A report published in this month’s Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that adults over 65 are receiving psychotropic medications at twice the rate of younger adults. The study also found that elders are much less likely to get their mental health care from psychiatrists or to receive psychotherapy. The report notes that psychotropic drugs generally pose greater risks to the elderly than they do to younger patients, and non-drug approaches, from therapy to meditation, may be as effective as psychotropic medications for some seniors’ mental disorders, without the risks. Psychotropic drugs pose both direct and indirect risks to the elderly: the drugs themselves can be dangerous. The American Geriatrics Society lists psychotropic medications that are potentially inappropriate for elderly patients.

The 2015 edition of this report, which fulfills NCD’s statutory mandate to annually report and make recommendations concerning the state of disability policy in the United States, holds special significance as the nation celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In recognition of this landmark legislation, NCD has dedicated this report to exploring how the ADA and other federal legislation has been put into practice by five specific state and local agencie including Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of Health Equity; Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Office of Medicaid; and the Disability Policy Consortium

The report focuses on employment, education, health care, transportation, and housing, and demonstrates the impact of federal legislation and the critical role that disability advocates and state and local officials have played who translate the spirit and letter of the ADA and other federal legislation into practice. It also lays out NCD’s vision for the next 25 years of the ADA with specific policy recommendations.

The latest edition of Mental Health Proceedings in Massachusetts

According to a report in the Washington Post, police in the US have shot and killed 124 people this year who were in the throes of mental or emotional crisis, . The dead account for a quarter of the 462 people shot to death by police in the first six months of 2015. Read the article here.

The MHLD has instituted several changes for FY 2016. They are detailed in the attached memos and notice. Here is the CPCS Mental Health Registration and Court Preferences form for panel members to select which subpanel or panels they want to join, their court preferences and confirmation that they do not represent institutional petitioners in guardianship or civil commitment. Memo to Panel Members July 1, 2015 – Memo to Panel Limiting Panel Membership 06.23.15

The Mental Health Litigation Division is seeking applicants for 11 Regional Coordinator positions for FY 16 (July 2015- June 2016). Send applications by June 9 to ktalley@publiccounsel.net. More information: Regional coordinator FY16 notice