Accounting: The debate over dollars is not substitute for funding mental health.
The N.C. House and Senate Republican leaders say they’re for it — appropriating whatever funds are necessary to “address deficiencies in the state’s mental health program.” The House majority leader seems sympathetic to it, too.
The Speaker calls mental health funding a “priority,” whatever that means. Priorities can be high, low or in between. But at least it shows interest, and that’s good.
With the governor also on board, how can it fail?
Easy as pie.
Gov. Easley is the only one who’s willing to dwell at length on the distinction between merely appropriating revenue and creating it. His preference is a booze tax that would generate $68 million to begin undoing the colossal mess the state made by trying to privatize mental health care in the name of “reform.”
Granted, Easley knows as well as the rest of them that (a) this is the “short” session, (b) the session may actually be short this year because the lawmakers are eager to adjourn and go campaign, (c) even a sin tax is a tough sell in an election year, (d) the surplus is smaller than last year’s and (e) the economy is on a down slope. If you want to dismiss this as political grandstanding, you’ll get plenty of agreement.
Eventually, though, all those other politicians who would never, ever engage in political grandstanding themselves will be closely watched as they seek ways to clean up behind themselves while working within existing revenues. Or as they backpedal away from a responsibility to fix what the legislature broke, including no few people who could have been given a shot at a normal life.
A year ago, with North Carolina belatedly owning up to the failure of reform, the state ranked 43rd in the nation in spending for mental health care. A federal monitor called the system “overwhelmed” and a private advocacy group protested the legislature’s perennial raids on the mental health budget. Some lawmakers sought to pretty things up with a one-time infusion of cash.
They’ll need stronger medicine than that this time around. Vulnerable people have been sent “home” by the thousands to communities in which the private sector either would not or did not rise to the challenge, leaving them to take up residence in hospitals and jails, under bridges and in other situations you can scarcely imagine. They’re waiting for help.
Those who survive will be waiting next year, too — unless the current crop of lawmakers demonstrates its great commitment by wringing what’s required out of a budget that is being twisted at both ends.
Fayetteville Observer Wednesday May 14, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
May is Foster Care Awareness Month: Today's State of Things on WUNC
Today on the State of Things:
Foster Care in North Carolina
May is National Foster Care Month. In North Carolina, there are almost 11,000 children in the foster care system, ranging from infants to 18-year-olds. While foster care placement is a necessary intervention for many families, a 2007 study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that children have better life outcomes when they remain with their families. Joining host Frank Stasio to discuss the current state of the foster care system in North Carolina and what lies ahead are guests Ashley Rhodes-Courter, a former foster child and author; Jane Volland, director of the North Carolina Guardian Ad Litem program; Kevin Kelley, assistant section chief for Child Welfare in the Department Of Social Services; and, Chuck Harris, assistant director of the Durham County Department of Social Services.
LISTEN LIVE at noon: 91.5 FM Chapel Hill/ 88.9 FM Manteo/ 90.9 FM Rocky Mount
-OR- download our broadcasts online anytime at http://wunc.org/programs/tsot
Help WUNC cover the news. Become a part of the Public Insight Network.
http://wunc.org/publicinsight
Foster Care in North Carolina
May is National Foster Care Month. In North Carolina, there are almost 11,000 children in the foster care system, ranging from infants to 18-year-olds. While foster care placement is a necessary intervention for many families, a 2007 study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that children have better life outcomes when they remain with their families. Joining host Frank Stasio to discuss the current state of the foster care system in North Carolina and what lies ahead are guests Ashley Rhodes-Courter, a former foster child and author; Jane Volland, director of the North Carolina Guardian Ad Litem program; Kevin Kelley, assistant section chief for Child Welfare in the Department Of Social Services; and, Chuck Harris, assistant director of the Durham County Department of Social Services.
LISTEN LIVE at noon: 91.5 FM Chapel Hill/ 88.9 FM Manteo/ 90.9 FM Rocky Mount
-OR- download our broadcasts online anytime at http://wunc.org/programs/tsot
Help WUNC cover the news. Become a part of the Public Insight Network.
http://wunc.org/publicinsight
Anti-Gang Initiative
*Blog Editor Note* NASW-NC did not support the legislation proposed in the 2007 Session because of the lack of prevention funding and the implications of third partities being able to identify suspects as potential gang members. This guilt by association could lead to further penalties.
Anti-Gang Initiative
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Wake and Durham counties have been chosen to participate in a "comprehensive anti-gang initiative" that includes $2.5 million in federal funding. The Triangle is one of four regions across the country receiving this latest round of federal money to thwart gang-related crimes. Wake and Durham will split the money 50-50. Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip said at a news conference at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport that $1 million of the funding will go toward efforts to prevent young people from joining gangs. Another $1 million will be used by law enforcement for criminal prosecution, with the remaining $500,000 used to help former gang members make a successful transition after they are released from prison.
(Thomasi McDonald, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 5/13/08).
Anti-Gang Initiative
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Wake and Durham counties have been chosen to participate in a "comprehensive anti-gang initiative" that includes $2.5 million in federal funding. The Triangle is one of four regions across the country receiving this latest round of federal money to thwart gang-related crimes. Wake and Durham will split the money 50-50. Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip said at a news conference at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport that $1 million of the funding will go toward efforts to prevent young people from joining gangs. Another $1 million will be used by law enforcement for criminal prosecution, with the remaining $500,000 used to help former gang members make a successful transition after they are released from prison.
(Thomasi McDonald, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 5/13/08).
LinX Database
LinX Database
Officials with 20 law enforcement agencies announced Tuesday the creation of a new database that they say will increase police cooperation and help catch criminals in North Carolina. The North Carolina Law Enforcement Information Exchange will be built and paid for by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The impetus for the database, which is also called LInX, came after terrorist attacks on the USS Cole in 2000 and the Pentagon and World Trade Center in 2001 showed authorities needed to communicate better, NCIS officials said. The system will be up and running by mid-July, according to NCIS officials.
The North Carolina database will be the 9th LInX system in the country. Participating departments have access to each other's records as well as those from the hundreds of departments in other LInX systems. Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous said the database will give his investigators quick access to police reports and mug shots, as well as suspect and vehicle descriptions from numerous other agencies. It also will connect local law enforcement to federal databases, including those of military police. That's an ability Evangelous said he never thought possible prior to law enforcement changes that followed the Sept. 11 attacks. "This is a big step forward," he said.
(David Reynolds, WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS, 5/13/08).
Officials with 20 law enforcement agencies announced Tuesday the creation of a new database that they say will increase police cooperation and help catch criminals in North Carolina. The North Carolina Law Enforcement Information Exchange will be built and paid for by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The impetus for the database, which is also called LInX, came after terrorist attacks on the USS Cole in 2000 and the Pentagon and World Trade Center in 2001 showed authorities needed to communicate better, NCIS officials said. The system will be up and running by mid-July, according to NCIS officials.
The North Carolina database will be the 9th LInX system in the country. Participating departments have access to each other's records as well as those from the hundreds of departments in other LInX systems. Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous said the database will give his investigators quick access to police reports and mug shots, as well as suspect and vehicle descriptions from numerous other agencies. It also will connect local law enforcement to federal databases, including those of military police. That's an ability Evangelous said he never thought possible prior to law enforcement changes that followed the Sept. 11 attacks. "This is a big step forward," he said.
(David Reynolds, WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS, 5/13/08).
Execution Protocol
*Blog Editor Note* NASW-NC supports a moratorium on the death penalty in NC. In the 2007 Session NASW-NC was part of the coalition working to end death penalty for those with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness.
Execution Protocol
The Council of State was not required to hear from death row inmates before revising execution procedures in North Carolina, attorneys for the council argued in court documents filed Monday. The attorneys were responding to inmates' lawyers who said the panel acted illegally by not hearing from inmates or their representatives. The council contends that the inmates don't have the right to challenge the protocol in court because the state Department of Correction offers inmates a way to challenge it. The council, a group of the state's top elected officials, also contends that the prisoners have failed to show they are harmed by the execution protocol. "Injury only occurs if the execution protocol is improperly implemented," the council's response said.
Like most states, North Carolina uses a three-drug combination, the first to render unconsciousness, the second to paralyze all muscles except the heart, and the third to stop the heart. The Council of State took up the protocol issue after a Superior Court judge decided a nearly 100-year-old law requires the council to approve changes to North Carolina's method of execution. The council decided that a physician must monitor a condemned inmate's "essential body functions" and tell the warden of Central Prison if the inmate shows signs of suffering. The fight, along with other legal challenges, has effectively put executions on hold in North Carolina.
(Dome, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 5/14/08).
Execution Protocol
The Council of State was not required to hear from death row inmates before revising execution procedures in North Carolina, attorneys for the council argued in court documents filed Monday. The attorneys were responding to inmates' lawyers who said the panel acted illegally by not hearing from inmates or their representatives. The council contends that the inmates don't have the right to challenge the protocol in court because the state Department of Correction offers inmates a way to challenge it. The council, a group of the state's top elected officials, also contends that the prisoners have failed to show they are harmed by the execution protocol. "Injury only occurs if the execution protocol is improperly implemented," the council's response said.
Like most states, North Carolina uses a three-drug combination, the first to render unconsciousness, the second to paralyze all muscles except the heart, and the third to stop the heart. The Council of State took up the protocol issue after a Superior Court judge decided a nearly 100-year-old law requires the council to approve changes to North Carolina's method of execution. The council decided that a physician must monitor a condemned inmate's "essential body functions" and tell the warden of Central Prison if the inmate shows signs of suffering. The fight, along with other legal challenges, has effectively put executions on hold in North Carolina.
(Dome, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 5/14/08).
Easley & Email
Easley and E-mail
A lawsuit accusing Gov. Mike Easley's administration of violating the state's public records law through the "systematic deletion, destruction or concealment" of e-mail messages should be dismissed, Easley's attorney's argued Tuesday. In a motion filed in Wake County Superior Court, state lawyers for Easley argued the court has no jurisdiction in the matter filed by several media outlets and organizations. The lawsuit accused Easley's press office of telling cabinet agency employees to delete or destroy e-mails sent to and from the governor's office. That would be a violation of state law. The administration has denied the claims.
The state's Public Records Law only allows relief when someone has been denied access to a public record by compelling a government entity to disclose the public record in the custodian's custody, the lawyers wrote. "The clear, unambiguous language of the Public Records Law establishes only a single cause of action and a single remedy," wrote the attorneys, who include Andy Vanore, Easley's legal counsel.
The lawsuit also seeks declaratory judgments under other portions of state law that find Easley violated the Public Records Law and that policies giving individual state employees the right to destroy e-mails about state business don't comply with the records law. Michael Tadych, a lawyer representing the media groups, said the plaintiffs "remain hopeful that we can get it resolved informally, but I don't know if we can." A court hearing on the case has been tentatively scheduled for June 30.
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/13/08).
A lawsuit accusing Gov. Mike Easley's administration of violating the state's public records law through the "systematic deletion, destruction or concealment" of e-mail messages should be dismissed, Easley's attorney's argued Tuesday. In a motion filed in Wake County Superior Court, state lawyers for Easley argued the court has no jurisdiction in the matter filed by several media outlets and organizations. The lawsuit accused Easley's press office of telling cabinet agency employees to delete or destroy e-mails sent to and from the governor's office. That would be a violation of state law. The administration has denied the claims.
The state's Public Records Law only allows relief when someone has been denied access to a public record by compelling a government entity to disclose the public record in the custodian's custody, the lawyers wrote. "The clear, unambiguous language of the Public Records Law establishes only a single cause of action and a single remedy," wrote the attorneys, who include Andy Vanore, Easley's legal counsel.
The lawsuit also seeks declaratory judgments under other portions of state law that find Easley violated the Public Records Law and that policies giving individual state employees the right to destroy e-mails about state business don't comply with the records law. Michael Tadych, a lawyer representing the media groups, said the plaintiffs "remain hopeful that we can get it resolved informally, but I don't know if we can." A court hearing on the case has been tentatively scheduled for June 30.
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/13/08).
Runoff for Labor Commissioner
Runoff
John Brooks, a Democratic candidate labor commissioner who finished second to Mary Fant Donnan in last week's primary, has formally asked the State Board of Elections to hold a June 24 runoff. According to unofficial results, Donnan received 27.6 percent of the vote in last week's four-candidate primary, well short of the more than 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Brooks, the labor commissioner between 1977 and 1993, was in second with 24.4 percent. The party's nominee would face GOP incumbent Cherie Berry in November. Second-place candidates have until noon Thursday to seek a runoff. Johnnie McLean with the elections board said two legislative races could also have a second election.
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/13/08).
John Brooks, a Democratic candidate labor commissioner who finished second to Mary Fant Donnan in last week's primary, has formally asked the State Board of Elections to hold a June 24 runoff. According to unofficial results, Donnan received 27.6 percent of the vote in last week's four-candidate primary, well short of the more than 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Brooks, the labor commissioner between 1977 and 1993, was in second with 24.4 percent. The party's nominee would face GOP incumbent Cherie Berry in November. Second-place candidates have until noon Thursday to seek a runoff. Johnnie McLean with the elections board said two legislative races could also have a second election.
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/13/08).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)