• Need-to-Know News: Jan. 28, 2011

    January 28, 2011

    Updates from Us

    • In a letter to Newsday this week, LAC Vice President Anita R. Marton appaluds the editorial board's call for closing unneeded prisons in New York's adult criminal justice system. With Gov. Andrew Cuomo's focus on juvenile justice reform, she wrote, it's important not to lose sight of reduced incarceration rates in the larger system, thanks in part to the work of ATI/Reentry programs in the state. Read Ms. Marton's full letter here, and voice your support for closing unneeded prisons!
    • An exclusive roundtable discussion on TheBody.com features LAC's Tracie Gardner, founder and Coordinator of WISH-NY, along with Jennifer Irwin, of Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) and Claire Simon of YWCHAC. Follow this link to read the full discussion, titled "The Rising HIV Rates Among Young Women and Girls of Color: What's Going On?"

    Headlines on Our Issues

    State

    • Only about a third of the veterans in New York State who appeared to need mental health or substance abuse care in the previous year received it, according to a new study. Many said they were hesitant to seek treatment for fear of damage to their careers.
    • In advance of the release of his budget plan next week, reports have begun to surface that Gov. Cuomo is considering closing three prisons in New York City to help close the state's budget gap.
    National

    • Sparking concern in the mental health and substance abuse treatment field, a study by the American Psychological Association has found that 89 percent of Americans don't know about the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires insurers to provide equal coverage of mental health/SUD benefits they offer.
    • Faced with budget troubles and high unemployment, many more states are coming around to the wisdom of helping people with criminal histories find jobs.
    • Highlighting both the dangers of addiction and the need for treatment, Lt. Gen. David Fridovich of the Army Special Forces opened up to USA TODAY about his battle with narcotics addiction after an injury. Having gone through treatment and detoxification in 2008, the general is now is pushing Army officials to better address the issue.
    • Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona submitted a request to the federal government this week for a waiver that would allow it to suspend Medicaid coverage for 280,000 low-income people because of the state's budget crisis.
    • With state prison costs continuing to skyrocket, Pennsylvania's auditor general is urging the Legislature to approve a bill to make it easier to send non-violent offenders to alternative-sentencing programs, including a community re-entry program that would provide services through incarceration and release.
    • With a new bill proposed in the State Legislature, Nebraska is poised to join several other states in the "ban the box" initiative to prohibit government agencies from asking about prior convictions on initial job applications.
    • In New Jersey, a bill to allow pharmacies to sell hypodermic syringes and needles without a prescription was approved by the Senate health committee. The measure, aimed at reducing the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV, is now heading to the full Senate for a vote.

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