11 Feb, 2010
Abandoned in prison
For Detained Youths, No Mental Health Overseer
Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson has been the administrative judge of the New York City Family Courts for nine months, in charge of the judges responsible for the detention of dozens of young people charged with crimes, the vast majority of whom suffer from some form of mental illness.
But it was not until last September that she was informed of what struck her as a startling fact: The State of New York does not have a single full-time staff psychiatrist charged with overseeing the treatment of the 800 or so young people who are detained in state facilities at any given time.
“There wasn’t one human being on-site overseeing all the mental health needs of the population,” Judge Richardson-Mendelson said in an interview. “When we place these children in these facilities, we expect their needs to be met, especially their mental health needs.”
Yet all 17 psychiatrists at the detention facilities in the state’s deeply troubled juvenile justice system work on contract and part time. Weeks often pass between their visits with each troubled youth, and state officials say their turnover rate is very high.
“Those people turn over so quickly that there are often huge chunks of time when there is not even a contracted psychiatrist available to evaluate the youngster or provide needed follow-up services,” said Judge Monica Drinane, the supervising judge in Family Court in the Bronx.
Aspects of the lack of mental health services throughout New York’s juvenile prison system were described last August in a withering report from the federal Department of Justice that examined conditions at four notorious state juvenile prisons.
The report criticized the state for failing to properly diagnose juveniles’ mental health problems, administering medication inappropriately and making inadequate treatment plans. Young people are frequently assigned several different diagnoses at the same institution, resulting in confused and ineffective treatment.
“One psychiatrist described his role as ‘an outsider’ and expressed frustration because, ‘I have to beg, borrow and steal information,’ ” the report said.
Story courtesy of — The New York Times.
Photo courtesy of — Google Images.
Psalm 146:7-9 (Niv)
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
The LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Today's God Story scripture from Psalm 146 reminds us that God's heart overflows with love and compassion for the oppressed, the prisoner, and the hungry. It reminds us that human beings often neglect these same people.
It would be great if we could look at today's news story and disregard the actions of the New York State prison system as a rare and uncommon lack of care for people in need, but it seems like almost everywhere we look there are vulnerable people suffering from the most inhumane forms of oppression, injustice, and neglect.
What does this say about the human condition?
I think it is a reminder that we should crawl back to the Psalms whenever we get a chance, and remind ourselves about the things that really matter, the issues that God holds dear, the people that Jesus came to set free. In a world full of stories like today's, stories of broken and hurting people suffering in broken and hurting systems, the story of Jesus is needed now more than ever before.
Will you raise your voice to drown out the cries of sorrow with cries of hope?
- How are you telling the good news with your life? In what ways are you "being the good news while telling stories of the good news"?
- Educate yourself about how your local prison system is taking care of, (or not taking care of), the mentally ill.
- Tell someone how the "good news" has changed your life.
- Ask a friend what they think about the situation in the New York state prisons.
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