Bob Joondeph – Mental Health PDX

Oregon DOC Agrees to Reduce Isolation and Improve the Care of Seriously Mentally Ill Adults in the Behavioral Health Unit

January 13, 2016

This press release was being jointly issued by Disability Rights Oregon and Oregon Department of Corrections The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) and Disability Rights Oregon (DRO) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations, effective January 8, 2016. The Memorandum solidifies DOC’s commitment to improving its management of adults in custody […]

Oregon House passes bill requiring ERs to document every use of forced isolation

March 11, 2015

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

The Lund Report, March 6, 2015 HB 2363 puts Oregon Health Authority administrative rules into statute in an effort to minimize the use of non-therapeutic isolation of patients who come to emergency rooms during a mental breakdown but are locked in a room while receiving minimal treatment. Some Republicans objected to micro-managing the administrative process […]

Oregon Courts Double the Number of Suspects Sent to State Mental Hospital

September 9, 2014

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

From Go Local PDX, September 09, 2014 Eds. Note – the URL to the Go Local PDX web site hosting the article below sets off security bells and whistles from Firefox and Chrome browsers. Proceed with caution. The number of criminal suspects in Oregon deemed unfit to stand trial and then sent to the state […]

US DOJ v. Portland Settlement Agreement, Approved

September 8, 2014

| 1 Comment

| Uncategorized

By Bob Joondeph, Executive Director of Disability Rights Oregon The Agreement is really two related agreements. One is about police policies and practices and is enforceable. One is about adequate community mental health services and is “aspirational.” All agree that the aspirational parts are necessary for the enforceable parts to work. It’s been almost two […]

Psych Central signs on to help defeat pro-force, anti-rights House bill, HR 3717, the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act”

April 21, 2014

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

By Jenny Westberg, Portland Mental Health Examiner, April 21, 2014 An anti-civil rights bill that purports to fix the “broken mental health system” but would actually gut that system has picked up a new and formidable opponent. Psych Central — and the more than 350,000 Americans it represents – last week came out strongly against […]

Juliet Follansbee points to progress at PSRB, with more than ever living in community, but others sound cautious note

April 12, 2014

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

Street Roots, April 12, 2014 On the desk in Juliet Follansbee’s downtown Portland office is a thick book of Oregon laws. It contains only a few sentences that grant the state agency she operates tremendous power over the lives of hundreds of Oregonians. In May, Follansbee was made interim executive director of the Psychiatric Security […]

Legislation would make civil commitment stays lengthier, getting out tougher

January 28, 2013

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

The Lane County DA says the senate bills would only affect the most extreme criminal cases. However, typical civil commitments for non-Measure 11 offenders would still go from six months to two years. The hospital director could not release a patient who is cured or no longer dangerous without a judge’s say-so. And patients would […]

Shootings Push Mental Health Into Spotlight In Salem

January 22, 2013

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

From OPB.org, January 22, 2013 Recent mass shootings in Oregon and Connecticut have thrust mental health issues into the spotlight. Some Oregon lawmakers and mental health advocates hope there’s enough momentum to keep the conversation front and center. Unlike gun control, there is a consensus that appears to be emerging on funding mental health programs. […]

Letter from Bob Joondeph of the Disability Rights Organization

December 21, 2012

| 1 Comment

| Uncategorized

Friends, On Dec. 17, USDOJ filed suit against the City of Portland under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act alleging that city’s police have acted with excessive force against persons with (or perceived to have) mental illness. This follows the negotiation between the USDOJ and City of a Settlement Agreement. Terms of the […]

Oregon State Bar to prosecute Washington County district attorney, defense attorney on ethics violations

September 27, 2012

| No Comments

| Uncategorized

Published by The Oregonian, September 27, 2012 The Oregon State Bar will prosecute Washington County’s district attorney and a defense attorney on ethics violations stemming from their handling of a mentally ill man’s aggravated murder case. Kateri Walsh, a state bar spokeswoman, said the decision came Saturday when the State Professional Responsibility Board reviewed the […]