Tips for childcare and babysitting with special needs children are divided into the categories of physical handicaps, epilepsy, mental impairment, general safety, and general babysitting suggestions. Also provided is an information sheet that parents of special needs children should complete to alert the babysitter to special needs and emergency…

The plight of the chronically mentally ill is discussed in this document. Chronic mental illness is defined as producing major impairments in functioning for an extended period of time. It is noted the chronically mentally ill are expected to negotiate a bureaucratic maze to receive help. The history of treatment of the mentally ill is traced from…

The pros and cons of state laws mandating mental health insurance are discussed in this report. The history of a 1985 Supreme Court case which held that states could mandate mental health benefits introduces the report. In an overview of the issue, the long-standing argument between the insurance industry and the mental health establishment is…

Involuntary commitment laws, once seen as reform, now questioned as roadblocks to needed treatment, are discussed. The ineffectiveness of state's commitment laws, lack of community resources for treating the mentally ill, and homelessness among the mentally ill are discussed in the introduction. The history of the right of a state to commit…

The increasing presence of the mentally ill among the nation's homeless is the topic of this report. The problems presented by deinstitutionalization are discussed, including: (1) the homeless mentally ill as a disruptive element of society; (2) mentally ill persons who shuttle between the hospital and the community; (3) young chronic patients who…

The vast majority of mentally ill offenders are not violent, although their illness necessarily manifests itself in ways that society often finds unacceptable. The number of mentally ill offenders is growing because needed mental health care is not available to those who are no longer hospitalized due to the deinstitutionalization movement and the…

The problem of mentally ill offenders is discussed in this report. Mentally ill offenders are described as generally not violent, with their behavior resulting in charges such as shoplifting, vagrancy, and trespassing. Factors increasing the number of mentally ill offenders are discussed, including the inability of families and communities to…

The failure of deinstitutionalization to provide an appropriate place for the mentally ill to live in the communities is the topic of this report. The history of how community-based housing programs fell victim to the same coordination problems that generally plagued deinstitutionalization efforts is discussed. Problems discussed include: (1)…

Drawing from a conceptual framework which hypothesizes a temporal sequence for persons who are in psychological distress, this paper focuses on two problems faced by chronically mentally ill (CMI) Hispanics in need of clinical services: (1) barriers in seeking follow-up clinical services upon discharge from a psychiatric hospital; and (2) barriers…

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2000 Report on Children's Mental Health estimates that one in five children and adolescents will experience a significant mental-health problem during their school years. While the family is the primary source of support for a child's mental health, the increased stress and fracturing of today's life make it imperative…

The lead article by H. Drummond examines the cultural context of psychosis and concludes that madness is deeply rooted in social and sexual inequality. The author, a psychiatrist, supports his argument with case studies, reports on the use of drugs with the psychotic, research on efforts to demonstrate that schizophrenia is a biological illness,…

A collection of 12 lessons, this volume covers a wide range of concerns in mental health counseling. Each piece begins with an editorial comment, followed by an introduction which outlines the scope of the problem under consideration. The main body of each lesson presents an analysis of the subject under consideration. A list of further sources…

Housing is a critical component of community care for people with long-term mental illness. Without a place to live, the best mental health treatment and the most sophisticated rehabilitation services cannot be effective. The first phase of the deinstitutionalization movement, releasing large numbers of patients from the state hospitals and…

This bulletin, published three times annually, reports on promising practices in the pupil services disciplines serving Wisconsin youth, and stimulates professional activity in the pupil service field. This issue includes articles dealing with: (1) a teacher education program in communication skills; (2) a guide to counseling mentally handicapped…

A 1992 conference on strategies to secure and maintain employment for person with long-term mental illness brought together providers, consumers, family members, researches, and others to develop as complete an overview as possible of the current state of knowledge in the field. This booklet summarizes findings from the conference. There were many…