This is a frightening situation in my area

Reba said:
Exactly.

We got the same email warnings about door-to-door security system sales people and window glass repair companies that were scams.

The police and sheriff's department make automated reverse 911 calls to us when someone is missing or there is a community wide emergency.

I believe places like Palmetto should be obligated to inform the police immediately when something happens at their center. They can give out identifying information without revealing someone's personal records. They should also have a better security system in place if they want to stay in residential neighborhoods.
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That is hardly the same issue as mentally ill patients.:roll: I don't think scammers fall under HIPPA or confidentiality and communication laws.
 
Let's ask a question here since so many of you seem to think it is acceptable to violate long standing laws and ethics regarding confidentiality and privacy laws.

You go to a therapist for help with depression. Your employer suspects that you are receiving mental health services. He then calls the facility, and the therapist gives him details of your diagnosis, your treatment, and the issues you are covering during sessions, including issues with your job. You are okay with that?

Here's another one. You are in an abusive relationship. You are receiving counseling in preparation to leave the relationship safely with your children. Your abusive husband calls the facility and asks if you are getting counseling, and is told "yes", given the name of your therapist, and the time of your next appointment. He shows up at that time, and shoots both you and the therapist. You okay with that?

If you are not okay with either of those situations, then you cannot approve of violation of confidentiality in any situation.
 
jillio said:
What you are asking violates laws and ethics, as has been explained numerous times....
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How does this violate any laws or ethics if the person's name and medical history aren't revealed?

"The point is, mentally ill or not, intrinsically evil or not, there are some people who do very bad things, and individuals, communities, societies, are right to take whatever steps they can to protect themselves from these types. To do that, whenever it's possible, it's only just that a given community be warned that such a person is on the loose near them. They don't have to be warned by name, necessarily. But it's not asking too much for the police to be able to warn a neighborhood "There is a 6'2, 170 lb., black male, considered violent, escapee from XYZ institution, possibly in your neighborhood. Lock your doors, be alert to your surroundings, etc., etc."

Ironically, in this case, the guy's name was released but not his picture. It would have been more useful to have a physical description more than the name.
 
jillio said:
That is hardly the same issue as mentally ill patients.:roll: I don't think scammers fall under HIPPA or confidentiality and communication laws.
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You're missing the point. I was explaining how the word can be spread during an emergency. We have systems in place for such things now.

If scammers can be reported, it's even more important that escapees be reported.
 
jillio said:
Let's ask a question here since so many of you seem to think it is acceptable to violate long standing laws and ethics regarding confidentiality and privacy laws.

You go to a therapist for help with depression. Your employer suspects that you are receiving mental health services. He then calls the facility, and the therapist gives him details of your diagnosis, your treatment, and the issues you are covering during sessions, including issues with your job. You are okay with that?
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That's not related to the situation I posted, not at all.

In your example, the patient didn't escape from a locked and fenced facility. No one has requested that the patient's employer be contacted. No one requested details of his sessions.

People only ask that the police be notified immediated, and that the neighborhood be notified when someone escapes so they can take precautions.

Here's another one. You are in an abusive relationship. You are receiving counseling in preparation to leave the relationship safely with your children. Your abusive husband calls the facility and asks if you are getting counseling, and is told "yes", given the name of your therapist, and the time of your next appointment. He shows up at that time, and shoots both you and the therapist. You okay with that?
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Again, how does that relate to the situation that I posted? Not at all.

Aren't therapists supposed to report any dangerous situations, such as death threats? Suppose the patient does something dangerous, such as waving around a weapon, or making verbal threats to harm someone, or he's hopped up on drugs and drives off with the kids in the car?

If you are not okay with either of those situations, then you cannot approve of violation of confidentiality in any situation.
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Also, once the "patient" leaves the facility, and is running around loose in the neighborhood, whatever he's doing outside the fence is not part of his therapy.

No one asked for all the information that you included in your examples. The police wanted to know where, how, and when he escaped, and what he looks like.
 
jillio said:
Doesn't apply to this case.
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Yes, it does.

In 1968, he sent "agents" into the field to study how DC gangs formed. Well, he had done that for several years, but I know one of the agents from 1968.

I was discussing this escaped juvenile "mentally ill" person with him last night - and he immediately said "gang member" and rolled his eyes.

"You mean he was arrested for tampering with a monitering device that was specifically put there to curb gang violence?"

"Yes."

"What did he NOT want recorded? Him and his buddies helping old ladies cross the street?" :roll:
 
Reba said:
How does this violate any laws or ethics if the person's name and medical history aren't revealed?

"The point is, mentally ill or not, intrinsically evil or not, there are some people who do very bad things, and individuals, communities, societies, are right to take whatever steps they can to protect themselves from these types. To do that, whenever it's possible, it's only just that a given community be warned that such a person is on the loose near them. They don't have to be warned by name, necessarily. But it's not asking too much for the police to be able to warn a neighborhood "There is a 6'2, 170 lb., black male, considered violent, escapee from XYZ institution, possibly in your neighborhood. Lock your doors, be alert to your surroundings, etc., etc."

Ironically, in this case, the guy's name was released but not his picture. It would have been more useful to have a physical description more than the name.
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Name does not have to be used. There is other identifying information. History does not have to be revealed. The very fact that someone is receiving treatment at a specific facility cannot be confirmed to the general public...or anyone, for that matter.

If people know they are living in an area where there is also a mental health facility, then if they feel that they are at risk, they should be taking measures to protect themselves all the time.
 
Reba said:
You're missing the point. I was explaining how the word can be spread during an emergency. We have systems in place for such things now.

If scammers can be reported, it's even more important that escapees be reported.
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Again, you cannot apply the same standards to passing word of a scammer as you can to someone receiving mental health treatment. I really don't see what is so difficult to understand. Mental health treatment is subject to privileged communication and confidentiality. Scammers are not.l
 
Steinhauer said:
Yes, it does.

In 1968, he sent "agents" into the field to study how DC gangs formed. Well, he had done that for several years, but I know one of the agents from 1968.

I was discussing this escaped juvenile "mentally ill" person with him last night - and he immediately said "gang member" and rolled his eyes.

"You mean he was arrested for tampering with a monitering device that was specifically put there to curb gang violence?"

"Yes."

"What did he NOT want recorded? Him and his buddies helping old ladies cross the street?" :roll:
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No, it doesn't. This doesn't have anything to do with gangs.

You are again mistaken regarding the monitoring device.:roll:

Try to stick to reality here. This making stuff up to try to make a point is absurd. Not to mention the use of convoluted logic.
 
Steinhauer said:
Yes, it does.

In 1968, he sent "agents" into the field to study how DC gangs formed. Well, he had done that for several years, but I know one of the agents from 1968.

I was discussing this escaped juvenile "mentally ill" person with him last night - and he immediately said "gang member" and rolled his eyes.

"You mean he was arrested for tampering with a monitering device that was specifically put there to curb gang violence?"

"Yes."

"What did he NOT want recorded? Him and his buddies helping old ladies cross the street?" :roll:
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How does a device curb gang violence? The only thing it can do is monitor.
 
Glenn said:
How does a device curb gang violence? The only thing it can do is monitor.
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And it is a monitor that simply functions like a GPS device that is attached to the individual's ankle for use in community correction (house arrest). The assumptions being made are absolutely ridiculous.:lol:
 
Maybe I need a device like that. I'll hang out in places gangs are known to frequent. If anyone tries to hassle me, the device will save me from any harm.
 
Oh yeah .. totally outrageous claims :roll:

D.C. Crime Camera Misses Daylight Shooting - Officer.com


The cameras were introduced as part of an emergency measure by Chief Charles H. Ramsey in response to a crime increase last summer. The council gave permanent approval for the use of the cameras in December.
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Besides, those GPS monitoring devices are not used to track the "mentally ill" either .... so ... that is an EPIC FAIL!
 
Graham said that gang activity near 17th and Euclid has been an issue for years but that the situation has improved, thanks to police and community efforts and a police surveillance camera.

Officials also announced an arrest in an unrelated homicide, in the 1100 block of 10th Street NW. Police charged Marcus McLean, 24, with murdering Delando King, 34, who was found stabbed to death Monday in an apartment.

Fenty applauded the department for closing the two cases quickly. He said the department "is doing some of the greatest work in the country," which has "directly resulted in less crime in the District of Columbia." {By exporting DC gang members to portions of the South in the guise of "mentally ill patients" we can not only free up our overloaded prisons, we can send the bill to the taxpayers in the South ... win-win for everyone}
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D.C. teen arrested in slaying called gang-related


Emphasis mine. I am sure it isn't exactly what is happening, but it is probably awfully close ....
 
I'm pretty sure the taxpayers in the south are not paying for it: D.C. is. The facilities in the south make a lot of money from the D.C. taxpayers, is how it really breaks down.
 
Here is another interesting article:


Outsourcing Troubled Kids: D.C.'s Addiction to Residential Treatment Centers - Washington City Paper

Unlike Jumiya, these kids came into the system on criminal charges. But like Jumiya, they arrived with personal demons that RTCs were supposed to treat. To the advocates, lawyers, and officials who monitor the work of RTCs, the institutions’ lack of success was not at all shocking. One lawyer admitted that more than half of his clients that were sent to RTCs went on to commit crimes after their release. “Coming out of residential treatment,” said another attorney, “none of them have their lives changed.”

City officials admit as much, too. “A lot of the youth that have gotten in trouble—many of them have gone to psychiatric residential treatment facilities,” says Marie Morilus-Black, the D.C. Department of Mental Health’s Children and Youth Services director. “[The facilities] didn’t fix them. It helps but often it’s not a sustainable change.”
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Update:

Last DC youth who escaped from SC center caught
Associated Press
Thursday, April 28, 2011


WASHINGTON — Officials say the last of four D.C. youths who escaped from a private treatment facility in South Carolina has been taken into custody.

The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services says the youth was captured Wednesday by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.

The youth was one of four who escaped from the Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health Center in Summerville, S.C., on April 20. The other three youths were apprehended a day later.

Officials say the center is a placement facility for adolescent males with sexually aggressive behaviors, substance abuse problems and psychiatric, behavioral or conduct issues.

The task force is made up of several state and local law enforcement agencies, including the D.C. police department and the U.S. Marshals Service.[/quote]
Last DC youth who escaped from SC center caught | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
 
Update:

Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health center did little to assist police

By Glenn Smith
Thursday, April 28, 2011


SUMMERVILLE -- Police officer Trey Hardy raced to the teen treatment center eager to help find four runaways who scaled a fence and fled.

He pulled into the parking lot and told a worker to get someone who could provide some information on the missing youths.

And then Hardy waited.

Summerville Police Department released this dashboard camera video and audio of the first officer responding to the report of an escape by 4 youths at Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health center on April 20.

"They don't seem too concerned about it here," Hardy told a fellow officer who radioed for a description of the missing teens.

It would be several minutes before anyone came out to talk with Hardy. And when they did, staff members struggled to provide basic descriptions of the teens and offered no specifics as to why they were being housed at Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health.

Hardy's frustrating encounter was captured in a police report and cruiser video footage released Wednesday to The Post and Courier documenting the police response to the teens' April 20 escape from the 60-bed Midland Parkway treatment facility.

It wasn't until the following day that police learned the teens had criminal backgrounds and violent pasts in their home city of Washington. When the information finally came, it was from Washington media, who called Summerville police after hearing about the escape, police said.

"We were learning from them what we had here," police Sgt. Cassandra Williams said.

Williams said she was surprised to learn the next day that the teens had a history of violence. One runaway who remains missing had reportedly been charged in Washington with attempted murder. The staff made no mention of this, Williams said. "How could you not know what's in your house?"

If officers had had all the facts, Williams said, they might have been able to get the teens back where they belonged that night, she said.

"I wish we had been given everything we needed on day one," she said. "We can only act on what we have knowledge of and go from there. And we were not given all the information that night."

A difficult situation

Palmetto officials have not responded to repeated questions about the incident, citing patient confidentiality laws. The center released a statement last week saying it is "committed to providing the best possible treatment to its patients and takes their safety and well-being very seriously."

The incident has sparked outrage in the community and calls for legislative change. The report and video released Wednesday illustrates the difficulty police encountered in extracting routine details from the staff of Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health. The scene played out this way:

Hardy was called to the Midland Parkway center about 6:30 p.m. to check out a report of four young men running away from the facility. Once he got there, he had to wait 12 minutes before anyone came out to meet him.

When he finally met with a staff member, she provided "very vague" information. Staff could not provide a specific location where the four scaled the center's 6-foot wooden fence or a solid time frame for the incident. Hardy was told they ran off while en route to the gym.

Staff also had difficulty providing clothing descriptions for three of the missing youths and had to call over to the nursing station to get height and weight measurements for the teens. Staff did not tell Hardy the teens posed a threat to the community.

At one point, he specifically asked why they had been sent to the center from Washington. "Are they criminal or mental?"

"A little of both," a staff member replied. "They're juveniles sent here because of psychiatric issues and they may have come here because they committed a crime."

The only mention of violence came when a staff member told Hardy one youth had attacked a center worker, police said. He ran criminal histories on all four teens but found very little because they are juveniles.

Police later learned the teens had been committed to the center by District of Columbia courts under the auspices of the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Center. District officials described the teens as having violent criminal histories.

Dorchester County sheriff's deputies rounded up three of the teens the next day. The fourth, 19-year-old Delonte Parker, remained the subject of a multi-state manhunt Wednesday with no known sightings, police said.

A history of violence

Also on Wednesday, a woman who allegedly was attacked and beaten by a 15-year-old from the center two years ago filed a lawsuit accusing Palmetto Behavioral Health of gross negligence and recklessness in the incident. She is represented by Mount Pleasant attorney Geoffrey H. Waggoner.

The victim, Toni Kucish, told police she was climbing from her vehicle on Oct. 12, 2009, when the teen started hitting her, knocking her to the ground. He continued to punch the 64-year-old woman in the head and shoulders while she was down. He ran off after she screamed for help but was quickly caught by staff members from the center, the police report stated.

Staff members told police the teen had slipped out a side door and run off after asking to get a drink of water. The teen told police he was angry with staff and decided to take it out on the first person he saw, a police report stated.

The lawsuit states the attack left Kucish with long-lasting emotional and psychological trauma, as well as physical complications. The suit alleges Palmetto failed to have adequate staffing, security and safeguards in place to prevent an attack by a client with a known propensity for violence and aggression.
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Palmetto Summerville Behavioral Health center did little to assist police | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
 
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