Task Force: Courts Must Direct More Cases To Mental Health Care
A task force from the National Center for State Courts advised that courts should try harder to divert people needing mental health care to treatment instead of jail. The impact of vitality on mental, physical health; states opting out of teen mental health tracking; and more are also in the news.
Reuters:
Judges Must Divert More Cases To Mental Health Treatment, Task Force Says
Court systems in the U.S. need to do a better job of diverting individuals in some cases to mental health treatment and to establish new best practices for cases involving those with behavioral health issues, according to a task force that spent the last two years studying mental health in the judicial system. The National Center for State Courts, creator of the task force, said that at least 70% of people in the country's jails and prisons have been diagnosed with a mental illness or substance-use disorder, and people with mental illness are 10 times more likely to be put in a jail than a hospital. (Osakwe, 10/25)
In other mental health news —
USA Today:
Cigna Survey Measures Vitality's Effect On Mental, Physical Health
The survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults found 18% had high vitality. Those individuals were healthier, more likely to exercise, less likely to be obese and more likely to have a primary-care doctor. The 15% of adults with low vitality had poorer diets, less sleep and more chronic medical conditions. They also are more likely to be socially isolated, obese, depressed or anxious. (Alltucker, 10/25)
KHN:
States Opting Out Of A Federal Program That Tracks Teen Behavior As Youth Mental Health Worsens
As the covid-19 pandemic worsened a mental health crisis among America’s young people, a small group of states quietly withdrew from the nation’s largest public effort to track concerning behaviors in high school students. Colorado, Florida, and Idaho will not participate in a key part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior surveys that reaches more than 80,000 students. Over the past 30 years, the state-level surveys, conducted anonymously during each odd-numbered year, have helped elucidate the mental health stressors and safety risks for high school students. (Chang, 10/26)
Axios:
Lonely America
Loneliness in America is widespread — and it's a public health problem. More than 1 in 3 Americans are lonely, per a Harvard study. That rises to 61% when looking at younger people, and 51% among mothers with young kids. (Pandey, 10/25)
