State Highlights: Rhode Island’s Laws On 911 Calls Hide Important Facts From Public; Hundreds Of Colorado Child Neglect Cases Sent To Wrong Email Account

ProPublica: Going Quiet: More States Are Hiding 911 Recordings From Families, Lawyers And The General Public
Rhode Island is one of about a dozen states that prohibit the release of 911 recordings or transcripts without the written consent of the caller or by court order. The goal generally is to protect the privacy of callers in what may be one of the most stressful moments of their lives. But Rhode Island’s restrictive law also keeps families in the dark about how the state’s 911 system has responded to calls involving their loved ones, and it has left the public oblivious to troubling gaps in how the system is performing, according to an investigation by The Public’s Radio and ProPublica. (Arditi, 7/16)

The New York Times: Child Neglect Reports Sat Unread For 4 Years Because Of An Email Mix-Up
A system created to prevent tips about child abuse and neglect from slipping through the cracks instead created a big one: Scores of messages sent to Colorado’s statewide hotline piled up unread for four years because of a mistake in an email address. The problem started in 2015, not long after Colorado created a statewide telephone and email hotline for reporting suspected cases. The Department of Human Services set up an email account, and then made a seemingly minor change, adding an underscore and the department’s initials to the email address to bring it in line with department standards, according to the Denver station KCNC-TV, which first reported the problem. (Philipps and Stockman, 7/15)

Modern Healthcare: Mental Health Clinics Face Federal Funding Loss Next Week
Innovative mental health centers in eight states will lose enhanced federal funding on Sunday for a Medicaid demonstration that enables them to offer a broad array of coordinated services for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. The two-year, $1 billion certified community behavioral health clinic program (CCBHC), which enjoys bipartisan support, will end unless Congress quickly agrees to at least temporarily extend the funding. (Meyer, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Missouri Works To Settle Lawsuit On Medicine For Foster Kids
A federal judge on Monday gave preliminary approval to a settlement agreement for a lawsuit alleging that Missouri overmedicated children in foster care with psychotropic drugs. The agreement, which still needs final approval, calls for the state to make systemic changes to how it oversees prescriptions given to children in its care, including additional staff training and regular check-ups for kids on psychotropic medications. (7/15)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Tennessee Suspects Georgians Are Signing Up For Its Medicaid
Sixteen people alleged to live in Georgia are under investigation by Tennessee authorities who say they received coverage under TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, possibly trying to get health coverage there that they couldn’t get here. It’s currently the largest number of such cases originating from any state, Tennessee’s Office of the Inspector General said. (Hart, 7/15)

Pioneer Press: Minnesota DHS Commissioner Tony Lourey Resigns 
Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Tony Lourey resigned abruptly on Monday, leaving his post at the state’s largest agency after only six months on the job. In his resignation letter to Gov. Tim Walz, Lourey said he believed “a new leader is necessary to best execute your vision for human services.” He did not clearly state why he was resigning. His sudden departure comes just days after his two top deputies announced they would resign. (Faircloth, 7/15)

The CT Mirror: Republican Legislator Signs On To Represent Bristol Couple In Vaccine Lawsuit
Cara Pavalock-D’Amato, the ranking House Republican on the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, has agreed to represent a Bristol couple suing to block the state from releasing data that show what percentage of children at each Connecticut school are unvaccinated. The legislator, who has a law degree from St. Thomas University in Miami, said she heard about the case from Brian Festa, who is her constituent and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. (Carlesso, 7/15)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Requires Insurers To Cover Kids’ Disability Therapy
The wide-ranging health care bill requires insurance companies to cover physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy for all children 18 and under with disabilities. [Robyn] Schelp, the president of Missouri Disability Empowerment, said Missouri is one of just three states (the others are New Jersey and Maryland) with the disability coverage mandate. (marso, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: PG&E Makes Thousands Of Repairs After Inspections
PG&E Corp. said it is working to repair nearly 10,000 problems it discovered throughout its electrical system as it steps up efforts to prevent its equipment from sparking more wildfires. The company posted to its website the results of an accelerated inspection process that began late last year. The company said it discovered more than 1,000 immediate safety risks and has repaired nearly all of them, as well as thousands of other lower-priority ones. But it is still working through more than 3,700 repairs as California’s wildfire season proceeds. (Blunt and Gold, 7/15)

San Jose Mercury News: Child Poverty: Why This Bay Area County Ranks So High
The family’s story is not uncommon in Santa Cruz County, which has the second-highest child poverty rate in the state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Los Angeles County has the highest rate. Experts say the statistics can largely be traced to high housing costs. But Santa Cruz County’s median household income of $79,704 is much lower than Silicon Valley’s and San Francisco’s, partly because the area’s dominant industries are hospitality and agriculture. (Hellerstein, 7/15)

The Oregonian: Portland Man Accused Of Killing Fellow Patient At Mental Health Treatment Center 
A 57-year-old man was arrested Friday after authorities say he fatally choked a woman at a Southeast Portland mental health treatment facility in May while they both were patients there. Multnomah County prosecutors allege in court documents that surveillance video shows Roger J. Jones twice go into the room of Huyen Cao on May 17, where he at some point strangled her off camera. He goes into her room once around 3:40 a.m., stays for 17 minutes, leaves and returns briefly about 10 minutes later, according to a probable cause affidavit. (Bailey, 7/15)

Boston Globe: Worcester Home Healthcare Company To Pay $162,000 In Restitution To More Than 230 Employees
Pinnacle Home Healthcare Services Inc. and its owner Pauline Mwangi will pay 233 home health care aides for late and missed wages, Healey said in a statement. A Pinnacle employee alleged the company was issuing checks that were missing pay, leading to an investigation, Healey said. (Saric, 7/15)

Boston Globe: In First Year Of Medical Parole, Just Four Inmates Granted Reprieve
When Massachusetts lawmakers approved a program to release prisoners who are incapacitated or terminally ill, proponents hailed it as a compassionate, practical measure that could save taxpayers millions in health care costs. But only four inmates have received medical parole since it was enacted in April 2018 and advocates say prison officials are undercutting the law by preventing inmates from even applying, placing one administrative barrier after another in their path. (Lotan, 7/15)