From an article about a father who feels like he has to give up his parental rights so his child, Cassidy, can get help:
The situation was further complicated after Congressional cuts to Medicaid last year took most of the funds available to pay for Cassidy’s professional care. Congress cut $12 billion to Medicaid over five years.
Father may be forced to abandon son
liz | 8:12 AM | Uncategorized
Liz Spikol was born in Philadelphia sometime in the 20th century. She started writing about her experience as a person with mental illness in 1999, while employed at Philadelphia Weekly as the paper’s managing editor. Aside from serving as that paper’s web editor, music editor, staff writer, senior editor, executive editor and a host of other random roles that she couldn’t make up her mind about, she has also worked as a Spanish teacher, as a Certified Peer Specialist during Philly’s system-wide transformation and as a communications specialist for a prison reform organization. Currently, she works at the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania and writes book reviews for PW. This blog — named one of the Top 10 Bipolar Blogs of 2007 and 2008 by PsychCentral — is about medications, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, PTSD, SAD (and many other acronyms), mad pride, Big Pharma, celebrities, hospitals, stigma and the recovery movement. And other stuff.
Truly tragic all around! I can only hope that this child receives the care that would allow for an outcome far superior to that than that normally associated with residential treatment, “Among the rare children who are able to overcome these obstacles, few can sustain the gains they have made. In one study, nearly 50% of children were readmitted to an RTC, and 75% were either renstitutionalized or arrested.” (1)
On Devereux Cleo Wallace, Westminster, CO from CBS 4 Denver – includes streaming video from an investigative report.
http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/local_story_053221237.html
(1) “Fact Sheet: Children in Residential Treatment Centers.” Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.
http://www.bazelon.org/issues/children/factsheets/rtcs.htm
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