The Commission for Community Action and Economic Opportunity has issued its long awaited report to Governor Granholm and the Michigan Legislature. The Commision which held a series of Community Forums in 2007 and 2008 and was a co-sponsor of the State Poverty Summit summarized the common threads in the Executive Summary:
Frustration: Negative, blaming or overwhlemed systems and/or caseworkers often lead to clients feeling judged and shamed. The inabiility to provide personalized customer service only compounds the challenges faced by people...
Disconnection: Disparate anti-poverty efforts among state agencies and other organizations lack a shared vision and coordinated apporach. This leaves significant gaps in services...
Over-regulation: Eligibility and other requirements-particularly more restrictive regulations-are confusing, difficult to meet, contradictory, and/or poorly explained...
Access: People frequently lack transportaion to services, as well as crucial information about what help is available...
Program shape and delivery: Services offered should reflect what is actually needed, allowing for innovative responses...
Allienation: People living in poverty are the experts on this experience, and-rather than being alienated by the system-they need to be consistently and wholly involved in the process of fixing problems...
Read the whole report at: www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5460_41977---,00.html. Go to the bottom of the page for the PDF.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
New Berrien Mental Health Court aims to reduce recidivism
A Mental Health Court in Berrien County which opened last January is one of nine in the state funded as pilot projects by the State Court Administrative Office. It deals with underlying mental illnesses that can keep people like Amanda enmeshed in the criminal justice system.
From the Herald Palladium:
The new court is set up to solve problems by bringing together prosecutors, probation officers and mental health professionals. They work as a team to help people convicted of crimes who have certain diagnosed mental illnesses, emotional disturbances or developmental disabilities.Read more
The case load is small, currently 10 people, but the problems are complex, and working out solutions is a time-consuming process.
"These are challenging people," said Berrien County Trial Court Judge Angela Pasula, who oversees the program with Chief Judge Alfred Butzbaugh.
Mentally ill people can have a range of other problems - from unemployment, homelessness and lack of family support to poor physical condition and drug or alcohol problems.
"Some of these people literally don't have a place to go," Pasula said.
The new court aims to stabilize and improve the social functioning of mentally ill people convicted of felony or misdemeanor offenses.
Accomplishing those goals can mean a better qualify of life for those involved, improve public safety and reduce recidivism, officials say.
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