't my doctor or in health care. My guess is that you are one of the elders at a 12 step group that tells the newly initiated to pull the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth, fucking fascist.
To 5:17. What drug caused yours?
If there ever was a state that needed more funding for mental health Ms. is it. Just take a look at all of the nut cases Ms. has, many in some type of govt. position. Imagine what the majority of the people must be like since they voted for these people.
Please Ms. return every cent that was cut from mental health then double their budget.
The buck stops with Phil. He likes to take credit for any success in Mississippi (whether he had anything to do with it or not). As the state's CEO, he should man up and own this problem.
There are major cuts in every agency serving the public. Bryant, Gunn and Reeves orchestrated the worst Legislative session in my lifetime. State government has to function and those three are only serving themselves.
@5:17 - I don't know who should be more offended by your extraordinary ignorance: those who suffer from the illness of addiction or those that suffer with life-long mental illness - or all their loved ones. You have managed to take a position which is an affront to virtually everyone. You have obviously experienced first-hand these diseases and chosen to live in denial. Your lack of intelligence is exceeded only by your lack of compassion...
More points:
Point 3 of 4: It matters not how difficult a state thinks or finds that it will be to offer suitable mental health services for the population. Who gives a whack-ass how many counties there are or how many new Prius autos will need to be purchased. The fact is there are several federal laws requiring states to offer adequate services. Bitch and moan about that as you wish. There are no free-passes issued to states who claim financial difficulty.
Point 4 of 4: Regardless of how indefensible the State's current position is, it's only grandstanding, politicking and self-serving for Mullet-Boy to immediately take to the stage and podium to reply in this manner. We all know what he did and why he did it and it has nothing whatever to do with advising his client, the state.
I work in mental health, and trust me, I'm not making some large salary.
This is a 2 fold problem. Yes, the state did/does a piss poor job of managing funds. It is sadly like a MAJORITY of the world today. When times are good, things are good. We make purchases, spend out of our means. We expand budgets for the money we have. When times are bad we panic and are forced to make cuts. There are complaints and whining, but we weren't prudent with what we had before. Again, the comparison to the world today, people complain about student loans, but they are on a brand new iphone, in a new car, eating out, after getting a degree in a subject that is unusable in the working world.
The second problem, our state isn't conducive to the models that the DOJ wants our State mental health to be. Yes, we could have invested more money and effort YEARS (20+) into more community based programs, but it isn't cost effective. The state facilities are 1 stop shops, all the services you could ever need in one place. No, these different facilities aren't in their communities, but building 82 facilities with redundancies in services isn't very effective. A mental health center in Louisville may go a month without having anyone needing services, then have 5 people need services in a week. Our system is designed to have a facility they can receive services anytime.
Our population doesn't support the models DOJ are asking us to do. Can we do better, yes, but having a community support system in the New York Tri-State area is totally different that in the State of Mississippi.
A better way to view and understand this, look at grocery stores in Mississippi. Does every town have a Kroger or Walmart? Bigger cities/communities have one that serves a region or area. Whereas the Jackson Metro area has multiple grocers. That's a service needed by ALL Mississippi residents. The same reason the hometown grocers closed up shop, it's not cost effective anymore. Yeah, there's a Dollar General on each corner that's ok for some items, but the variety and frankly quality is greatly affected.
Frankly the DOJ has the classic liberal tactic of saying "it's all wrong, change it!" When asked "To what and How?" They reply "That's not our problem."
This may be a little different than most posts.
I am one of the people who need help. I know I have a mental problem but also know I will not get any help. There isn't anything I can do but try my best to hold things together as long as I possibly can. I have tried every place for help. Even tried the govt. I am a veteran but the VA will not help. I have got in touch with everyone I know who might be able to help. Even tried the governors office, no help there.
How many like me are out there? Some that might be saved? Many are looking for help but there isn't anyone or anyplace to get help.
Just like the federal government to compare apples to oranges. They have yet to notice that Mississippi is a rural state. It is impossible to offer mental health services in all 82 counties. They do there best with 14 regional mental health centers that try to service all 82 counties but with budget cuts it is going to be difficult. I blame this on our state legislature.
@1:46 contact your local regional mental health centers.
http://www.dmh.ms.gov/service-options/community-mh-centers/
That's a start for you. If you feel that you may harm yourself or others contact someone. For more information you can research http://www.dmh.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DMH-Mobile-Crisis-Response-Team-Card1.pdf
Or if in an emergency call 911. They can help keep you safe.
To those saying "let the feds do it", that is EXACTLY what the state is worried about. If the feds do it directly, the state WILL NOT GET PAID to do it, and the state LOVES getting huge bang for it's buck when it pays $1 for every $2 the feds kick in for some state wide service being provided. Now that federal money won't be coming to the state's budget and it'll mean less money overall.
Also if the feds are doing some service directly the state (and the legislature) will have much less say so on how things are done. You can see that as a positive or negative but the legislature usually hates it.
@ August 12, 2016 at 2:29 PM
Well said! Add in the fact, the feds will bring in their OWN people. So there's no guarantee Mississippians will be chosen to fill the necessary positions, especially the administrative positions.
@ From The Bleachers 2
You are saying give Mental Health carte blanche for budgeting, but how do you propose that when the legislators are cutting revenue streams to nil?
We can't have it both ways people. We can't get excited about tax cuts and then wonder why we are borrowing money to pay the utilities?
2:01, thank you for your help. I have contacted both. The first one sent me on a phone extension circle. Finally gave up when I talked to the 3 same people over and over. Each one sending me to the others who would immediately send me back. The other one I am still waiting for anything from them. Been quite a while so I think they have passed the buck also. Even called the VA emergency line. No answer for the first 3 days. Finally got an answer but the woman told me she was busy.
2:43, it would help quite a bit if the politicians would not stuff so much money in their pockets and the pockets of their friends. Just cutting out a little of the waste would free up a lot of money.
"@ From The Bleachers 2
You are saying give Mental Health carte blanche for budgeting, but how do you propose that when the legislators are cutting revenue streams to nil?"
Not sure how you came up with that from either of my posts. I've said it does no good at all to moan that we have no way to comply with the law when that response is not an acceptable option. Instead of attempting compliance, for the past five to ten years the governors and legislators have been cutting, cutting, cutting funding for mental health. How is that responsible governance?
Nor has anybody (that I've seen here) said there needs to be 82 separate facilities, one in each county. That would be as idiotic as a Wal Mart Super Center in Issaquena County.
Integrate you say? We can't integrate our white children with negro children in our schools. This is not New York City. It can't be done here. The federal government is crazy. Those people live way over there and our children live way over here and our school is here and they have a school over there.
Plus teachers from here won't work over there. No way in hell that could work. The federal government is using a New York or Chicago model which will not work here. No way. Those people don't have cars. How would they get over here? We can't afford new school buildings in the middle. It can't work. Ever. The feds are nucking futs.
Let Kennedy and LBJ come down here and make it work if they're so smart. Ha.
The fact that the federal government doesn't like the methods that the State has chosen to address this problem doesn't make it a situation requiring the feds to insist on their solution.
Not to be ugly, but why are those with mental issues 'entitled' to free and local healthcare to be provided by the state? If I have medical issues (not mental) it is not the state's responsibility to provide me with the needed services. If I have a heart condition that requires surgery, I would certainly love to have it done in my local (name your rural county) hospital and paid for by the state. But it doesn't work that way - I go to a regional medical center (Tupelo, Meridian, Hattiesburg, Coast, Jackson) and pay for a doctor to provide the medical treatment. Why is it that those needing mental health provided get it (1) at the state's expense, and (2) in a local environment dictated by the feds in DC?
"Nor has anybody (that I've seen here) said there needs to be 82 separate facilities, one in each county. That would be as idiotic as a Wal Mart Super Center in Issaquena County. "
Good point. The State Dept of Health, I believe, is split into seven or eight districts, which is a much more manageable number for a state this size (speaking about geography, not population size). Everyone is within an hour or so from DOH clinics, which is doable for most people, although this state has a surprising number of people who are desperately dependent on others for absolutely everything and would need cab vouchers to get there, if cab service is available.
No car, no family, no friends - it sucks to be some people :-(
4:32, how about the people who fought for this country and were promised medical care for their sacrifice? There is already a VA hospital that is supposed to do the job.
Want to know how it is doing the job? You could ask a veteran but there will be someone who will immediately post that the VA is doing a great job. Another way would be to do a search on the lawsuits against the VA hospital in Jackson. Be sure to read about the veteran who bled to death because no one checked on him after surgery. Or the one about rusty instruments used in the operating room. Be sure and read about the drug and alcohol use of the administrators.
@ From the Bleachers
If the Feds want us to set up a "community" based model, its safe to assume they mean for each county in the state. If I'm wrong then so be it.
But, they didn't take into account the type of state we are and how we are going to pay for things they suggested we need to do.
I agree with you on the funding, to an extent
1:46 PM Most of the community health centers have a nurse who answers the phone or calls back 24 hours a day. For crisis situations they can arrange for you to get immediate help. If your situation gets too bad go to the nearest ER or call 911 and tell them the situation. If you to ever have to call 911 make certain to let the police and EMS know you do not have any weapons and are seeking help.
I am glad the federal government has filed suit. I assisted a friend who was under the care of a community mental health center for over 10 years. It is absolutely criminal the way the state has destroyed the mental health system in this state. Each year I have seen the direct result of budget cuts as good healthcare professionals were laid off or gave up and left because it was completely impossible to see the number of patients they were assigned each day. Some of the faces I have seen in the waiting rooms over the years will stay with me forever. Few were substance abusers. Many were disabled children. Many were elderly. Many could not talk. Many were completely incoherent. Some were actually physically restrained. Most lacked Medicaid or Medicare and relied on whatever samples the health center could scrape together for them to keep them alive. There is not doubt DOJ will win the case and they will win big as they should. The entire system should be put under the direction of a federal judge who will order the state how much money it takes to bring the system up to where it should be. This is an example of the poor leadership we have in state government. Instead of fixing the problems, our state ignores them until it costs many times more to fix them.
People at the DMH are stealing equipment, including laptop computers for their kids; failing to work regularly; and generally not doing shit but apparently cannot get fired. Someone needs to clean up that mess. It is a disgrace.
8:15 PM The legislature cut the budget $8.3 million and did not fund $12 million and this is just for this year alone. During the years I have been familiar with the services on a local level, it has been this way year after year. This state needs to take a realistic look at what it takes to operate a state and prepare a budget that makes sense. The legislature needs to stop being Santa Claus and giving money to every pet project, fly by night industry, etc. that gets promoted by some lobbyist at a Jackson watering hole.
'Community Model' does not mean 82 facilities. The feds could care less how many counties or parishes a state has.
You would not believe the number of 'entrepreneurs' who are currently making a nice living off hauling patients up and down the highways in fancy white vans and a fleet of Prius vehicles with tiny logos on the doors. A few are county sponsored, some are state but most are privately owned.
Some of them will take a patient from Rolling Fork to Clarksdale and back and then pick up a patient in Leland and take him to Cleveland and back. Never mind picking up both patients and making several legs out of that trip. There's more money to be made in the nonsensical routes.
I wonder how close to a dollar per mile these 'businesses' are charging the state/feds.
We could also talk about a grant for literacy training at nursing homes or hauling old people into Rolling Fork to teach them to feel good about themselves but that's for another day.
I'm a mental health professional. I've been in meetings about some of the federal plans for community health. They want to have services and group homes in the communities in which the citizenry lives. Not group homes in the poor low income areas but in the communities people are from. Very noble goal, but that's easier said than done. It's not services in 82 counties, but services where people live. Maybe more than 82. It's similar to our school district situation. We frankly don't have the tax base to support it, more over the population to support it. The New York models or Philadelphia, PA models are much easier to do in areas where in a 10 city block radius they have everything and tens of thousands of people.
Don't think that I'm saying give us more money and leave us alone, there needs to be changes but the Feds coming in saying "everything is wrong and we know better" isn't the best solution.
Hood sucks as AG but he really sux the Feds when they step in. Has to hurt his cheek.
Leave a few beds open at the State hospital after laBamba and his ss(sorry sh*t) troops stick their noses in Ms Gov't or any other State's business to "fix it" for those of us that he has sent over the edge.
Seems the Feds would try to tackle the Cliton corrupt regime but since she will advance Hussein's (disastrous)legacy, there will be no interruption in the labama steamrolling of our society and country.
The worst is yet to come...
On a bright note, hope I'm wrong.
The issue here, with the Feds, is not how many counties or facilities the state has. The issue is the red flags that have been hoisted by three consecutive years of funding cuts.
Don'tchu reckon that would raise the interest level of even the most dullardly of federal over-seers.
The message sent by Mississippi lawmakers has been this: We can't do it. We won't do it. We will continue to cut funding. And we don't care who objects.
7:32, the same message has been sent by all politicians for many years. Sure glad you finally noticed.. Be sure and tell all of your friends.
7:53 - I don't need to 'tell all my friends'. Who doesn't realize it? I noticed it before you were out of college. You're too stupid to realize what side I'm on. All you are interested is your PERS account.
9:10, I don't have a PERS account. I don't care what side you are on. t least I went to college. I would bet it was before you learned to read.
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