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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2001)
State's ailing mental health system could see relief with proposed bills bygwentietgen The Nebraska mental health care system took a big step for ward Thursday as the session's first batch of mental health bills were tackled by the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. But Thursday’s hearings were just the beginning in the revamp ing of a system that, in the words of one person’s testimony, “sucks.” Uncolnites Patricia Blakely and her daughter know all too well about the system's short comings.. At the age of 14, Blakely’s daughter, who was using drugs and alcohol, ran away horn home. Blakely wouldn't find out until later that her daughter suf fered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression. Once she realized her daugh ter was mentally ill, nothing would be done for months. *My daughter sat in a deten tion center for five months with people who aren't exactly good peer role models ” Blakely said. Once her daughter received treatment she turned around for the better, she said. j *1 was very lucky that my daughter even got treated within five months,” Blakely said. And Blakely’s story is repeat ed again and again throughout the Nebraska mental health sys tem, many people testified. The complex issue of mental health is nothing new to legisla tors, who have been toiling since 1992 with state mental health issues. This year, legislators hope to finally take action on some men tal health issues and conduct final interim studies on others. “I really do believe we have an opportunity here,” said Sen. Jim Legislature Jensen of Omaha. Jensen introduced the two major mental health bills: ■ LB770 would change provi sions to the Nebraska Mental Health Commitment Act by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to take custody of committed indi viduals within 48 hours. Under the current system, k individuals must go through a much longer process. The funding required to actu ally make Nebraska’s mental health services able to take cus tody of patients within 48 hours is between $928,000 and $1.3 mil lion, said Sen. Jennie Robak of Columbus. ■ LB682, the adoption of the Nebraska Behavioral Health Services Act, defines mental ill ness, alcoholism and compulsive gambling among other things. The bill also creates stronger community-based mental health services by establishing a com munity mental health center in each of Nebraska’s six behavioral health regions. It also requires the state to give $3 to each of the six regional coordinating boards for every $1 provided by die counties. Right now, the amount of money Nebraska spends* on mental health care ties for last place in the nation with West Virginia. "If Nebraska doubled that amount of money, we would be 43rd in the nation, and if we tripled that amount, we would rank 41st," Robak said. Children and Family Coalitior Nebraska, identified three exist ing problems the mental health care system needs to tackle: Scot Adams, representing ■ Major mental health care centers in the state don't commu- - nicate with each other, causing useless overlapping systems, Adams said. Integrating services is anoth er area the Nebraska mental health system has to revamp, Adams said. “We need to integrate those who know mental illness and those who know chemical dependency," he said. “Now, Nebraska has a fairly disconnected level of services.” To fix that, he said, would take money. All those testifying seemed to agree the system needs to be changed, but disagreed on howto doit Aleisa McKinlay from Nebraska Advocacy Services, a group that represents disabled people, supported both bills, but recommended they be amended. Changes McKinlay suggested including consumer and family input in die revamping of the sys tem, a better definition of mental illness and more specifics on the operations of the community mental health centers that would be established. McKinlay also disagreed with LB682’s matching fund require ments, which she said actually decreased funding and provided local boards with litde incentive ' to provide community mental health services. “Until regional community based entities have complete responsibility for serving individ uals, mainstream economic the ory would tell you that they’re simply not going to make a con certed effort to do it,” McKinlay said. Jensen, die bills’ sponsor, and the rest of the committee said they were hopeful about the progress made in mental health issues. “I hope to bring the con sumer in die mix of mental health issues,” Jensen said. “And to examine the out comes of services to make sure we are achieving results.” In other Legislative news: ■ The committee advanced LB227 with an amendment. The bill bans smoking in most restau rants. The added amendment dic tates smoking areas in restau rants be completely enclosed ♦nth a separate ventilation sys tem from the non-smoking area. r Recycle your Daily Nebraskan .or else. J to attract minorities BY ANGIE SCHAFFER Showing students of color the opportunities awaiting in the field of law is what the NU Law College’s annual Diversity Law Day is all about High school and college stu dents are welcome to attend the event, which takes place on Saturday, said Steven Willbom, interim dean of the College of Law. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ross McCollum Hall on the East Campus Loop. Willbom said the day would help potential law students find information about law school and help students who are con sidering law as a career choice. The day’s program includes information about applying for law school and taking the LSAT, the law school entrance exam. It also will show students ways to finance an education in law and present various career opportu nities. UNL faculty and current law students will speak about their experiences, and a sample law school class will allow partici pants to get a feel for the atmos phere. A pizza lunch will be provid ed where faculty and alumni can discuss their experiences and answer any questions students have. Diversity Law Day is a part of National Minority Law Student Recruitment Month and is more important now that states like California and Texas have with drawn their affirmative action programs, Willbom said. “There has not been too much of an effect here,” he said. “But die number of minority law school applicants have gone down dramatically in California and Texas. “We’re Nebraska’s only public law school, and, consequently, we feel strongly that we should serve all segments of the popula tion,” he sai<^ The day is sponsored by the UNL Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs and the College of Law’s Black Law Students Association and Multi-Cultural Legal Society. , For more information, stu dents can call the law school at (402)472-2161. Final Liquidation! Everything Must Go! Special deals and giveaways before the doors are closed for good. Jerseys, T-shirts, Polos, Sweatshirts, Hats, Jackets, Glasses, Posters, Watches, Commemorative Tickets, Videos, Lamps, Footballs, Collectibles, Gifts and More... A STRONGER ALUMNL A GREATER UNIVERSITY. Bill proposes more secure facilities to house violent youth offenders BY GEORGE GREEN The question of how to han dle Nebraska’s most dangerous youth offenders took center stage at the Legislature Thursday. The Judiciary Committee heard testimony on a bill geared toward moving violent youth to secure lock-up facilities. LB599, introduced by Sen. Kermit Brashear of Omaha on behalf of Gov. Mike Johanns, would change the Hastings Correctional Center into a unit for dangerous youth offenders. Level 5 youth criminals - the state’s most dangerous young offenders who have committed violent crimes such as rape and murder - would find rehabilita tion services and a new home. The facility currently houses about 150 adult convicts. Brashear and Johanns also crafted the bill to address over crowding at Nebraska's two cen Legislature ters for juveniles in Kearney and Geneva. Steve King, spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Corrections, said the correc tional department supported the bill because it handled the youth in the safest, securest fashion. Another bill, LB471, would transfer other young offenders, those convicted as adults, from the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha to other adult correctional facilities in the state. The extra space in Omaha would then be filled by the Level 5 offenders who are overcrowd ing the state's two youth facili ties, he said. Shuffling these youngsters into prisons dominated by adults, though, promises to put the youths into dangerous sexu al and physical situations, King said. “It's easier and safer to move adult offenders from the Hastings unit (into other prison facilities),” he said. But Sen. Dwite Pedersen of Elkhorn, who introduced LB471, said the massive cost of revamping the Hastings facility made it an unfeasible option. More importantly, he said, moving young offenders to the site invited disaster because it wasn’t suitable for dangerous criminals. Under Pedersen’s urging, the committee decided not to advance either bill. Pedersen said he wanted senators to take a look at the Hastings unit before they made up their minds. “We need to have people see what a piece of crap it is,” he said. Proposed teacher pay bills spark controversy EDUCATION from page 1 would get some of the food tax money back. Taking a different route to additional funds, Wickersham introduced LB201, which would increase excise taxes on liquor, beer and cigarettes. The excise proposal differed from its sister bills because it actually garnered some support - even though the support was n't directly for teachers. David Holmquist, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society, said he backed the bill because it would save lives, not because it’d boost teacher pay. “We support it for the tax increase, not the revenue,” he said. Studies have shown that higher prices translate into fewer smokers, he said. Jim Moylan, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Liquor and Beverage Association, moved the chorus of testimony back to the opposition side. He said the bill wouldn’t raise extra money, only extra outrage. Nebraskans would slip over the border to neighboring states to buy their booze and ciga rettes because other states charge less for the items, he said. With so many citizens head ing to other states, Nebraska wouldn’t pull in the extra cash it needed to increase teacher salaries, he said. But, Moylan said senators would gather extra complaints. “These two taxes (on alcohol and cigarettes) rile as many feathers as you can think about,” he said. Wickersham bumped into the tide of resistance again when he introduced LB205. The bill would increase the base income tax rate from 3.7 percent to 3.95 percent. Wickersham defended the bill and said it offered citizens with a progressive tax option that shifted the burden to the upper class, who would pay the most Omaha resident D'Anne Welch stepped up to the plate to shoot down LB205. She said she had already forked over so much cash to the ' state that she struggled to sup port her disabled child. “It will have a very regressive effect on my family,” she said. Wickersham continued offering Nebraskans different options to help out teachers by introducing LB207. Combining both an increase in sales and income taxes, Wickersham said the bill would spread out the tax burden. “I thought it was important to introduce a bill that blended two options," he said. Under the bill, Nebraskans would have to deal with a. 11 percent increase in sales taxes and a .25 percent increase in income taxes. Sticking to the afternoon’s resistant theme, John Cederberg, a certified public account, testified that the bill would put an unfair burden on the upper class. Nebraskans who earn less than $40,000 per year already send in fewer tax dollars than similar citizens in other states; LB207 would keep the unjust trend rolling, he said. When all was said and done, Wickersham acknowledged teachers’ dire situations and the outpouring against paying more taxes. “Whether we like it or not, something has got to happen," he said. CHtj Campus Delivery Call Valentino's 13th&Q 475-1501 Student ^Stadort Value Pacs ordered will Breadtnists iodide On FREE Liter of Sierra Uist froo Pepsi! (While supplies last) DELIVERY East Campus Delivery Valentino's at & Holdrege 467-3611 for tne puce of s Medium OFFER EXPIRES 5-31-01 •Valentino's Coupon required. Offer good for ©rry-out (and delivery where mailable) only. One ©upon per person, per rtsit. 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