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mental health
Closing the Vermont State Hospital’s Canteen the “last straw” for mental health advocates
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Advocates, employees and former patients are outraged by Douglas administration's decision to close the Canteen at the Vermont State Hospital. They say it's the only place left for patients to get a break from the hospital's locked down wards. In order of appearance: Malcolm Sawyer, former VSH patient; Joe Yoder, a psychiatric technician for VSH; Sarah Lunderville, executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living; Curtis Sinclair, Canteen… Continue reading
Opinion: Vermont State Hospital canteen eliminated ‘for no good reason’
Letter-writer: Make judicious cuts without eliminating entire programs
Editor's note: This open letter to Agency of Human Resources Sec. Robert Hofmann is from Curtis Sinclair, the coordinator for the canteen at the Vermont State Hospital. It was also sent to Gov. James Douglas. Hello Secretary Hofmann, I am writing to you and the Governor's office directly because an important program at the Vermont State Hospital is being cut for no good reason. I… Continue reading
Budget cuts add to recidivism woes
Stress on resources limits community mental health treatment services for offenders
Read more in this series
'We just don't have the people'
'This is bankrupting our state'
Prison, a tough environment for mentally ill
Many of Vermont’s prisoners have been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, and the majority of them are eventually released into the community. But they often fail to… Continue reading 
‘We just don’t have the people’
Providing mental health care a challenge for prisons
Vermont does better than many states in providing mental health treatment for its prisoners, according to a consultant, Milliman, Inc., cited by the Joint Legislative Corrections Oversight Committee. But the author of the report goes on to express concern that the efforts may be insufficient to ensure that prisoners succeed when they are released into the community. “We learned from several sources, including… Continue reading
‘This is bankrupting our state’
Prison population growth tied to recidivism, mental illness
Half of Vermont’s prison inmates released in 2004 had new convictions within three years, according to the Department of Corrections. Vermont doesn’t track recidivism by prisoners’ mental health status, but a 1999 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that the national rate is even higher among prisoners with mental illnesses: 81 percent of those incarcerated in state facilities had prior sentences. The Justice… Continue reading
Prison: A tough environment for mentally ill
Questions raised about Corrections care
Bounced from criminal justice system to mental health programs In August 2000, Leah Matteson and her family moved from Cambridge, N.Y., across the state line to Bennington: Matteson had heard the Bennington school system had a good program for children with serious mental illness. Her son Patrick Cristaldi had been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the age of 7. (The neurological disorder is characterized by tics… Continue reading
Officials say suicidal inmates are now monitored more closely by Corrections
Dr. Delores Burroughs-Biron, the health services director for the Department of Corrections, agrees that therapeutic options “should be part of almost any state statute that people who have a mental illness should be afforded certain protections.”
The corrections community agrees, she said, that segregated prisoners need to be monitored closely “for the purpose of following their mental health. We know that people who have mental illness or other functional impairments who… Continue reading
Court mandates psychiatric treatment, special services for mentally ill offenders
Low-cost program yields results
At the Chittenden County Mental Health Court, clients bypass district court and possibly jail time. They receive social services instead, and in exchange for successfully completing their court programs, which may include sanctions, their criminal records are expunged. More than 100 offenders have filtered through the mental health court and compared with their incarcerated counterparts, they are the lucky ones. People with mental disorders are significantly over-represented in… Continue readingHow the Chittenden court works
Offenders with mental illnesses are referred to the court by lawyers, judges, police officers, treatment providers and family members when their criminal behavior is driven by mental illness. They may also self-refer.
A clinician assesses offenders for a qualifying mental illness or other serious functional impairment that has led to the commission of the crime, such as psychosis, major mood disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe personality disorder.
“We… Continue reading
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