Harry Litman on the Future of Consent Decrees
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HEADLINES
SANTA FE - Santa Fe's Alternative Response Unit sees fewer dispatches amid calls for growth (Santa Fe New Mexican)
Reports 911 indicate the unit had taken 881 calls as of Nov. 17. The unit handled more than 1,500 calls in 2022 and more than 1,100 in 2023, and fewer than 100 responses per month in recent months, compared to more than 250 in October 2022. Fire Chief Brian Moya pointed to turnover and key vacancies over the past year as an explanation of the drop in its responses.
TRENTON - Enough delays: When cops kill the mentally ill, bureaucracy is also to blame (editorial board of the NJ.com)
The death of a mentally-ill person is often depicted as the act of a cop who made a horrendous mistake, but it’s actually a system-wide failure. Forming a network of community-based, medically-informed, culturally-responsive mental health organizations is a public service in which failure is not an option.
WASHINGTON DC - Regulator Sues Anti-Police Activist Who Spent Charity Funds on Himself (New York Times)
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued Brandon Anderson and Raheem AI, saying Anderson diverted $75,000 to pay for mansion rentals, a trip to Cancún and designer clothes.
Schwalb seeks to shutter the organization, bar Mr. Anderson from leading any other DC nonprofit and order Mr. Anderson or Raheem AI to repay the $75,000.
FYI - Would a Group Opposed to Police Blow the Whistle on Its Founder? (New York Times)
DAYTON - County mental health crisis response services delayed through January (Dayton Daily)
Mental health crisis services ― including the Crisis Now hotline, mobile crisis services and the Montgomery County Crisis Receiving Center ― fell apart in Montgomery County in late May after RI International, the county’s prior provider, cut ties with the county.
RI International cited losses in the millions and an inability to keep up with costs as its reasons for why it was leaving the county and would no longer be providing the three-tiered crisis services. Its last contract with Montgomery County ADAMHS also allowed RI International to give a two-week notice that it would be leaving.
ALAMEDA COUNTY - Police Are More Likely to Handcuff Black Children in Mental Health Crisis, Study Finds (KQED.org)
Police in Alameda County are more likely to handcuff Black children experiencing a mental health crisis — particularly girls — than children of other races, according to a new study out of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
When a parent calls 911 because their child is experiencing severe emotional distress, police often arrive before an ambulance, lead study author Dr. Kenshata Watkins said.
“Police aren’t really trained to handle these types of emergencies, right?” Watkins said. “And so they get there, and they do what police do.”
Race, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Prehospital Law Enforcement Handcuffing in Children With Behavioral Health Emergencies (JAMA Network)
In this cross-sectional study of 6759 pediatric emergency medical services (EMS) encounters, Black race and neighborhood disadvantage were associated with handcuffing by law enforcement. The odds of Black children being handcuffed were 1.8 times that of White children; children evaluated in neighborhoods with highest and moderate disadvantage were handcuffed 1.5 times that of children in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Authors - Kenshata Watkins, MD; Nicolaus W. Glomb, MD, MPH; Tarak K. Trivedi, MD; et al
COMMENTARY
Navigating the Intersection of Mental Health, Racism, and Law Enforcement (Psychiatric Times)
Author - Tiffani L. Bell Washington, MD, MPH, FAPA
The tragic death of Sonya Massey—who had a mental illness, per her family—serves as a stark reminder of the complex and often dangerous intersection of mental health crises, systemic racism, and law enforcement involvement. As mental health professionals, we are called to reflect deeply on this incident, not only to understand the failures that occurred but also to advocate for systemic changes that protect our most vulnerable patients.
Eds. Note - this commentary by Dr. Washington comes from the current issue of Psychiatric Times which has an unusual (for them) focus on forensic psychiatry - the intersection of law & mental illness.
CALLS
The Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton is seeking a consultant to help write a white paper on community safety responses and de-escalation. Contact Steve David for more info.
RFP - White Paper on Conflict De-escalation and Community Safety Approaches in the United States
NEW MEXICO - The NM Health Care Authority, Behavioral Health Services Division, through the New Mexico Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative, is issuing the Mobile Crisis Teams Request for Application for the procurement of Mobile Crisis Intervention Services intended to provide rapid response, individual assessment and evaluation for individuals across their lifespan, who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
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