Mental Health Care IS Health Care

By Laura Nicholes
TAC Legislative Staff

The second meeting of the House Select Committee on Mental Health, chaired by Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo), convened March 22 to learn about mental health care for children and the impact in three areas: clinical settings, public education grades K–12 and in the juvenile justice system.

“Successful programs require that local government entities and private organizations also be involved, both in monetary and in community support,” said Price in his opening remarks.

Richardson explained the importance of removing the stigma associated with receiving metal health services, and the tendency to view it as separate from health care. The Elgin ISD school clinic is one of several 1115 Waiver projects facilitated through the assistance of Bluebonnet Trails.

Reilly provided a few statistics about the youth coming to TJJD. He noted that about 70 percent have been placed out of the home at least one time by the local probation departments.

“[It’s] in efforts to keep them ‘shallower’ in the system, but more importantly for the purposes of this committee, almost 40 percent of the kids committed by the local courts have had a confirmed history of abuse or neglect which has affected their development and their ability to deal successfully with their circumstances,” he said.

The last year and a half has shown an increase in violent crime in Texas – last year there were about 60,000 juveniles referred to local probation departments, 829 of them were committed by the courts to the state (about 1.5 percent), and currently there are about 1,200 incarcerated juveniles.

Dr. Tushar Desai, Medical Director for TJJD, also testified. According to the doctor, treatment needs, risk level and proximity to home factor in to which facility a child is placed.

All state incarceration facilities can provide low to moderate mental health treatment and some locations use telemedicine. Youthful offenders needing more intensive treatment or psychotropic medications are most commonly placed into the McLennan County facility which can provide and monitor increased psychiatric needs and establish stabilization.

The Texas Council On Offenders with Medical and Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI) and the Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHA) try to set up appointments within 30 days of release to ensure mental health needs are monitored and that juvenile parolees have 30 days of psychotropic medications available. TCOOMMI helps get the youth into the LMHA on a priority basis so they don’t have to wait for a long period of time before gaining access to services.