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HEALTH & JUSTICE IN THE NEWS
Date: May 2, 2016
TASC in the News
Health care for people formerly incarcerated
WHYY | NewsWorks, 4/28/16
Illinois uses fingerprints to verify if a person in incarceration is eligible for Medicaid. "When you're incarcerated, there's no question about who you are," said Maureen McDonnell, director for business and health care strategy development at the Illinois' nonprofit Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities. Because turnover can be so quick, in Chicago, people are enrolled in Medicaid on the way in to jail-instead of on the way out. "A quarter of the people who are detained leave the jail within two days, half are gone within 13 days," said McDonnell. "Folks who are eligible for Medicaid often don't know they are eligible," McDonnell said. Signing up for Medicaid is about the only thing you can say 'no' to on the day you get booked, but McDonnell said she's pleasantly surprised at how many people say 'yes' when they are given the opportunity. "That's just not the best day of anyone's life, even if you've been in the jail, chances are you didn't wake up that morning thinking you were going to be in jail later that day," she said. TASC is gathering data to better understand if enrollment influences incarceration or health.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-pulse/93099-ex-felon-to-do-list-get-a-job-stay-sober-get-healthcare
Around the Nation
May is Mental Health Month
Mental Health America
Since 1949, Mental Health America and its affiliates across the country have led the observance of May as Mental Health Month. This year's theme for Mental Health Month is - Life with a Mental Illness - and will call on individuals to share what life with a mental illness feels like for them in words, pictures and video by tagging their social media posts with #mentalillnessfeelslike (or submitting to MHA anonymously). Posts will be collected and displayed at mentalhealthamerica.net/feelslike.
Senators Try to Revive Criminal Justice Overhaul
U.S. News & World Report | AP, 4/28/16
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation last Thursday to give judges more discretion in sentencing offenders, a renewed push to overhaul the nation's criminal justice system after objections from some conservatives. In a news conference, Republicans and Democrats backing the bill said that they had picked up support from four additional GOP senators: Mark Kirk of Illinois, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Steve Daines of Montana and Thad Cochran of Mississippi. They said they now have 37 Senate sponsors, which they hope is enough to convince McConnell to move the bill. "We believe, critically, this bill can pass the United States Senate with both a majority of Democrats and a majority of Republicans supporting it," said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.
HHS Press Release: New Medicaid Guidance Improves Access to Health Care for Justice-Involved Americans Reentering Their Communities
Department of Health and Human Services, 4/28/16
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) strengthened access to health care for individuals transitioning from incarceration back to their communities. New Medicaid guidance released today updates decades-old policy and clarifies that individuals who are currently on probation, parole or in home confinement are not considered inmates of a public institution. It also extends coverage to Medicaid-eligible individuals living in community halfway houses where they have freedom of movement, improving access to care for as many as 96,000 individuals in Medicaid expansion states over the course of the year.
Why 'ban the box' could soon be a thing of the past for federal jobs
The Christian Science Monitor, 5/2/16
As a small part of a larger effort to reform the justice system, the Obama administration is pushing to remove questions about criminal history from federal job applications. Also known as "ban the box," the rule would prohibit federal government from asking question about criminal history until later in the employment process, when there has been "a conditional offer of employment."
Around Illinois
Lali's Law: Opioid-antidote bill advances to U.S. House floor
Chicago Tribune | Lake County News-Sun, 4/28/16
A national law named after a Buffalo Grove resident that would help increase access to the life-saving heroin antidote naloxone is moving to the U.S. House floor for a vote after it passed out of committee in Washington. Lali's Law, named after Alex Laliberte, a Stevenson High School graduate, creates a grant program that will help states increase access to naloxone by funding programs that allow pharmacists to distribute naloxone without a prescription, according to a statement released by Live4Lali, an organization targeting substance abuse and overdose awareness and advocacy.
Rep. LaHood looks to Central Illinois for solution to opioid problem
Central Illinois News Now | WEEK, 4/29/16
Heroin and opioid overdose deaths have spiked in Illinois, with an 8.3% increase of drug overdose deaths between 2013 and 2014. Rep. LaHood will be holding three roundtable discussions in Illinois to address it. Those discussions will include law enforcement, addiction specialists, and educators, and they will be aimed at finding the resources and the best way to fight the problem. "This epidemic transcends economic boundaries," said Rep. LaHood. "It transcends rural and urban. It transcends all different types of racial demographics, but it continues to grow."
Head Of Illinois Physicians Group Praises Efforts To Increase Availability Of Heroin Antidote Naloxone
CBS Local | WBBM, 5/1/16
The head of the state's premier physicians group is applauding efforts to make a life-saving heroin antidote available to more people, professional and otherwise, reports WBBM Political editor Craig Dellimore. Here in Illinois, laws are in effect to combat the widespread use of heroin and other opioids and officials want to make sure first responders like police, paramedics and others carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose. Pharmacists can also give it out to families without a prescription. Is there a danger of misuse? Illinois State Medical Society President Dr. Thomas Anderson says the benefits of having Naloxone available outweigh any concerns.
Heroin abuse summit draws hundreds from Will-DuPage area
Chicago Tribune | Naperville Sun, 4/29/16
More than 47,000 Americans died in 2014 from drug overdoses, with 61 percent of those deaths attributed to heroin or a similar opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. That is more than double the heroin-related death rate of 2000, just 14 years earlier. Closer to home, DuPage County Coroner Richard A. Jorgensen recently said narcotics overdoses claimed 43 lives in the county in 2015, 33 in 2014 and 46 in 2013. His counterpart, Will County Coroner Patrick K. O'Neil, announced Friday there have been 20 fatal drug overdoses thus far in 2016 in his county. "I just confirmed our 20th fatality yesterday," O'Neil told the estimated 400 people who filled the Edward Hospital Athletic and Event Center in Romeoville for the annual HERO-HELPS-Southwest Coalition Community Summit.
Youth
States Could Not Terminate Medicaid for Juveniles in Custody Under Bill
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 4/28/16
States would be prohibited from terminating Medicaid coverage for incarcerated juveniles under legislation introduced last week in the House and Senate. States could suspend coverage while juveniles were in custody rather than cutting off their coverage, a change the bill's sponsors said would ensure a smooth transition for youth as they re-enter the community. States would be required to automatically restore Medicaid enrollment when a juvenile was released. Many juveniles rely on Medicaid coverage for physical and behavioral health care. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that as many as 70 percent of children in the juvenile justice system suffer from a mental disorder. Federal law prohibits states from drawing down Medicaid funding for people who are incarcerated. Some states, though not all, already suspend rather than terminate coverage for juveniles.
How Do 5.1 Million Children Cope With Parental Incarceration?
PBS NewsHour, 4/28/16
More than two million people are behind bars in the United States, but the children of those people - 5.1 million - are often overlooked in policy discussions about sentencing reform, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The nationwide figure of 5.1 million children is likely a conservative estimate because data from the National Survey of Children's Health only includes parents who have lived with a child at some point. And of these children, one out of five are age 4 or younger. When a parent is jailed, children often feel isolated and ashamed, said Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and advocacy at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The household loses more than one-fifth of its income when a parent is imprisoned. If it's a single-parent household, "it's a whole different ballgame," Speer explained, adding that these families often are "teetering on the edge of poverty to begin with... Kids shouldn't have to pay for their parent's crime."
Opinions, Editorials, and Commentary
US Attorney Jim Lewis: A closer look at our criminal justice system
The News-Gazette, 5/1/16
The Illinois Department of Corrections has about 50,000 people in prison, plus nearly 30,000 out on supervision. Each year, approximately 30,000 are newly incarcerated and 30,000 are released. Almost all prisoners will be released at some point, sooner or later; many are re-arrested within six months, and about half return to prison within three years. Our criminal justice system involves a lot of people. If we care about people in our community, we ought to care about our use of imprisonment - and about people who are released.
Health & Justice in the News
is a summary of recent news stories relating to criminal justice, mental health, addiction and recovery, and related issues. It is compiled and published each Monday and Thursday.
Some headlines have been altered by TASC for clarity or emphasis. Opinions in the articles and op-eds do not necessarily express the views of TASC or our staff or partners.
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