LA: Orleans Parish Jail Fails Accrediation

The most critical finding reflected the lack of sufficient mental health counselors at the jail, whose population of about 2,300 inmates are served by one full-time psychiatrist and a part-time psychiatrist. Jail medical staff have estimated about 7 percent of inmates require mental health care.

In order to meet the group’s minimum standard of being able to intervene with an inmate’s mental health crisis, other counselors, such as social workers or psychologists, are necessary, the report stated. The group’s standards require that not only are psychotropic medications available, but that patients should also receive individual or group therapy.

Dr. Samuel Gore, the jail’s medical director, said the chief psychiatrist tries to reserve time to provide therapy to inmates who need it, but the large number of patients makes the practice impractical on the scale required by the commission.

Eric Balaban, a senior staff counsel with the National Prison Project run by the American Civil Liberties Union, said the shortage of therapists raises particular concern because the Orleans Parish jail has become the dumping ground for many mentally ill patients in New Orleans who aren’t receiving adequate care on the outside.

Looks like Orleans jail inmates are suffering from the same problems as returning war vets.

MS: New Plan For MEMA Cottages

Gulfport–The is a local politician that has a new plan for those shotgun style homes, MEMA cottages, that are being put up around the Coast to help people move into a new home.  The plan is to put them in existing mobile home parks.

I think that the plan is more a way to keep the cottages from “mainstream” Coast and to isolate the people who get them.  I am sure that the wealthy are cringing at the thought that one of these might pop up in their neighbor and spoil the ambiance of their multi-million dollar homes.

This story has been reported on a local TV station and as usual no one questioned the politician on his motives, but he was allowed to make some flowering statement that sounds good, but does not hold true.