Prison Health Data
Analysis from Data For Democracy – Prison Health: A Deep Dive into the Healthcare of the US Jail System With the United States having the highest number of incarcerated individuals globally, the provision of healthcare services within prisons has a direct impact on a significant portion of the population. In this article, Data For Democracy […]
“CA Supreme Court rejects disability advocates’ bid to block Newsom mental health court”
Via The Sacramento Bee “Gov. Gavin Newsom will be allowed to establish a system of mental health courts after a lawsuit brought by disability rights advocates failed to block it from moving forward. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled it would not prevent California counties from implementing Newsom’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment, or CARE, […]
“Why California’s much-touted CARE Court is ‘no one-and-done program'”
According to this publication by the state of California, the following describes Governor Newson’s new plan to get Californians in crisis off the streets and into housing, treatment, and care – but if you’re only going to read one bullet point, skip to the last… ● Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a […]
A Look At Recent Research Shows That Youth Incarceration Continues To Fail Kids And Their Communities, While Negatively Impacting Public Safety
“Jurisdictions should invest in community-based alternatives to incarceration that improve outcomes for kids while also saving the government money — strategies like offering wraparound services, with focused, individualized care plans, to kids and their families. One such program, Wraparound Milwaukee, works with 1,000 young people with serious psychological needs, 40 percent of whom have been […]
Fresno Police Officers Facing Disciplinary Action for Police Misconduct
(Fresno, CA) Three Fresno police officers were fired in the third quarter of 2022 as part of 15 disciplinary actions, according to a report released Monday. The reasons for the terminations and the names of the officers were not included in the quarterly report from the city’s Office of Independent Review, which is headed up […]
To Dismantle the Prison System, We Need Viral Justice
This TIME essay by Ruha Benjamin, internationally recognized writer, speaker, and professor of African American Studies at Princeton University paints a picture of how swiftly her younger brother, a black young man with schizophrenia, was criminalized instead of being connected with the mental health resources he needed. Benjamin didn’t get access to mental health care […]
California “CARE Court” Forces Unhoused People into Treatment
Mad In America: “California Governor Gavin Newsom’s so-called “CARE Court” plan creates a new court system that subjects unhoused people with mental health disabilities to involuntary treatment. In a recent response, the civil rights advocacy group American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stresses that the solution to California’s homelessness crisis is permanent housing and dignified care, […]
Police Reform Bill Signed into Law in California
People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by police killings. Today Governor Newsom of California signed a bill into law “that requires the California Attorney General to investigate police killings of unarmed civilians, removing the duty from local officials.” This will make police more accountable for their actions. While this is a step in the right […]
Alternatives to Police Response for Psychiatric Disabilities
(San Mateo, CA) Police responded to a 9-1-1 call about a person walking through traffic. When police arrived, they found Chinedu Okobi who was an unarmed 36-year old Black man with a psychiatric disability. Shortly after police confronted Chinedu, he was forced to the ground by 5 officers and tased a total of 7 times. […]