Tag Archive for health

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling are Woefully Inadequate for Most Youths in Custody

Abused

Abused (Photo credit: Andrea Marutti)

The first national survey of kids aged 10-20 in state and local juvenile custody, the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP), released in 2010, found that most of them had experienced trauma and suffered from one or more mental health or substance abuse problems, yet a majority of them (particularly those with the severest needs) received no counseling.

The report found that:

Thirty percent of confined young people had experienced sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, 67 percent had seen someone killed or severely injured, and 70 percent reported that something bad or terrible had happened to them. Only 15 percent reported no trauma incidents in their past.

A large share of juveniles in custody reported behaviors that make it difficult to succeed in a conventional classroom, such as having a hard time paying attention in school (45 percent), having a hard time staying organized (40 percent), and being unable to stay in their seat (32 percent). Surprisingly, all three behaviors were reported at a higher rate by girls than by boys.

Anger problems were also rampant, with 68 percent reporting being easily upset, and 61 percent saying they lost their temper easily. Here, too, girls were more likely than boys to report problems.

Signs of more serious mental illness were also widespread. One in six confined youth suffered hallucinations, one fourth had elevated symptoms for depression, and substantial percentages reported: having suicidal thoughts (28 percent), feeling that life was not worth living (25 percent), or wishing they were dead (19 percent). Girls were far more likely than boys to report each of these symptoms. And, alarmingly, 44 percent of confined girls reported that they had attempted suicide, compared with 19 percent of confined boys.

Sixty-eight percent of confined children reported an alcohol or drug problem in the months preceding custody: 49 percent reported drinking many times per week or daily, and 64 percent reported taking drugs this frequently.

Despite these grave and widespread needs, only 53 percent of the 7,073 youngsters sampled in the SYRP report received any mental health counseling in their facilities, and only 51 percent got any substance abuse counseling. Youth with elevated symptoms for depression, anxiety, anger and hallucinations were less likely than kids with fewer symptoms to receive mental health counseling.

Moreover, 38 percent feared being physically abused in their facilities, 35 percent said staff used force against them when it wasn’t necessary, nearly half of them reported that staff in their facilities conducted strip searches, and one-fourth of the youth reported being held in solitary confinement.

 
A 2010 Justice Policy Institute research review on trauma-informed care for court-involved youth found that:

Confinement has been shown to exacerbate the symptoms of mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and the risk of abuse by staff or other youth can be traumatizing.

In particular, characteristics of correctional facilities such as seclusion, staff insensitivity or loss of privacy can exacerbate negative feelings created by previous victimization, especially among PTSD sufferers and girls. Youth in correctional facilities are frequently exposed to verbal and physical aggression, which can intensify fear or traumatic symptoms.

The survey also found that more than one-fourth of confined youth nationwide were held in facilities that did not routinely screen them for suicide risk, and more than half were in places that did not screen or assess all residents for mental health needs. In addition, suicide and mental health assessments were often completed by unqualified staff, and nearly 9 of every 10 confined youth nationwide resided in facilities that relied on unlicensed staff to deliver some or all counseling services.

Several organizations are today striving to rectify these problems.

Related articles

Building Blocks for Youth 

Findings from the First Ever National Survey of Juveniles in Custody 

Traumatic Pasts, Urgent Counseling Needs, Inadequate Services: Findings from the First Ever National Survey of Juveniles in Custody

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Special Federal Homeless Effort Coming to California

English: A homeless man in New York with the A...

A homeless man in New York with the American flag in the background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the California Housing Finance Agency the number of homeless in California is almost equal to the number of people that live in the Central Valley city if Visalia.

To anyone who is paying attention, the number of people living on the streets has gotten out of hand. Their already sizable numbers have been swelled by victims of the housing implosion and the economic downturn. More faces every day join the ranks of those sleeping under bridges, in tents and worse.

Now some federal assistance is on the way. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has chosen six states across the union to participate in their new “Policy Academy” program to help combat homelessness.

The Central Valley Business Times brings us some details about the program:

As part of the Policy Academy, California will receive technical assistance to reduce chronic homelessness. About one of every 280 Californians is homeless, according to an annual report to Congress.

“We must push forward with aggressive, forward-looking, coordinated programs to fight homelessness in the state and the country,” says Ms. Cappio. “We cannot look the other way. It affects so many of our most vulnerable residents.”

The Policy Academy will include a comparison with other programs and practices that have worked across the nation. The effort is intended to reduce fragmentation, increase community education and leadership, and provide a framework to best use available resources.

The approach seems laudable. The Policy Academy will focus on identifying how programs across the state and federal levels can be coordinated into a multidisciplinary assault on homelessness.

Various programs already exist, but they operate independently creating a scatter-shot approach to the issue. The Policy Academy will, if things go according to plan, allow efforts like the Affordable Care Act, CalFresh, CalWORKs and Medi-Cal funds to make more of an impact by working in a synergistic fashion.

The range of agencies runs from non-profits to law enforcement, including:

  • Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission
  • Department of State Hospitals
  • Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs
  • Department of Health Care Services
  • Health & Human Services Agency

We have often pointed out the complexity of these issues, and the need for coordinated, cross-disciplinary action. Let us hope that this is a step forward in that regard.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Running Towards Rehabilitation: Back on My Feet Going National with Homeless Aid

Back On My FeetWhen you hear about the homeless issues in the media, it often seems that the solutions being attempted are usually centered on housing. While, at first glance, this seems the most efficient approach, it is hardly a panacea. In order to maintain a roof over their heads, the homeless need other things. Sometimes it is discipline, sometimes it is substance-abuse treatment, sometimes it is a matter of helping them become employable.

One thing that is always central is that the issues of health and self-esteem seem to play a much more major role in rehabilitating the homeless than providing housing does. Just read some of the personal narratives contained in downTownUSA, and you will notice how frequently the homeless choose the streets over shelter.

One promising approach to solving these issues is Back On My Feet (BOMF), which started in Philadelphia and is in the process of going national. BOMF acts as a support group for the homeless, geared towards  developing their discipline, health and self-esteem, so that they can get their lives back in order. How does it do this? Would you believe it, by running? Here is an excerpt from the description on the BOMF website:

We do not provide food or shelter, but instead provide a community that embraces equality, respect, discipline, teamwork and leadership. Our organization consists of much more than just running: our members participate in a comprehensive program that offers connections to job training, employment and housing. Those benefits are earned by maintaining 90 percent attendance at the morning runs three days a week for our six to nine month program.

As anyone who has ever tried a regular exercise regimen can attest, it takes a lot of discipline to go out and run every morning. Still, using running as a means of helping the homeless is not exactly the most intuitive approach.

Let’s take a look at things firsthand. Marisol Bello, a writer for USA Today, has a great article about the organization that includes this video, which contains interviews with the program operators and the participants:

In the text portion of Bello’s report we get  some of the details on exactly how the program renders aid to its participants:

Those who show up 90% of the time in the first 30 days get a stipend of up to $1,250 to be used for rental deposits on apartments or to pay for furniture, classes, transit cards or clothes for a job. The stipend goes to the merchants, not the participant. The money comes from corporate and private donations, and shoe stores donate the sneakers.

More than half of those who have started the program are still participating or have left because they found jobs or homes, the group says.

Having that information on hand makes it much easier to see how useful BOMF can be. The stipend allows the participants to gradually ease back into society. If the group’s claims about the number of participants who have found homes and employment are correct, this looks like a winner.

Source: “Group Gets Homeless On Feet and Running,” USA Today, 09/07/10
Logo of Back On My Feet is used under Fair Use: Reporting.

Visit Us on Facebook: Humane Exposures Publishing , downTownUSA, Maggots in My Sweet Potatoes, It’s More Expensive To Do Nothing