[SSRI-Research] State-by-State Snapshot of Mental Health Legislation

[Guest guest]

SSRI Research

JustSayNo

Fri, 30 Apr 2004 03:35:41 -0700 (PDT)

[sSRI-Research] State-by-State Snapshot of Mental Health Legislation

 

-- from a member --

 

The database for the legislation project is available on our website at:

 

http://www.stigmaresearch.org/projects/legis/

CCSR Legislation Project

State-by-State Snapshot of Mental Health Legislation

 

Many of the effects of stigma arise not from the prejudicial attitudes and

discriminatory behaviors of individuals, but from broader institutional policies

and social structures. For example, laws limit rights and resources available to

persons with mental illness. Patrick Corrigan and his colleagues have

systematically analyzed stigma and discrimination in state legislation

introduced during the 2002 legislative session (January 1,2002 -December 31,

2002).

 

In order to identify bills related to mental illness and mental health services,

we conducted a Lexis search of introduced legislation for each state. Our search

terms included varying forms of " mental illness " , " mental health " , and

" psychiatry " . No bills were located for Montana, North Dakota, Arkansas, Texas,

and Oregon because they either were not in session during 2002, or because the

search did not turn up results with our search terms. Appropriation bills were

excluded in this study. Additionally, bills exclusively dealing with children

with mental illnesses, sex offenders, people with developmental disabilities, or

mentally gifted people were excluded. A total of 994 bills were retained and

coded.

 

The last version of the bill that contained our search terms was coded. The bill

may have reached a higher stage, however, the part pertaining to mental illness

was no longer included. When coding bills, raters were asked to consider their

overall or general intent, and were to code only the most recent, amended part

of the bill. Each bill was first coded in terms of stage and category, and then

in terms of impact. A bill could have reached one of five stages: introduced,

passed a committee, passed either the House or Senate, passed both House and

Senate, or signed into law. We coded each bill in terms of whether it had to do

with 1. the Olmstead Act, 2. insurance parity, or 3. advance directives. All

bills coded as Olmstead required services for people with mental illnesses to be

provided in the least restrictive setting. Bills coded as Olmstead were seen as

reducing discrimination against people with mental illnesses and increasing

services. Bills were coded under insurance parity

if they specifically mentioned that the minimum amount of insurance coverage

granted to people with mental illnesses must be equal to the minimum amount of

coverage granted to people with physical illnesses. Parity bills were also seen

as reducing discrimination and increasing resources.

 

A bill did not have to fall into one of the three categories to be included in

the study. All bills were also coded in terms of four categories of impact:

liberties, resources or services, protections, or privacy and the direction of

the impact (expand or contract). In some cases, we were unable to determine the

direction of the bill's impact without further investigation of the state's

existing laws and codes.

 

LIBERTIES For a bill to be coded as affecting liberties, the bill's intent or

goal had to have dealt with the procedural or substantive rights of persons with

mental illness with respect to refusing treatment or restrictions on physical

liberty, such as restraint or confinement. A bill could expand liberties,

contract liberties, or have been coded as unable to be determined.

 

RESOURCES For a bill to be coded as affecting resources or services, the bill's

intent or goal had to address resources, or the quality and/or quantity of

resources and services for people with mental illness. Within resources and

services, a bill could have been coded as increased or preserved resources or

services, decreased resources or services, or coded as unable to be determined.

 

PROTECTIONS A bill was coded as affecting protections if the bill's intent or

goal was to reduce or increase discrimination against people with mental

illnesses in terms of housing, employment, or other benefits or services. Bills

were coded as reducing discrimination by increasing protections, increasing

discrimination by decreasing protections, or coded as unable to determine

whether the bill increased or decreased discrimination.

 

PRIVACY If a bill's intent or goal affected privacy or confidentiality for

people with mental illnesses, it was coded in this category. A bill could have

increased privacy, decreased privacy, or been coded as unable to determine

without further investigation of existing state law.

 

Click on a state below for information on bills introduced in the 2002 session

and links to the state legislature websites where you can find more detailed

information on the legislation that interests you.

 

 

 

http://www.stigmaresearch.org/projects/legis/