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| Inmates say treatment lacking |
| By Portland Press Herald |
| Published: 01/12/2004 |
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Nearly 40 percent of Maine's prison inmates have a mental illness, yet many say they aren't getting the medications they need and are more likely to be disciplined than treated if they act out. And 60 percent of the state's prisoners have substance abuse problems but have limited access to treatment programs. Those findings are contained in a first-ever survey of the health status of Maine's inmate population, released last Tuesday by the Maine Civil Liberties Union. The MCLU conducted the survey in May and June in conjunction with the Maine Department of Corrections. In the survey, completed by about two-thirds of the nearly 1,900 inmates in the state's seven adult correctional facilities, 70 percent reported themselves in good health overall. However, the MCLU says the survey highlights some major deficiencies in prison health care. For example, 49 percent of the inmates who responded to the survey reported dental problems. About 80 percent complained of having to file multiple requests before receiving treatment. Louise Roback, executive director of the MCLU, said the organization is particularly concerned "about the inadequacies of mental health care." The survey was done by researchers from the University of Southern Maine's Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service with $57,000 from the nonprofit Maine Health Access Foundation. Denise Lord, Maine's associate corrections commissioner, discussed the findings at a news conference last Tuesday at the MCLU office in Portland. "I'm not alarmed by it or surprised by it," she said. Lord said the corrections department has already made some improvements. It nearly doubled the amount spent on prison health care, from $5 million to about $10 million last year, and is providing more dental care for inmates. But she acknowledged more needs to be done. The state contracts with a managed care company and private providers for inmates' health care. |
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