For Planning Purposes Only: Wed. July 7, 2004 10:00 AM EST
Contacts: Christopher Burley, Bazelon Center, 202-467-5730 x 133
or 202-427-1175 (mobile); OR Joey R. Weedon, American Correctional
Association (ACA), 301-918-1885 or 301-442-3696 (mobile)
New Survey Examines Link Between
Gaps in Mental Healthcare and Juvenile Detention
Washington, DC (July 2, 2004)—The first national survey of children
with mental health needs who are incarcerated in juvenile detention centers
awaiting community mental health services will be released at a Senate hearing
July 7. The survey is expected to show that, across the country, significant
numbers of children with mental disorders are being inappropriately warehoused
in juvenile detention centers awaiting treatment.
What: “Juvenile Detention Centers: Are They Warehousing Children with
Mental Illness?” Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing and issue
briefing
Who: Individuals scheduled to testify at the hearing include:
- The Honorable Henry A. Waxman, U.S. House of Representatives
- Carol Carothers, Executive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill of Maine
- Tammy Seltzer, Senior Staff Attorney, Bazelon Center for Mental
Health Law
- Leonard Dixon, Executive Director, Wayne County Juvenile Detention
Facility, Detroit, Michigan
- The Honorable Ernestine S. Gray, Chief Judge,
Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Kenneth
J. Martinez , PSY. D., Director, Children’s Behavioral Health,
Department of Children, Youth and Families, State of New Mexico
Respondents scheduled for the afternoon issue briefing: Charles
J. Kehoe (President,
American Correctional Association); Chris Koyanagi (Policy Director, Bazelon
Center for Mental Health Law) Marc Schindler (Staff Attorney, Youth Law Center & Co-Chair,
National Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Coalition); Trina
W. Osher (Coordinator of Policy & Research, Federation of Families for Children's
Mental Health) Jerrauld Jones (Director, Virginia Dept. of Juvenile Justice);
Cynthia Folcarelli (Executive Vice President, National Mental Health Association);
Kenneth Rogers, M.D. (Member, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Committee on Juvenile Justice Reform); Carol Carothers (NAMI of Maine) and
Leonard Dixon (Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility)
When: Wednesday, July 7, 10:00 AM EST (hearing), 1:00 PM EST (issue briefing)
Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342, Washington, DC
The survey was commissioned by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Senator
Susan Collins (R-ME) and conducted by the House Government Reform Committee’s
Special Investigations Division. It will be available online July 7 after 10:00
AM at: http://www.house.gov/reform/min/
# # #
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is a national legal advocate
for the civil rights and human dignity of people with mental disabilities.
|
