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Does anyone know how mental illness in jail is handled?
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<blockquote data-quote="Copabanana" data-source="post: 761385" data-attributes="member: 18958"><p>Dear Nandina</p><p></p><p>I wouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater yet. This attorney seems to be seeing his responsibility as within certain boundaries that do not coincide with your son's needs. It may be that he can still represent your son effectively within the boundaries he's set. But we don't know. <strong>We have to think about how either to augment the help (how he has defined his role) by seeking other advocates or motivate this person to expand his area of responsibility.</strong></p><p></p><p>How will this help you now? Or help your son? Not at all. We have to deal with NOW.</p><p></p><p>This is a good question. We need to find out if he'll represent your son, by putting him on the spot to do so now.</p><p></p><p>We need to challenge him NOW (or not--in which case you will need to find somebody else--but we don't know yet) <em>to do what he must do or to work with somebody else who is willing to do more.</em> I see this as desirable to firing him outright now. We don't know what he'll do until you challenge him. You don't have any alternative yet. .And because the reality is we don't know if somebody else will do more.</p><p></p><p>You had mentioned looking for a <em>mental health advocate</em>? How is that going? That would be to do what this attorney is not doing and to work alongside the attorney to support him. Maybe the attorney would have ideas about who could do that. Maybe not.</p><p></p><p>I guess what I am saying is that this attorney is all you have now. But this attorney needs to step up. How to do that?</p><p></p><p>Questions. <em>Has there been a response from the jailer</em>? If you haven't heard back from the jailer and you don't have an idea of who might be a paid advocate we're stuck with the attorney for right now. <em>You would need to challenge him</em>. And at the same time open up the search in finding potential alternatives or adjuncts (by an adjunct I mean somebody who can helping the attorney by taking responsibility for the fact your son is decompensating.. Is there a <em>"disability rights" attorney </em>in the area where is the jail or in the state? If not, is there a family attorney who would be willing to take this roles?</p><p></p><p>You can probably find this out today. Meanwhile, but not right away, until you investigate options, I would start composing a letter to the existing attorney. All of us here can help you with that because I think we are thinking along the same lines.</p><p></p><p>Basically, my vision of a first-draft of the letter would begin like this:</p><p></p><p>___________</p><p></p><p>Dear Attorney</p><p></p><p>My son has become acutely psychotic since his solitary confinement in the jail. That I know of, he has not been assessed and his psychosis remains untreated. I need your help now, to see that my son is assessed and treated. I fear what will happen to him, if he is not assessed and treated. I believe solitary confinement (and before that homelessness and drug use) have exacerbated a psychosis and other mental health issues that have afflicted my son for a long time. I believe this situation is extremely pertinent to his legal representation, and I am asking of you several things.</p><p></p><p>One, I am asking for your assistance so that my son receives immediate mental health assessment and treatment. As you know I am out of state. I have advised the jail of my son's condition, and thus far there has been no response. Please let me know in writing how we together we might advocate for my son to be treated immediately.</p><p></p><p>Second, I see the fact of my son's psychosis and other diagnoses to be central to his inability to have done better in responding to treatment options in the course of this past months. His mental status may also require alternative correctional placement.</p><p></p><p>I recognize that you are busy and that you may see your role in a different way than I do. What I am requesting is that together we brainstorm to see if we can find a way to meet my son's needs. If you are unavailable or unwilling to respond to the reality of my son's circumstances -- which seem to be that he is becoming gravely disabled without necessary attention -- I need to know that.</p><p></p><p>I see this as an "access to care" issue. My son is a dependent of the state, locked away in a state where his family cannot help him. How can you help us? Please advise me in writing of what we can do.</p><p></p><p>Thank you.</p><p></p><p>Respectfully,</p><p></p><p>Mrs. and Mr. Nandina</p><p></p><p>_____________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Please don't trust my instincts on this, but I see this as your best shot, right now, given that other options don't yet exist. Let's give this attorney the option to step up and help you. If I received a letter like this, I would respond with my heart. Why not ask others here on the thread what they think because maybe I am wrong.</p><p></p><p>PS I would include specific and explicit and detailed examples of the concerning behavior (and symptoms) of your son. Word salad, babbling, disorientation, delusions, hallucinations, vulnerability to predators, taking care of basic needs, etc.</p><p></p><p>Love, Copa</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Copabanana, post: 761385, member: 18958"] Dear Nandina I wouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater yet. This attorney seems to be seeing his responsibility as within certain boundaries that do not coincide with your son's needs. It may be that he can still represent your son effectively within the boundaries he's set. But we don't know. [B]We have to think about how either to augment the help (how he has defined his role) by seeking other advocates or motivate this person to expand his area of responsibility.[/B] How will this help you now? Or help your son? Not at all. We have to deal with NOW. This is a good question. We need to find out if he'll represent your son, by putting him on the spot to do so now. We need to challenge him NOW (or not--in which case you will need to find somebody else--but we don't know yet) [I]to do what he must do or to work with somebody else who is willing to do more.[/I] I see this as desirable to firing him outright now. We don't know what he'll do until you challenge him. You don't have any alternative yet. .And because the reality is we don't know if somebody else will do more. You had mentioned looking for a [I]mental health advocate[/I]? How is that going? That would be to do what this attorney is not doing and to work alongside the attorney to support him. Maybe the attorney would have ideas about who could do that. Maybe not. I guess what I am saying is that this attorney is all you have now. But this attorney needs to step up. How to do that? Questions. [I]Has there been a response from the jailer[/I]? If you haven't heard back from the jailer and you don't have an idea of who might be a paid advocate we're stuck with the attorney for right now. [I]You would need to challenge him[/I]. And at the same time open up the search in finding potential alternatives or adjuncts (by an adjunct I mean somebody who can helping the attorney by taking responsibility for the fact your son is decompensating.. Is there a [I]"disability rights" attorney [/I]in the area where is the jail or in the state? If not, is there a family attorney who would be willing to take this roles? You can probably find this out today. Meanwhile, but not right away, until you investigate options, I would start composing a letter to the existing attorney. All of us here can help you with that because I think we are thinking along the same lines. Basically, my vision of a first-draft of the letter would begin like this: ___________ Dear Attorney My son has become acutely psychotic since his solitary confinement in the jail. That I know of, he has not been assessed and his psychosis remains untreated. I need your help now, to see that my son is assessed and treated. I fear what will happen to him, if he is not assessed and treated. I believe solitary confinement (and before that homelessness and drug use) have exacerbated a psychosis and other mental health issues that have afflicted my son for a long time. I believe this situation is extremely pertinent to his legal representation, and I am asking of you several things. One, I am asking for your assistance so that my son receives immediate mental health assessment and treatment. As you know I am out of state. I have advised the jail of my son's condition, and thus far there has been no response. Please let me know in writing how we together we might advocate for my son to be treated immediately. Second, I see the fact of my son's psychosis and other diagnoses to be central to his inability to have done better in responding to treatment options in the course of this past months. His mental status may also require alternative correctional placement. I recognize that you are busy and that you may see your role in a different way than I do. What I am requesting is that together we brainstorm to see if we can find a way to meet my son's needs. If you are unavailable or unwilling to respond to the reality of my son's circumstances -- which seem to be that he is becoming gravely disabled without necessary attention -- I need to know that. I see this as an "access to care" issue. My son is a dependent of the state, locked away in a state where his family cannot help him. How can you help us? Please advise me in writing of what we can do. Thank you. Respectfully, Mrs. and Mr. Nandina _____________________________________________________ Please don't trust my instincts on this, but I see this as your best shot, right now, given that other options don't yet exist. Let's give this attorney the option to step up and help you. If I received a letter like this, I would respond with my heart. Why not ask others here on the thread what they think because maybe I am wrong. PS I would include specific and explicit and detailed examples of the concerning behavior (and symptoms) of your son. Word salad, babbling, disorientation, delusions, hallucinations, vulnerability to predators, taking care of basic needs, etc. Love, Copa [/QUOTE]
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Does anyone know how mental illness in jail is handled?
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