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| Mentally ill need help, not prison |
| By desmoinesregister.com |
| Published: 10/13/2009 |
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Clarinda, Ia. — Part of the argument made Monday for saving the Clarinda Mental Health Institute is that it could help ease the overpopulation of mentally ill people in Iowa's prisons. The state has shifted from helping Iowans treat mental illness to locking them up after a crime has been committed, and that needs to be reversed, said several members of a task force studying the possible closure of one of Iowa's four mental health institutes. Several Iowans who live near the 55-bed Clarinda institute in southwest Iowa echoed that sentiment. More than 400 people packed a public hearing conducted by the task force. The 11-member group will advise the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services about what role the four state mental health institutes should play in an ideal mental health care system. The Legislature has required that the human services director recommend one institute for closure. Shrinking tax revenue and the governor's order for a 10 percent across-the-board budget cut don't change the task force's mission, members said Monday. "The 10 percent (cut) is just one of multiple factors," task force member Preston Daniels of Des Moines said. "If the analysis says these four institutions are best, then I'll stick with these." The group is touring each institute; Clarinda was the third to be visited. Read More. |
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