A nonpartisan report found significant shortcomings in Maine’s treatment of its mentally ill, despite a 27-year-old court-ordered decree. Advocates believe Maine’s refusal to appropriate enough money to meet a court decree is at the root of many problems in the mental health care system.
Despite the decree’s strict requirements, among the shortcomings of the state’s mental health system include potentially tens of thousands of seriously mentally ill adults in Maine, many of whom wander the streets or languish behind bars, may have had insufficient care or have had little or even no contact with the state’s mental health treatment system. Treatment is critical — but lacking in Maine; law-enforcement officials have been upset with the inadequacy of the care the mentally ill receive.
FEATURED STORY:
‘Lack of will’, potential conflicts of interest plague comprehensive mental health solution
All Stories:
After 27 years, Maine still fails to comply with the court-ordered decree to improve treatment of the state’s mentally ill
Advocates: Inadequate funding undercuts consent decree’s potential for mental health care
‘Lack of will’, potential conflicts of interest plague comprehensive mental health solution