Blog Archives

The Legal System, Trauma-Informed Care & The Living Hell of Catch-22s

3/17/2018

Author Joseph Heller popularized the term “Catch-22” in the book of the same name which he picked up in his experiences in World War II.
Catch-22 is really a LIVING HELL. If you’re an attorney --- you’ve probably been in many Catch-22s or LIVING HELLS, but you’ve probably been in a Catch-22 if you’re a human being – it’s a pretty common part of the Human Experience and operating in our imperfect societies and systems.
So I think ONE of the Catch-22s of legal practice is that sometimes:

People exhibit behavior that doesn’t rise to the level of “imminent danger” BUT that behavior is nonetheless, pretty out there;
At least in some cases those behaviors are a result of abuse or other injustices [or it might be the result of a Brain Tumor, Sleep Apnea, it MIGHT be the result of A LOT of THINGS];
Now even in cases of extreme SOCIAL STRESS on the person, this can and often does affect the person BIOLOGICALLY.
So what’s an attorney to do – GET THE PERSON SOME HELP – we say as an ENLIGHTENED ATTORNEY.
BUT HERE’S WHERE THE CATCH-22 COMES IN
Taking away AGENCY & SOCIAL VIEW OF COMPETENCY increases SOCIAL STRESS AND MAKES THE PERSON WORSE.
Any talk of “TRADITIONAL OR NON-TRADITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH HELP” or a Limited Legal Representative, EVEN talk of a Limited Something with the Person Retaining Decisional Control – MAKES THE PERSON DEMONSTRABLY WORSE.

Well, how does this play out in the Criminal & Civil Justice Systems?
        Well, one of the big arguments in the “Mental Health Community” is are people with mental illness “PERPETRATORS” of crime or “VICTIMS” of crime and injustice.
         Well, the sad is truth is they are well-represented in BOTH CATEGORIES and sometimes if not often in the same person. VICTIMIZATION pretty predictably leads to TRAUMA and that can lead to a whole host of mental complaints, NOT just Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
         This is why we need to have some PRETTY SOPHISTICATED TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE in both our Civil & Criminal Justice Systems.

          So a lot of VICTIMS of crime or some type of civil injustice never get their day in Court or Alternative Dispute Resolution Process – not only because they don’t have the money [which they don’t] but they often don’t have it together enough EMOTIONALLY for an attorney to work with them under many common PROFESSIONAL ETHICS RULES.

   Well what’s the attorney going to do? Seek a Legal Representative? Even talk of that makes the person much worse. Even talk of a very Limited Something makes the person much worse.
            So I don’t have the COMPLETE ANSWER to this right now. I do think it has a lot to do with a STRENGTH-BASED APPROACH, EDUCATING OURSELVES & OTHERS REGARDING THE LATEST SCIENCE, & LISTENING.
             As with most Catch-22s – this is where we need to PAY ATTENTION the most if we want to get out of our LIVING HELLS.

Alan Arkin as Yossarin in "Catch-22"

Effects of Social Stress on Mental Health

"Social Stress Leads To Changes In Gut Bacteria" -- Georgia State University http://news.gsu.edu/2018/03/08/social-stress-leads-changes-gut-bacteria-study-finds/
Social Stress & Addiction -- from the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, reported on mentalhealthtreatment.net.

http://mentalhealthtreatment.net/blog/social-stress-addiction-connection/

The Gut & Microbiome

Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis (2017) -- published in Clinical Practice.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/

A CU Boulder-led study showing that injecting beneficial bacteria into mice can make them more resilient to stress has been named among the “top 10 advancements and breakthroughs” of 2016 by the nation’s leading non-governmental funder of mental health research.

Now, lead author Christopher Lowry, an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology, is moving forward with clinical trials to see if altering the microbiome, or composition of resident bacteria, in military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder can be beneficial.
http://www.colorado.edu/today/2017/01/05/study-linking-beneficial-bacteria-mental-health-makes-top-10-list-brain-research

Immune System & Mental Health

Mind and body: Scientists identify immune system link to mental illness -- University of Cambridge (2014)

 http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/mind-and-body-scientists-identify-immune-system-link-to-mental-illnes

Groundbreaking study links immune system to mental health (2016) -- University of Sidney and Perth-based Charity Meeting For Minds [M4M], reported on Australian ABC News site.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-27/mental-health-study-a-boon-to-patients-immune-system/7455310

The Brain-Immune -Gut Triangle: Innate Immunity in Psychiatric & Neurological Disorders (2013) -- Oslo University Hospital & University of Debrecen, published in Current Immunology Reviews

https://www.researchgate.net/publication
/261994663_The_Brain-Immune-Gut_Triangle_Innate_Immunity_in_
Psychiatric_and_Neurological_Disorders

Gut Bacteria Drives Auto-Immune Diseases (2018) Yale University --reported in the magazine "Science" and on the website Neuroscience News

http://neurosciencenews.com/gut-bacteria-autoimmune-disease-8614/

I chose this cartoon by Matt Groening in his "Life in Hell" comic strip series as a metaphor for some our approaches in Mental Health.

But the fact is I can also relate to it quite literally. My arms don't straighten completely and as a child I was taken to the Bone Specialist.

The Bone Specialist advised my parents that the medical staff could break my bones and re-set them -- but it probably wasn't worth it -- and advised my parents not to worry about it. My parents thought that was pretty good advice -- and so do I.

Yet there was time when I was working as a Hostess @ a very popular Restaurant, Bar and Music Scene in Oklahoma City and an uncommonly disturbed patron asked me if I couldn't do something about my arms -- it was making it so he couldn't eat and proceeded to tell me what he thought had happened in the womb.

Well when I say "disturbed patron" -- who does he remind of -- my clients -- no -- many aspects of the Criminal Justice System -- YES.

There are things that aren't as innocuous as arms that won't straighten; nonetheless and maybe especially-- we need a strength-based approach.

We Appreciate the State Reaching Out To Us --- But We Got Pretty Disgusted When We Realized It Wasn't To Address Our Specific Olmstead Concerns -- BUT JUST ANOTHER PR MOVE

3/16/2018

We will be asking the Hickenlooper Administration to forward us all information regarding Housing & Services for the Community that they think we and others should be aware of.
With respect to the telephone conference with the State on March 29, Bob Lawhead, Policy Advisor for the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council and Dr. Lacey Berumen, former Executive Director of NAMI and on the NAMI National Board, would like to participate in the telephone conference with the State.
I know for those of us who have delved into the critical requirements of Olmstead --one of the nuggets of gold was "Measurable" or "Numeric" goals -- and going along with that "Reasonable Time Frames" and "Funding to Support the Plan."
It appears to me that the Hickenlooper Administration is signally that they are not prepared to do much else other than tell us they have done good things. Compliance with the Law, namely Olmstead, does not appear to be on the agenda.
If we weren't 4 years into trying to get the Hickenlooper Administration to comply with Olmstead, we wouldn't be so disgusted -- but we are disgusted, angry, exhausted, and sad.
There are still some things the Hickenlooper Administration could do. One of them would be bring together an INCLUSIVE group of Stakeholders & Focus Groups to go about the business of:

Answering their data questions for purposes of "Measurable Goals," "Reasonable Time Frames," and Funding Strategies,
And put that on a State website.

We're Not Just Reaching A "Tipping Point" on the Provision of Integrated Housing & Services, We're Reaching A "Tipping Point" In Our Scientific Understanding of Many "Invisible" & "Cognitive Disabilities" --- & That Is Going To Revolutionize Our Society

3/15/2018

It's kinda FUNNY actually, that all the research that is coming out about our GUT & Microbiome could REVOLUTIONIZE our society -- but we think it will -- and like BOILING WATER -- the research and insights are coming FASTER & FASTER.
There are people who for thousands of years have understood that HUMAN BEHAVIOR is pretty complex, and maybe we should reserve judgment on our fellow human beings -- at the same time we do have to have Safety.
Some of our greatest Spiritual Leaders have voiced those views. Additionally, many Spiritual Traditions have a very strong component of "Social Justice."
When the World Health Organization says the best way to promote "Social Justice" is to ensure the "Social Determinants of Health" --- It sounds good. Can we quantify it? We have and --
We're on the cusp of REALLY being able to QUANTIFY it -- by looking at the individual's gut microbiome, among other things.
WE'RE STARTING TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER:

The NEED for Individualized Medicine [understanding that INDIVIDUAL'S DNA, environment, etc.] -- Micro Approaches;
The Importance of our Social Environments to our Overall Physical & Mental Health -- Macro Approaches;
The Impact of "Social Stress" on our Gut & Microbiome
That the Gut & Microbiome Drive Auto-Immune Disease
That "Mental Illness" is often a complicated interaction of the Gut-Immune-Brain Axis.

So all that is pretty HEADY stuff -- back down to REALITY---
The 1000-Person Segregated Housing Project for Homeless People proposed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
First, if any of us had done a fraction of the GOOD that the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has done -- WE WOULD ALL BE SAINTS.
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is just operating in a very difficult reality and trying to make it better. And that's probably true for everybody, including Lakewood officials, residents, and the Hickenlooper Administration.
Part of Gov. Hickenlooper's success as a politician is that he recognizes it is very difficult to get anything done without strong public support -- certainly in the political arena.
Colorado has a growing homeless population unlike most states -- and there are a lot of reasons for that, and not all people who are homeless in the State have:

"mental illness"
brain injury
developmental disabilities, and/or
substance issues

BUT many of them do.
And it is really in everyone's interests to do legally required Americans with Disabilities Act-US Supreme Court mandated Olmstead Inclusive Planning when we don't have sufficient Integrated Housing & Services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization, including incarceration, or the great risk of institutionalization inherent in homelessness.
We just bet if there was enough support for this -- even with the limited time remaining in the Hickenlooper Administration -- they would try to begin Inclusive Olmstead Planning to bring Integrated Housing & Services to Scale to Meet the Need for People with Disabilities.
Including in that process:

People with Disabilities
Law Enforcement
Residents & Homeowners
CO Counties
CO Municipalities
Family Members
Concerned Coloradans
Maybe even CU Researchers
Other Academic Researchers
The CU National Behavioral Health Innovation Center
Etc.

It's not just Lakewood and Jefferson County that are facing a homeless problem -- Denver, Pueblo, Ft. Collins, and many others are as well.
AND that homeless problem is often at least in part an "INVISIBLE DISABILITY" problem.
Colorado has the opportunity to LEAD the nation in addressing that.

Gov. Hickenlooper says among other things: "We're going to concentrate on finishing strong."

Social Determinants of health

New Science Is Amazing & It Has Huge Moral Implications -- NOW

Social Determinants of Health, Social Stress, the Gut & Microbiome & -- Mental Illness

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless' 1,000 Person Segregated Housing Project in Lakewood: Where's that State Olmstead Housing Plan for People with Disabilities?

3/14/2018

There's a lot of mumbling and grumbling under our breath in the disability community regarding the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless' 1,000 person segregated Housing Project in Lakewood.
While the mayor of Lakewood may have stumbled upon an opportune and convenient objection to the project -- namely, that it is "segregated" not "integrated" --- the fact of the matter is he appears to be right.
But what is a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to do when the State has largely abdicated its duties under Olmstead and the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide a Comprehensive and Effectively Working Housing Plan for people with disabilities that has:

Measureable Goals;
Reasonable Time Frames
& Funding for the Plan

as required by US Department of Justice Guidelines and Federal Caselaw.
So this is a real problem and its really hurting people.
Now the Hicklooper Administration is nice and their hearts are basically in the right place -- they've supported Marijuana Tax Money for Affordable Housing.
BUT they have resisted doing what needs to be done -- An Olmstead Plan that deals with Housing and includes:

Measurable Goals
Reasonable Time Frames
& Funding to Support the Plan

It sure would be nice if local government officials would support the development of such a Plan @ the State level.

Westword
A Massive Complex in Lakewood Could House 1,000 Homeless
http://www.westword.com/news/colorado-coalition-for-the-homelesss-lakewood-complex-could-house-homeless-10040918

The Integration Mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Social Determinants of Health, Social Stress, the Gut & Microbiome, the Immune System --- & Mental Health

3/13/2018

Our society is in such DENIAL about mental ill health and brain injury among men in the Criminal Justice System.
Further, is it an accident that so many women in the Criminal Justice System have histories of sexual abuse, brain injury or mental illness -- probably not.
Our Society is in such DENIAL about the reality of the people who are finding themselves in the Criminal Justice System, because to acknowledge REALITY would totally upend our Criminal Justice System.
BUT we can still have SAFETY & EVEN HIGHER LEVELS OF SAFETY IF WE ACKNOWLEDGE REALITY.
While there is an ENORMOUS amount of EVIDENCE that we don't have "mental illness" or human behavior completely figured out, there is a growing body of SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE that ALL KINDS OF FACTORS affect HUMAN BEHAVIOR and can DAMAGE the IMMUNE SYSTEM leading to impaired cognition and behavior.
Let's concentrate on those factors we are aware of -- & that includes THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH & the GUT MICROBIOME.

Social Determinants of Mental Health

Social Determinants of Mental Health (2014) -- World Health Organization & Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

 http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/gulbenkian_paper_social_determinants_of_mental_health/en/

The Social Determinants of Mental Health: An Overview & A Call To Action (2014)-- in Psychiatric Annals

"Physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and social problems fall to a large extent within their jurisdiction."
http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0213-61632016000400004

Social Determinants of Health: A Review of the Evidence (2016) --- European Journal of Psychiatry

http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0213-61632016000400004

Effects of Social Stress on Mental Health

"Social Stress Leads To Changes In Gut Bacteria" -- Georgia State University http://news.gsu.edu/2018/03/08/social-stress-leads-changes-gut-bacteria-study-finds/
Social Stress & Addiction -- from the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, reported on mentalhealthtreatment.net.

http://mentalhealthtreatment.net/blog/social-stress-addiction-connection/

The Gut & Microbiome

Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis (2017) -- published in Clinical Practice.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/

A CU Boulder-led study showing that injecting beneficial bacteria into mice can make them more resilient to stress has been named among the “top 10 advancements and breakthroughs” of 2016 by the nation’s leading non-governmental funder of mental health research.

Mind and body: Scientists identify immune system link to mental illness -- University of Cambridge (2014)

 http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/mind-and-body-scientists-identify-immune-system-link-to-mental-illnes

Groundbreaking study links immune system to mental health (2016) -- University of Sidney and Perth-based Charity Meeting For Minds [M4M], reported on Australian ABC News site.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-27/mental-health-study-a-boon-to-patients-immune-system/7455310

The Brain-Immune -Gut Triangle: Innate Immunity in Psychiatric & Neurological Disorders (2013) -- Oslo University Hospital & University of Debrecen, published in Current Immunology Reviews

https://www.researchgate.net/publication
/261994663_The_Brain-Immune-Gut_Triangle_Innate_Immunity_in_
Psychiatric_and_Neurological_Disorders

Gut Bacteria Drives Auto-Immune Diseases (2018) Yale University --reported in the magazine "Science" and on the website Neuroscience News

http://neurosciencenews.com/gut-bacteria-autoimmune-disease-8614/

Charlie Kaufman is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and lyricist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He made his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York (2008), which was also well-received; film critic Roger Ebert named it "the best movie of the decade" in 2009 -- Wikipedia

New Science is Amazing & It Has huge moral implications -- Now

CO Medicaid's Challenge to "Uncover" & Meet the True Need for Assertive Community Treatment Under Parity -- NOW

3/12/2018

So what is the "Cover-Up" we're railing against now?
We're focused on the Insufficiency & Lack of Parity within Medicaid Mental Health Services generally and in Colorado specifically [although a lot of the criticisms could apply to other states as well].
First of all -- WE ALL WANT TO LOOK GOOD -- the State wants to look good, I want to look good, everybody I know wants to look good.
When people, or organizations, or governmental sub-divisions -- start not exactly telling the truth about something -- well, it's pretty easy to get into CROSS EXAMINATION MODE (especially in our society) -- to ferret out, uncover, reveal THE TRUTH.
IDEALLY, we make it safe enough that people can tell the TRUTH.
This becomes exceedingly problematic where safety is concerned.
AND Safety gets implicated A LOT where the Criminal Justice System is concerned -- whether its judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, individuals, service providers, State actors responsible for ensuring adequate:

bed space
housing;
and services, often intensive services.

So Orchid Advocacy is pretty much focused on the State actors but of course they are inter-connected to all the other players, actors, individuals. What we want the State Actors to do in bringing:

Bed Space;
Housing
Services, often intensive services

TO SCALE or to have A COMPREHENSIVE, EFFECTIVELY WORKING PLAN TO BRING THE ABOVE TO SCALE to meet the needs of people with disabilities, often invisible disabilities, who are homeless, incarcerated or otherwise institutionalized is required by the LAW but it is also REALLY DIFFICULT -- that's why we're not doing it.
We do CRINGE when there is a significantly less than transparent and honest discussion and acknowledgement of the past and current difficulties to bring ACT to SCALE in Colorado.

Let's talk about Assertive Community Treatment in Colorado & Nationally:

Prior to "Federal Parity Legislation," the US Department of Justice relied on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1999 Olmstead Decision to FORCE States to provide more Assertive Community Treatment to people with disabilities who were institutionalized or at great risk of institutionalization.
In a New Hampshire Olmstead case, DOJ required the State of New Hampshire which is 1/3 the population of Colorado -- to provide significantly more Assertive Community Treatment as Colorado was providing at the time.
Colorado has historically considered ACT a "alternative service" under Medicaid in which there was no entitlement to the Service.
Further, a significant percentage of the ACT that Colorado does provide is not through Medicaid but through the Office of Behavioral Health. Well, why is that important -- Medicaid is an ENTITLEMENT [unless of course its an "alternative service in which case it's not an entitlement] so a lot of the rights that attach to most Medicaid Services have historically NOT attached to the provision of ACT in Colorado.
Additionally, the State of Colorado through the Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing refused to respond to or answer a question we posed 2 & 1/2 years ago as to whether the state had an objection to a WAITLIST for ACT.
Currently, it appears --although we need to double-check-- that Colorado maybe now facially complying with Parity-- saying well, providers can seek reimbursement for ACT under the general "reasonable medical necessity" standard of Medicaid.
Why wouldn't that be enough? Well, the answer to that brings in not only:

*The Administrative & Economic Realities of ACT
*The HUGE historical resistance by Colorado State Gov't to provide full funding of this service--- we can't ignore HISTORICAL DISCRIMINATION.
*AND just the HUGE NEED to PLAN for what may be thousands of additional people with mental illness:
----who are in the Criminal Justice System
----nursing homes
----homeless
----in the Mental Health Institutes

Most States that have really been serious about this have included specific eligibility by Statute and/or regulation so that everyone is on the same page, and people who should be included aren't inadvertently left out due to vagueness.

Specifically such eligibility criteria often include along with a "mental Illness":

Criminal Justice Involvement
History of Hospitalization or Institutionalization; and
Homelessness

Colorado is moving in the right direction -- It needs to move much more to make ACT a SUBSTANTIVE REALITY FOR THE POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL PEOPLE WHO MAY MEET REASONABLE MEDICAL NECESSITY CRITERIA.

Examples of DOJ (US Department of Justice) Settlement Agreements that included ACT

DOJ Settlement Agreements that include ACT
U.S. v. New York – 13-cv-4165 – (E.D.N.Y. 2013)

Community-Based Mental Health Services

The Agreement will ensure that individuals with serious mental illness receive the array of services they need to successfully transition to, and remain in, community-based settings.

These services include ACT, mental health clinic services, personal care services, home health services, care coordination, and crisis services.

See Fact Sheet on the Agreement
http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#ny

U.S. v. North Carolina – No. 5:12-cv-557 – (E.D.N.C. 2012)
Following a nationally recognized fidelity model, the number of ACT teams throughout the State will expand to 50 ACT teams with the capacity to serve 5,000 individuals by July 1, 2019.

See Fact Sheet on the Agreement
http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#NC

Amanda D., et al. v. Hassan, et al.; United States v. New Hampshire, No. 1:12-CV-53 (SM)
-          Over the first three years of the Agreement, the State will expand ACT team service capacity so as to be able to serve at least 1,500 people in the target population {Of course, New Hampshire is only 1/3 the population of CO]; this expansion will provide ACT team services to hundreds of additional people in need.

-          The State will develop effective regional and statewide plans going forward to provide sufficient ACT services to ensure reasonable access by additional eligible individuals.

See Agreement Fact Sheet
http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#wood

Coming To Terms with the Criminal Justice System as the Disability Provider of Last Resort

3/11/2018

So we don't completely understand:

Mental Health
Brain Injury
Developmental Disability

BUT we have learned a lot.
If there were ever areas in which personalized medicine and services were essential -- these complicated areas are such areas.
Now -- what do we do about the Criminal Justice System in which there is a lot of "Pretense to Knowledge" regarding mental health, brain injury, developmental disability with a level of certainty that even "experts" couldn't possibly possess.
From my perspective, there are a lot of people with "DISABILITIES" in the Criminal Justice System -- whether it is:

Mental Illness
Brain Injury, or
Developmental Disabilities
Etc.

Further, many people in the Criminal Justice System have more than 1 "invisible disability."
What has made people with "mental illness" particularly unsympathetic in the Criminal Justice System is they often have above-average intelligence.
So unless someone is floridly psychotic, there's A LOT of SKEPTICISM regarding any claim of "mental illness." This is so, even though it is well documented that many people with "mental illness" have above average intelligence.
BUT we don't really have a solid definition of "mental illness" and at least according to former NIMH Director Thomas Insel -- the DSM 5 is NOT a valid diagnostic manual.
Further, we have enshrined in our LAWS some pretty demonstrably scary, uniformed ideas about "insanity." So much so that in our opinion they violate Constitutional Protections for DUE PROCESS.
We really must come to terms with the UGLY fact that the Criminal Justice System is a HORRIFICALLY ABUSIVE PROVIDER OF INTELLECTUAL & MENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES of LAST RESORT -- Especially for boys & men.
Maybe problem-solving courts are the first step in the desperate need to acknowledge the reality and complexity of disability in our Society.
BUT even they are dependent on the legally sufficient and adequate provision of:

Bed Space;
Housing; and
Community Services, including Intensive Community Services

for all people in our Community with:

Mental Illness;
Brain Injury; and/or
Developmental Disability

The Need & the Gross Violation of Human Rights are Happening --- NOW.

Inadequate access to treatment, housing, education & jobs leads to longer sentences and re-offending.

Mental Health's Tower of Babel

Social Determinants of Health

Insanity

Brain Injury in CO Jails

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the Criminal Justice System

Lack of Inclusiveness Is A HUGE Problem in Our Society and Even in Colorado & CO State Gov't and Even in Non-Profits: This Destructive Problem Is NOT Going To Get Solved By Accident

3/10/2018

The US Democracy is in a whole lot of trouble -- Trump isn't a cause of that, he is a symptom of it.
Most politicians [Republican & Democrat], for that matter most people, are not as horribly boorish, erratic, racist, and sexually assaultive as Trump.
BUT that's not saying a lot.
Most of us want to do right by everyone in our society--- BUT there is also a HUGE Feeling that things have to CHANGE.
In Colorado, like most States, we need to actually comply with Olmstead -- and to really do that requires a great amount of INCLUSION.
If we don't have the "systems" in place to really comply with the Law, to really include people on a consistent basis -- guess what -- it doesn't really get done.
We're really picking on the Hickenlooper Administration here -- although it is certainly not a problem limited to their administration.
Further, it has been a big problem in wonderful Colorado non-profits like the Equitas Foundation and Mental Health Colorado that represent either a wealthy or middle class perspective on Mental Health Advocacy with financial bars to "inclusion" -- although in the case of Equitas maybe one can apply for a "scholarship" to discuss policy affecting you and rub elbows with state officials.
In the case of Mental Health Colorado -- you can pay $50 to question gubenatorial candidates [they are doing outreach to students for the Forum].
This has got to CHANGE in a BIG WAY.
We think the Hickenlooper Administration has wanted to deal with the Equitas Foundation maybe more than the rest of us not only because the Equitas Foundation might be able to provide them some resources, but also because the Hickenlooper Administration relates better to the people in the Equitas Foundation because they are more like them.
I don't think it is so much a conscious thing as an unconscious thing.
That's what is so insidious about "Unconscious Bias." Mind Gym CEO Octavious Black even maintains that research shows limited effectiveness in trying to address "Unconscious Bias" through direct training -- you have to try to address it in other ways.
Well what does that mean for our governments, justice system, and society?
Well, it means this isn't going to get fixed by accident, we've got real problems of HUGE Inequality, Lack of Inclusion, Injustice in Our Societies -- and we have to have a SENSE OF URGENCY about addressing those.
Real people are suffering NOW.

We Want & Deserve More Than a CO State Gov't that Is "TRENDING" Towards Inclusion & Complying with Disability Civil Rights Laws

Unconscious Bias

Mind Gym CEO Octavius Black in this TedxTalk in London maintains that the issue isn't "Diversity" but "Inclusion" -- diversity without inclusion will NOT produce the desired results.

Further, Black maintains that trying to change "Unconscious Bias" has limited effectiveness.

He argues that a more effective practice is becoming interested in the differences.

How Unrealistic Over-Optimism Hurts People with Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System

3/9/2018

Expecting people to conform to our "pretense to knowledge" is getting us into a lot of trouble.
I'm obviously very concerned about how the "invalid" DSM 5 plays itself out in our antiquated Criminal Justice System.
I also get really concerned about all kinds of wild extrapolations regarding our "current" ability to "completely control":

epigenetic changes;
complete control of our nervous systems;
etc.

"It's all in our hands to change." Really?
I actually think we probably will get there and we are getting there. BUT we're not completely there now.
Well, what is the problem with just being a little or lot overly optimistic about that? Well, it can really affect our judgments about what individuals should be capable of controlling and doing in their lives NOW.
And that plays itself out in a lot of ways, including how we treat people who pretty clearly have not been able to sufficiently control their actions and have landed in the Criminal Justice System.
If we think that human beings currently have complete control of:

their epigentic changes
their nervous systems
their environments
their social determinants of health

Then any failure is often viewed as a moral failure of the individual justifying punishment.
Now if there is some kind of significant failure of behavioral control, we need to recognize it because it very easily could represent a threat to the safety of the community. And any violation of the law is not going to be good for the person either.
BUT if we don't acknowledge the very REAL:

Mental Illnesses;
Brain Injuries; and
Neuro-Disabilities

people are really struggling with: we've missed it. Further, many of these are created or exacerbated by bad environments in our Society.
There is reason for HOPE and CHANGE -- but if we're not realistic -- we are setting ourselves and others up for failure.
AND when that failure happens-- more often than not we blame the weakest and least sympathetic party -- and that's often the person with a mental or neuro-disability.

[There are numerous amazing scientific discoveries that researchers are working to harness for common benefit.

In the meantime, it is important to be HUMBLE about where we really are.]

Jill Marshall New Superintendent for CMHIP Beginning March 26

3/7/2018

The Pueblo Chieftain is reporting that the Colorado Department of Human Services has named Jill Marshall as the new Superintendent for the Colorado Mental Health Institute @ Pueblo. Marshall:

Is a Former Director of an Intermediate Care Facility for people with disabilities in New Mexico;
Before moving to New Mexico in 2011, she worked in the Texas Department of Assistive & Rehabilitative Services
Has More than a decade of experience in behavioral health, public administration, and human services

https://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/marshall-named-new-head-at-colorado-mental-health-institute-at/article_e68ec48b-0dc6-5b58-8ecb-a3603ab631fa.html

Orchid's Take:
HALLELUJAH!

Everyone brings something special & unique to a job that only they could bring.
It is great to see someone with a BROAD background in disability services in the top spot @ CMHIP
To us this is really an appointment looking to the FUTURE & a BROADER APPRECIATION of DISABILITY & NEURO-DISABILITY as they relate to some of our most difficult problems.
BUT beyond appreciation, it's someone who likely understands the breadth and range of what can really be done.

We Can't Wait to Meet Jill & We Know We Are Not the Only Ones

Jill Marshall, Colorado's new Superintendent for the Colorado Mental Health Institute @ Pueblo

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Val's Blog

The Legal System, Trauma-Informed Care & The Living Hell of Catch-22s

We Appreciate the State Reaching Out To Us --- But We Got Pretty Disgusted When We Realized It Wasn't To Address Our Specific Olmstead Concerns -- BUT JUST ANOTHER PR MOVE

We're Not Just Reaching A "Tipping Point" on the Provision of Integrated Housing & Services, We're Reaching A "Tipping Point" In Our Scientific Understanding of Many "Invisible" & "Cognitive Disabilities" --- & That Is Going To Revolutionize Our Society

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless' 1,000 Person Segregated Housing Project in Lakewood: Where's that State Olmstead Housing Plan for People with Disabilities?

Social Determinants of Health, Social Stress, the Gut & Microbiome, the Immune System --- & Mental Health

CO Medicaid's Challenge to "Uncover" & Meet the True Need for Assertive Community Treatment Under Parity -- NOW

Coming To Terms with the Criminal Justice System as the Disability Provider of Last Resort

Lack of Inclusiveness Is A HUGE Problem in Our Society and Even in Colorado & CO State Gov't and Even in Non-Profits: This Destructive Problem Is NOT Going To Get Solved By Accident

We Want & Deserve More Than a CO State Gov't that Is "TRENDING" Towards Inclusion & Complying with Disability Civil Rights Laws

How Unrealistic Over-Optimism Hurts People with Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System

Jill Marshall New Superintendent for CMHIP Beginning March 26

Orchid's Take:
HALLELUJAH!

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Val's Blog

​We Want & Deserve More Than a CO State Gov't that Is "TRENDING" Towards Inclusion & Complying with Disability Civil Rights Laws

Orchid's Take: ​HALLELUJAH!

Author

Archives

Categories

We Want & Deserve More Than a CO State Gov't that Is "TRENDING" Towards Inclusion & Complying with Disability Civil Rights Laws

Orchid's Take:
HALLELUJAH!