I just wanted to pass on this piece of good news from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. It looks like there will be some grant money for communities to take advantage of that think maybe jails and prisons are not the best place to house our mentally ill.
Of course, we haven't made the jump yet to understand that people who's minds aren't functioning correctly can commit violent acts that hurt themselves or others. Acts they would not commit if they were not mentally ill, but at least it is a start. Ramsey County is working on getting a substance abuse court and a mental health court up and running in the near future. It would be GREAT if some grant funds were secured and used to expedite this process, train judges, and also to train police in the county and in St. Paul to do a better job of recognizing and helping the mentally ill. YAYYYY! Dare to dream. Ren�e Jenson Como ***************************************************************** NAMI is happy to announce that on Oct.6 the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed S. 1194, the "Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004". S. 1194 authorizes grants to states and local communities to foster local collaborations on developing strategies to more effectively respond to non-violent juvenile and adult offenders with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. Grants from S. 1194 can be used for a variety of strategies, including jail diversion programs, treatment programs for incarcerated offenders with mental illnesses, community reentry programs, and cross-training of mental health, law enforcement and corrections. Since there are certain differences between the House and Senate passed versions of S. 1194, the bill will now be sent back to the Senate for a vote on the version passed by the House. It is anticipated that the Senate will vote to adopt the House version. Once this occurs, the bill will be sent to President Bush for his signature. The most notable difference between the two bills concerns the funding level. The Senate bill authorized $100,000 million for three years. The House version of S. 1194 reduced this amount to $50,000 million. Copies of the House and Senate version of the bill can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov . There are a number of Representatives who deserve NAMI's thanks for their strong support of S. 1194. Congressman Ted Strickland (D. Ohio) worked tirelessly with his Ohio colleague, Senator Mike DeWine (R. Ohio) to champion this bill from the moment it was introduced. Special mention must also be given to Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R. Wisconsin), Chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary and Representative John Conyers, Jr., (D. Michigan), Ranking Minority Member on the Judiciary Commitee for their strong support of this bill. Representatives Howard Coble (R. North Carolina) and Robert C. Scott (D. Virginia) also deserve NAMI's thanks for their strong stewardship of the bill while it was in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security of the House Judiciary Committee. Representatives Spencer Bachus (R. Alabama) and Lamar Smith (R. Texas) provided great leadership as co-sponsors and key Republican supporters on the House Judiciary Committee. Finally, Representative William Delahunt (D. Massachussetts) worked tirelessly on the Democratic side of the aisle to gain support for S. 1194. Also, certain key Senate and House staffers did much of the heavy lifting on this bill. These individuals include Rob Steinbuch (Senator DeWine), Katie Shriver (Rep.Strickland), Janetta King (Rep. Strickland), Tim Lynch (Senator Leahy), Katy Crooks (Rep. Coble), Bobby Vassar (Rep. Scott), Christine Leonard (Rep. Delahunt) and Phil Kiko (Rep. Sensenbrenner). Thanks to all of these individuals, as well as many others who may not have been mentioned in this list. Most importantly, thanks to all NAMI advocates who worked so hard to advocate for this important legislation. There is still more work to be done. The bill must be signed into law and then we must work on getting a good appropriation. That said, this is a remarkably positive step by the U.S. Congress. _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
