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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 31, 2003
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Contact: Christopher Burley, Bazelon Center, 202-467-5730 x 133 or leec@bazelon.org
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Arizona Governor Boosts JK Reforms
Napolitano announces expansion of children’s
mental health services pilot program
(Jan. 31, 2003) – Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano announced
earlier this week that the innovative approach to providing mental
health services to children that was adopted as part of the historic
JK settlement would be expanded statewide.
As Attorney General, Gov. Napolitano played a key role in engineering
the agreement that resolved JK v. Eden, a 1991 lawsuit that
challenged Arizona's failure to provide mental health services to
children in the state’s Medicaid program. The children were
represented in the suit by Ira Burnim, legal director at the Bazelon
Center for Mental Health Law, Anne Ronan, staff attorney of the
Arizona Center for Disability Law, and Joseph McGarry, of Lewis
and Roca, LLP, a Phoenix law firm.
Under the JK settlement agreement, the state agreed to undertake
a fundamental shift in the way it treats children and families,
based on 12
principles that emphasize treating children and families with
respect and promoting collaboration among agencies.
The “300 Kids” pilot project, which was an outgrowth
of the JK settlement, uses an approach that seeks to involve the
entire family in a child’s treatment, as well as neighbors,
community organizations and even churches. According to a press
released issued earlier this week by the governor’s office,
the approach has now been successfully tested in the pilot sites
and can be adopted statewide.
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The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation's
leading legal advocate for the rights of people with mental disabilities.
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