Mental Health Reform, Please
Virginia's mental health laws are stuck in the past.
Sunday, October 29, 2006; Page B06

VIRGINIA OFFICIALS are taking some encouraging steps
aimed at fixing the state's broken mental health
system, but this much-needed effort has come under
attack. The assault is misplaced.

Increasing numbers of mentally ill people in Virginia
end up on the streets, in court or in jail, instead of
in treatment, where they belong. Chief Justice Leroy
R. Hassell Sr. of the Virginia Supreme Court has
launched a commission to revamp state mental health
laws, including the state's outmoded criteria for
civil commitment, which provide emergency treatment
only when people are an "imminent danger" to
themselves or others. Justice Hassell wants those laws
examined, with the hope of presenting "reform
legislation" to the 2008 General Assembly.

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At a recent hearing, however, Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle
(R-Virginia Beach) warned the court not to overstep
its role by getting involved in policy. According to
the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mr. Stolle, chairman of
the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, said he didn't
think judges should "tell us how we should deal with
mental health." Justice Hassell should be applauded
instead of criticized. Judges see firsthand the impact
of untreated people on the criminal justice system and
the inadequacy of laws that deal with the problem.
Their advice to lawmakers is invaluable.

There is a precedent, too. In the 1990s, family
violence was spotlighted as an issue by then-Chief
Justice Harry L. Carrico, and reform followed.

Coincidental with the state effort, Fairfax County,
through its so-called Beeman Commission, is analyzing
its own mental services during a time of increased
need and dwindling resources. These two efforts
highlight Virginia's desperate situation and the need
for solutions.



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