Governor Mitt Romney and "mental health"

 

• “As the Haleigh Poutre case demonstrates, errors in human judgment occur. What is unusual is how many people involved in Haleigh’s care – medical professionals, case workers and administrators from many disciplines – made errors. I welcome new systems and processes that will identify and guard against circumstances where human error may have severe consequences.”
  • Governr Mitt Romney, 03-21-2006 Press Release

 

• “A tragic crisis shone a spotlight last year on the operations and culture of the Department of Correction. This group of experts worked long and hard to identify areas of weakness in our state prison network. Their conclusion is clear: It is time to correct our system of correction.”
  • Governor Mitt Romney, 06-30-2004 Press Release
    • Accepting the commission’s report at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center

 

Is it true that the mentally ill will no longer receive MassHealth coverage for psychiatric services? No. While psychiatric day treatment coverage has been eliminated, MassHealth clients will continue to receive coverage for medically necessary outpatient mental health services. These services include individual, group and family therapy, medication evaluation and management, psychiatric emergency services and inpatient psychiatric services. In addition, the Department of Mental Health is reviewing the list of people who had received psychiatric day treatment services to determine how many are DMH clients and whether they are eligible for DMH-funded day rehabilitation and support programs.

 

• "Dr. Childs’s background in psychiatry is critical to provide sensitive and appropriate services to many of the most vulnerable citizens in the Commonwealth. My Administration and the people we serve are fortunate to have her leading the way.”
  • Governr Mitt Romney, 04-18-2003

 

Romney's actions with regard to Mental Health

• Appointed Dr. Childs mental health commissioner. The magna cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College graduated from the University of Cincinnati Medical School in 1986. She performed postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in both child and adult psychiatry. Prior to heading up the Carney psychiatry department, Dr. Childs worked as a child psychiatrist for the M.I.T. Health Plan and has also been affiliated with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Gaebler Children’s Center in Waltham, Winthrop Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, New England Deaconess Hospital and the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Childs has also served as a lecturer at Harvard University Medical School and for the past 11 years has supervised Boston University Medical School students. Dr. Childs has served as the president of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society since last year and is currently the director and chief of psychiatry at Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester.
• Closed 6 offices from the Department of Mental Health. See the 03-10-2003 Press Release: HHS CONSOLIDATIONS TO SAVE MILLIONS AND IMPROVE SERVICE; Closing 36 underutilized offices will save the state $2.3 million in FY04
  • Closing Springfield Office located at 503 State Street. Staff move to DTA Office, 310 State Street, Springfield
  • Closing Medfield Office. Staff move to MA Hospital School, Canton
  • Closing Lawrence. Staff move to DTA Office, 755 Main Street, Haverhill
  • Closing Haverhill Office located at 52-54 Washington Street. Staff move to DTA Office, 755 Main Street Haverhill
• Closing Hyannis Office. Staff move to DTA Offices, 77 High School Road Extension, Barnstable and 155 Katherine Lee Bates Road, Falmouth
  • Closing Worcester Office, 322 Main Street. Staff move to Bryan Building on the grounds of Worcester State Hospital
• "Romney said the rest of the $8.9 million in grants will be invested in 13 other projects across the state, including in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Provincetown, Quincy, Taunton, Worcester and Yarmouth. He said a second Northampton project being developed by TCB – Northampton Independent Living – will receive $105,000 in trust funds. The project will provide six independent living apartments for Department of Mental Health clients." 10-01-2003 Press Release
• "The additional $3 million will be directed into specialized housing for the mentally ill, where it will leverage three times that amount in federal funds. Once discharged from mental health inpatient units, these clients need help in finding apartments and paying rent while continuing to receive services from the Department of Mental Health." 01-14-2004 Press Release
• For example, if a mother visits the Department of Transitional Assistance to apply for food stamps, her lead caseworker may determine that she also needs childcare and services provided by the Department of Mental Health. From that moment on, the DTA caseworker will coordinate the delivery of all the family’s services, serving as the single point of contact. The mother will not need to travel to multiple offices and deal with layers upon layers of bureaucracy to get the help she needs. The saved time will allow families to focus on their lives and caseworkers to better help their clients. 02-24-2003 Press Release

 

2003

• 04-18-2003; Governor Mitt Romney names dr. Childs mental health commissioner
• 02-14-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES COMMISSION TO PREVENT HOMELESSNESS; Tasked with coordinating state services to homeless
• 02-24-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES HHS REORGANIZATION AS PART OF BUDGET; Plan closes more than 30 under-utilized local offices, achieves $90 million in savings
• 03-10-2003; HHS CONSOLIDATIONS TO SAVE MILLIONS AND IMPROVE SERVICE; Closing 36 underutilized offices will save the state $2.3 million in FY04
• 08-01-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES $8.9 MILLION TO CREATE 825 MORE HOMES

 

2004

• 09-15-2004; September 15, 2004; ROMNEY CREATES ADVISORY COUNCIL ON CORRECTIONS REFORM
• 06-30-2004; HARSHBARGER COMMISSION RECOMMENDS BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM

 

2005

• 02-14-2005; LT. GOV. HEALEY FILES BILL TO MANDATE POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION; Move will cut down on recidivism among former inmates

 

2006

• 04-13-2006; HEALEY ANNOUNCES MASSACHUSETTS' FIRST RECOVERY HIGH SCHOOL
• 03-21-2006; Poutre Panel Recommends Reforms in Child Welfare System