(8-29-17) Elyn Saks’ thought provoking article in Politico about forced treatment (that I posted yesterday) sparked a lively discussion on my Facebook page. This never ending debate about civil rights comes before the first meeting this Thursday of a federal mental health advisory committee. One of the quickest to argue with Dr. Saks was D. J. Jaffe, who wasn’t appointed to the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee, but was a key proponent in helping Rep. Tim Murphy (R. Pa.) get his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, signed into law. It was that act which created the new advisory committee. Feel free to join the discussion on my facebook page.

Heal Thyself?

A federal panel on serious mental illness gets bad advice.

 By D. J. Jaffe, first posted in City Journal. 

In a recent op-ed in Politico, law professor Elyn Saks argued for “expand[ing] the definition of competence” of seriously mentally ill people so more can refuse to consent to treatment. “Instead of designing new ways to force medication on patients,” she writes, “we need to put our efforts into finding new ways to help people want treatment so we don’t have to use force.” Those are not mutually exclusive choices. Both are needed. This proposal—to make it harder to designate incompetence—is dangerous both to society and to the mentally ill themselves.

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I want to thank everyone, once again, for your kind words of support about my appointment  last week to a congressional advisory committee. Our first meeting will be next week and I will keep you informed of our progress. Meanwhile:

(8-21-17) Mira Signer and Virgil Stucker, two highly-respected mental health advocates, have moved to new careers.

After working for a decade at the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Virginia, Mira has resigned as executive director to become the System of Care Director for Magellan Health of Virginia.

Magellan Health of Virginia has the state’s contract to provide behavioral health services for those on Medicaid and also on children’s assisted health insurance.

During her tenure, Mira was a much needed strong, relentless and fearless voice. Most recently, she was responsible for boldly protesting about the death of Jamycheal Mitchell, who literally starved in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. It was Mira who helped organize a letter from advocacy groups that asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Mitchell’s death after the disAbility Law Center, the state Inspector General, and the Virginia Attorney General shamefully ducked their duties.

In an email about the career change, Mira wrote:

“I wasn’t expecting it but the opportunity arose and while it was an extremely tough decision given my love for the work, I felt it was a great opportunity to learn and be challenged in new ways, to bring my voice and experiences into the managed care world and work within systems to educate and guide policy decisions to make a positive difference.”

She will be sorely missed.

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I am delighted to be joining Elyn Saks and other advocates on federal committee

(8-17-17) I am deeply honored and excited about being named yesterday by the Department of Health and Human Services to a special committee created by Congress to help oversee reform of our federal mental health care system.

I wish to thank U.S. Senator John Cornyn, (R-Tx.), Virginia state Senator Creigh Deeds (D.), and Miami Dade Judge Steven Leifman for recommending me to HHS Secretary Tom Price.

Rep. Tim Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act first cited the need for an oversight panel that would report to Congress and include 14 public members, including at least one parent. I am thrilled to have been chosen for that slot, although several other members of the group also either have or are related to individuals with mental illnesses and addictions. (The required composition is listed at the end of this post.)

A compromised version of the Pennsylvania Republican’s Mental Health Crisis bill was signed into law during the final days  of the Obama administration creating both a new Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse and an Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC).

The committee is composed of senior leaders from ten federal agencies including HHS, the Departments of Justice, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor and the Social Security administration along with the 14 non-federal members who were selected from more than 200 applicants. The other 13 members chosen for the committee include many familiar names:

• Linda S. Beeber, Ph.D., PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, School of Nursing;
• Ron Bruno, Founding Board Member and Second Vice President, CIT International;
• Clayton Chau,  M.D., Ph.D., Regional Executive Medical Director, Institute for Mental Health and Wellness at St. Joseph-Hoag Health;
• David Covington, LPC, MBA, CEO/President, RI International;
• Maryann Davis, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical Center;
• Paul Emrich, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Family and Mental Health Chickasaw Nation;
• Mary Giliberti, J.D., Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance for Mental Illness, National Alliance on Mental Illness;
• Elena Kravitz, Peer Support Provider and Manager, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey;
• Kenneth Minkoff, M.D., Zia Partners;
• Elyn Saks, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law, Legal Scholar, University of Southern California Gould School of Law;
• John Snook, Esq., Executive Director/Attorney, Treatment Advocacy Center;
• Rhathelia Stroud, J.D., Presiding Judge, DeKalb County Magistrate Court; and
• Conni Wells, Owner/Manager, Axis Group, LLC.

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Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-Pa.), left, speaks with Richard LaRush in LaRush’s Step Up on Second apartment. (Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times)

(8-14-17) I am thrilled the Los Angeles Times used Rep. Tim Murphy’s recent visit to Santa Monica’s Step Up on Second housing project in California as a vehicle to answer questions about mental illness and homelessness.

After having worked tirelessly for nearly five years to shepherd his mental health reform bill through Congress and get it signed into law last year, you might believe the Pennsylvania Republican would move on to other issues. Yet, he continues to focus on serious mental illnesses and addiction. As the only practicing psychologist in Congress, he is in a unique position to understand the importance of supportive housing in helping people recover. His visit was a reassuring testament of how committed he is to fixing our failing mental health care system.

I was especially happy that he toured the Step Up on Second project because the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national nonprofit that helps communities finance and build affordable housing, is one of its backers. I serve on the CSH board. In fact, it is the only board that I serve on. That’s because CSH has demonstrated that people with mental illnesses and substance abuse, who are facing homelessness, can thrive with the right combination of stable, permanent housing and meaningful case management and treatment services.

Such a holistic approach sustains the dignity of the individual and benefits the entire community, delivering lower costs and improved quality of life.

The Los Angeles Times used Rep. Murphy’s visit to publish a Question and Answer feature that separates facts from fiction when it comes to homelessness.

Mental illness and homelessness are connected. But not how you might think

By Gale Holland   The Los Angeles Times  Contact Reporter

Even as Los Angeles starts a $1.2-billion homeless housing construction program, residents from Temple City to Venice are fighting to keep homeless projects out of their neighborhoods.

But since 1995, chronically homeless mentally ill people — a widely shunned subgroup — have been living in Santa Monica’s Step Up on Second apartments, a block from the tourist-friendly Third Street Promenade and close enough to the beach to feel the salt air.

“Look around. It’s here,” Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-Pa.) said during a recent visit, describing why he sees Step Up’s residential programs as a national model.

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