HARTFORD — A “champion advocate” for people with developmental disability has announced that he will resigned from the HARC, Inc., an organization serving people with intellectual and related disabilities.

HARC President  and CEO Dr. Stephen Becker will retire on July 12, 2013.

Becker, who began his career at HARC in 1977, first became interested in the field of developmental disabilities as an undergraduate at City University of New York at Queens College, working summers at a sleep-away camp for special needs children.

“I was fascinated to see just how much the children could learn in the eight weeks at camp, when everything was geared toward an intensive learning experience,” Becker said upon reflection earlier this week. ”After one summer I was hooked and went back to work at the camp for four more summers. I loved working with the children and their families, but was terribly saddened to see a few of the campers return to large state institutions after these fantastic summers of learning. Because of that, I broadened my training to include a greater focus on the nature and needs of people with intellectual disability.”

While pursuing a master’s degree from the City University of New York at Brooklyn College, Becker taught special education at the junior high level and later worked as the recreational director at an organization serving people with neurological disorders.

He then pursued a doctoral degree at Columbia University in order to gain expertise in all areas of learning, cognition, sensory and perceptual development. When he saw an expose by Geraldo Rivera on Willowbrook, an institution for children with intellectual disability on Staten Island profiling the horrible conditions there, he launched his advocacy work in the field. (Willowbrook was closed in 1987 due to public outcry.)

“The past 36 years at HARC have been an incredible period in our quest to create social change for individuals and families challenged by intellectual disability. Through advocacy and litigation, it became universally clear that isolating people in large institutions, sometimes numbering 5,000 and more, was a tremendous over-reaction to this disability and was frequently fraught with abuse and neglect,” Becker said.

He continues, “I have been blessed to work during this particular time in history as we joined hands to shape and actualize the dreams expressed by self-advocates and their loved ones. What a glorious ride it has been to observe how good life could be: children off to a good start with early intervention; students attending neighborhood schools; people living in the community close to family and friends; presence and participation in community activities; the joy of having a job and being part of the American workforce.  It has been a veritable renaissance, a flurry of innovation and celebration, energizing us forward to a new frontier.”

According to HARC’s board chair, Patrice Calnen, Vice President, Underwriting and New Business, Lincoln Financial Group, Becker was instrumental in helping to bring about  changes.

“During Dr. Becker’s extraordinary 36-year tenure at HARC, tremendous strides were made for individuals and families challenged by intellectual disability. Where our loved ones had been warehoused in large institutions, usually in horrible conditions with a bare minimum of custodial care, they now began to live in neighborhood group homes and attend day programs featuring development, teaching and support. HARC also helped public perception of this disability change from the idea of ‘deficiency’ to the idea of ‘level of support’ needed in various aspects of life.”

When asked if he has any disappointments, Becker said: “I am quite happy with the progress that has been made in the initiation of supportive services spanning a lifetime. However, I am very concerned for the families who continue to struggle with the worry of ‘Who will take care of my child when I am gone?’ It is troubling that in this day and age funding is still an issue, particularly in the area of residential services.”

Becker’s friend and colleague, Dr. Janis Abrams Spring, sums up Becker’s coming transition aptly. “With great compassion, intelligence, and a delightful sense of humor, Steve Becker has been a champion advocate for families facing intellectual challenges. Wherever he goes next, the people around him will be blessed.”

HARTFORD – By ANN-MARIE MESQUITA, Staff Writer

As the deadline to fully implement the Affordable Care Act nears, health care professionals gathered in Hartford on Monday to unpack mountains of data wrapped in regulations attached to the first major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since 1965.

This Act, also known as “Obamacare,” became a reality when President Barack Obama signed it into law on March 23, 2010. If implemented thoroughly, the Act would expand healthcare access and increase health coverage, key components to mitigate health disparities, experts say.

Enrollment for the program is set to begin Oct. 1, 2013. Medical coverage is to begin Jan. 1, 2014.

Some contend this Act could significantly address health disparities.

“I think it could have a major impact of health disparities because proportionally to the population, individuals who are more likely to be affected by the Affordable Care Act are people of color,” said Dennis P. Andrulis, a senior research scientist at the Texas Health Institute. Andrulis was one of about 200 public health researchers, policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders who attended the Institute of Medicine’s daylong conference entitled, Achieving Health Equity via the Affordable Care Act: Promises, Provisions, and Making Reform a Reality for Diverse Patients, at the Mark Twain House on April 22.

Of the 6.8 million newly eligible Medicaid recipients, about 45 percent would be people of color, a figure that mirrors the demographics in the country. Consequently, more than 60 provisions in the ACA are related to race, ethnicity, language and cultural competency to reduce disparities in urban and rural America, Andrulis said.

The work to see this ACT implemented, which will cost $5.1 billion, includes community outreach. It also includes materials to be developed for people with limited English proficiencies, low medical literacy and low reading skills. And already resistance, manifested at various levels, has begun.

In Texas, Andrulis said, discussions are centered on how to navigate the penalties for opting out.  Already, 14 states have opted out. And 12 states are undecided. Since it was signed into law, the U.S. House Republicans voted 39 times to repeal Obamacare. In the coming months, health advocates expect there will be persistent attempts by conservatives to dilute the potential of the law. Of course, Andrulis said, it’s in the Obama administration’s best interest to ensure effective implementation of this act.

To implement this sweeping act, it will be necessary to engage communities at the grassroots level, said U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-1st), who with Gov. Dannel Malloy and Lt. Nancy Wyman gave opening remarks at the daylong conference.

Connecticut is one of several states that have already opted in and have begun to expand Medicaid. Malloy said that the legislature has just started deliberating over this ”monumental task” of expanding access by setting up health care marketplace to sell insurance to about 242,000 uninsured people in Connecticut.

Part of delivering services to traditionally underserved population also includes diversify the workforce that serves them. Groups such as Access Health CT have also begun that process, according to Access CEO Kevin J. Counihan.

It’s uncertain, however, how much progress has been made toward implementing networks to engage health consumers in Connecticut. But officials said they are working to ensure health equity, a term bandied about by stakeholders.

And what exactly is health equity?

According to Medical Director of Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente Winston F. Wong, health equity is the proposition that people in the United States should achieve optimum health without barriers related to their social status, such as income, race, ethnicity, immigration, sexual orientation and other social factors.

Such has been the case for decades, said Wong.

“If you look at the mortality among African American men, their risk ratio is 1.8 times that of their white male counterpart,” he said. “And that pattern has been there for more than 50 years. So we haven’t actually made much progress, particularly around African American males.”

Wong added that with the growing Asian and Latino populations, there is also a reflection of continued disparities, such as diabetes among Hispanics. According to a recent report, up to 50 percent of Hispanics will develop diabetes in the next generation.

So between now and October, there is an emphasis on reaching these population with new information that would help mitigate acute health disparities.

Ignatius Bau, a health researcher, and other health advocates said officials at the top must have meaningful engagement with communities of color, to not just tack their logos on websites as “nice partners” but to also provide significant financial support to have impact. Additionally, there needs to be robust efforts to inform these communities in a timely manner, not close to major deadlines.

Bau also suggested that to truly address the existing health disparities among patient centered health homes and clinics, state officials and other high-level stakeholders should consider the following recommendations:

• Educate and engage diverse and vulnerable patients, families, caregivers about medical homes
• —Sponsors/payers for medical home initiatives can highlight opportunities for disparities reduction/health equity, including additional requirements and payments
• —Monitor standards specific to health equity for compliance and improvement
• Develop and disseminate technical assistance to medical home practices  on achieving health equity

HARTFORD – Over 300 guests at the recent Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut’s 26th Annual Crystal Ball helped raise more than $300,000 for the organization specializing in medical and vocational rehabilitation.

Funds will directly benefit Easter Seals’ unique life changing services, most notably its comprehensive autism initiative, which is a program designed to carefully assess, diagnose, and treat children and adults who show symptoms of autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome or pervasive developmental disorders. The Crystal Ball was held at the Hartford Marriott Downtown on April 12.

The evening program featured a live and silent auction boasting sports fantasy packages, artwork, getaways, designer wine baskets and more. Funds raised through these efforts enable Easter Seals to offer services to individuals who, because of financial or insurance constraints, are unable to receive treatment.

Funds also support Easter Seals’ vocational facility in East Hartford that has dedicated trained professionals who provide valuable skills – therapy, education, and job training – to clients with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Easter Seals’ Youth Ambassador, 4 year old – Riley Holleran, welcomed guests while her father, Dan Holleran, spoke on behalf of the family, whose only child has received treatment in the Windsor rehabilitation facility. “Easter Seals has taught us to understand how we must embrace the challenges that Riley and autism bring,” Holleran said. “With the help of Easter Seals we have been able to move past the guilt, move beyond the comparisons to non-disabled children, and move into now recognizing Riley as simply, Riley.”

I. Bradley and Kathy Hoffman(in featured photo) received the Circle of Hope Award for their roles as Honorary Corporate Co-Chairs of the event which was presented by longtime friends and Vice Co-Chairs Alan and Marcia Lazowski. Senator Richard Blumenthal joined guests during the evening’s cocktail hour.

Photo by Mike Musto (L to R): I. Bradley and Kathy Hoffman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Vice Co-Chairs Alan and Marcia Lazowski.

HARTFORD —  In an effort to recognize the contributions of public health and to highlight issues that are important in our nation, this week was designated for National Public Health Week.

This year’s theme is “Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money” and is to highlight the value of prevention and the importance of well-spupported public health systems in preenting disease, saving lives and curbing health care spending, public health officials said on Monday.

In Connecticut and across the nation, several activities will mark the event from April 1 to 7. 

“The value of a strong public health system is all around us — it’s in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the places where we all live, learn, work and play,” said DPH Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen. “It’s in the thousands of people whose lives are saved by seat belts, the young people who say ‘No!’ to tobacco and the children given a healthy start thanks to vaccines.”

DPH is observing NPHW’s daily themes by issuing audio podcasts narrated by DPH experts through its social media channels:

Monday, April 1: Ensuring a Safe, Healthy Home for Your Family

Tuesday, April 2: Providing a Safe Environment for Children at School

Wednesday, April 3: Creating a Healthy Workplace

Thursday, April 4: Protecting You While You’re on the Move

Friday, April 5: Empowering a Healthy Community

HARTFORD — About 25 percent of children in America go hungry every day.

Many are in Connecticut. That’s why on March 21 Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and others will attend the fourth annual Interfaith Hunger Passover Seder in an effort to raise hunger awareness. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Old  Judiciary Room of the Connecticut State Capitol–on the third floor.

The Seder – a festive meal for the Jewish holiday of Passover – is being sponsored by a coalition of organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Connecticut and End Hunger CT!  The Seder will be led by Rabbi David Small of The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford and Reverend Tim Oslovich of Trinity Lutheran Church in Vernon and will feature music by the Glastonbury Ukulele Band.

Following the Seder, a portion of the documentary, A Place at the Table, will be shown highlighting the impact of 50 million Americans (one in every four children) who go hungry everyday. After viewing the film clip, Seder participants will send letters to their representatives urging support of specific hunger related legislation.

“I am honored to join in this Passover celebration of freedom from slavery,” Merrill said.  “As much as we are thankful for the blessings of freedom and the bounty many of us share as Americans, we must not forget that even in Connecticut there are many families and children who are still oppressed by poverty, malnourished, and go to bed with an empty stomach every night.

“Passover is the holiday when it is said to all who are hungry, let them come and eat.  In the wealthiest state in the wealthiest nation on earth, we must do whatever we can to eradicate hunger.  I am proud to join people of multiple faiths for this holiday to do our part towards making sure every child in America has enough good, healthy food to eat.”

The 4^th Annual Interfaith Hunger Seder is sponsored by: the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut, the Jewish Community Relations Councils of the Jewish Federations of Greater Hartford and New Haven, Foodshare, Church of St. Timothy in West Hartford, Byadeynu, The Emanuel Synagogue Social Action Committee, Charter Oak Cultural Center, and End Hunger Connecticut! Seder funding is provided by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

The event is free and open to the public, though seating is limited.  RSVP required for attendance to: hungerseder2013@gmail.com or 860-727-5770.

By Stephen A. Kichuk, Op-Ed Contributor

The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook has served to rocket the issue of mental health into the forefront of public consciousness.

While debates rage over the causes of this event, many have asserted that it was “mental illness” that spurred such violence. Many further asserted
that it is mental illness that is at the root of much violence in society at large, and that it needs to be addressed on a wide scale.
While it is encouraging that many may be taking mental health matters more seriously, and that more attention may be put into mental healthcare, it is concerning that these assertions are rooted in misperception, and will quite possibly have the effect of increasing the burden of stigma. This can in turn affect outcomes of those suffering from mental illness

The American Psychiatric Association officially recognizes several hundred mental disorders (“mental illnesses”). A problem though, with
terms like “mental disorder” or “mental illness” is that they are inherently vague terms that, in themselves, mean little. The common
use of such vague terms, with the hundreds of diagnoses possible, fails to offer anything towards the understanding of specific situations. It also has the effect of lumping every person with any of those conditions together, no matter how disparate those conditions may be. This can be far-reaching in its effects, providing fertile ground for misperception and stigma.

Researchers have concluded that public fears regarding mental illness are out of proportion to reality. While there are many factors to
consider, and their relationships complex, research indicates that factors that prompt a person with mental illness to violence are
similar to those that prompt someone without mental illness to violence. Simply put, the presence of a mental illness in an offender
doesn’t mean that illness had anything to do with any violent acts committed. Even further, research has found that those with mental
illness are more likely to be victims of violence, rather than perpetrators.

This research has demonstrated that the frequent media portrayals and commonplace claims of mental illness as a leading cause of violence are simply not accurate. Out of the hundreds of mental disorders, there are only a few that are reliably linked to violence. It is important though, that if there are violent acts committed by someone with one of these conditions, then any discussion should use the specific name of the condition, rather then using the blanket term of “mental illness.” Using a blanket term makes inaccurate associations between those few conditions that are reliably linked to
violence with those many that aren’t, transferring the effects of stigma.

Additionally, any use of specific terms should be grounded in an understanding of those terms. Suggestions that the perpetrator of the
Sandy Hook incident had Asperger’s disorder, and that this was a causal factor in such violence, clearly demonstrate a lack of understanding, as violence is not inherent to Asperger’s.

While acts are committed which cause many to conclude the perpetrator ”wasn’t right in the head,” that doesn’t mean it was a mental illness
that was the cause, or even that it was present. Mental illnesses are specifically defined constructs, and labeling something as “mental illness,” without a solid grasp of those constructs, distorts public perception. Perhaps at least partially as a result, the term “mental illness” appears linked to public perceptions of dangerousness, and must be addressed, as it has important social effects. It matters how these discussions are framed. Unfortunately, much of the talk presently going on in the wake of the Sandy Hook incident may further embed misperceptions of mental illness and violence into the collective conscious.

While calls for greater emphasis on mental healthcare are welcome and long overdue, couching those calls in the horror of that awful event stands a strong chance of deepening many of the problems facing good people who happen to be suffering from mental health problems, and those people seeking to help them.

Stephen A. Kichuk is a graduate student and researcher in the mental health field.

By Eileen Beal, New America Media

Despite the hit their savings and investments took during the Great Recession, Americans between 70 and 90 are still the wealthiest age group in the United States. Not surprisingly, they are also prime targets for financial exploitation and abuse.

“It’s all their assets – a mortgage-free home, steady income from Social Security or a pension, investments – that make them a target,” said attorney Page Ulrey, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for the King County Prosecutor’s Office in Washington.

Prime Targets

According to experts, prime targets are:

• Women, most often between ages 80 and 89;
• Men who have recently lost a spouse or partner;
• Living alone and may require some help with either health care or home maintenance;
• Lonely and vulnerable;
• Especially at risk during the holidays. 

In addition, financial exploiters target those with diminished mental capacity and decision-making ability, stressed Lori Stevic-Rust, director of Senior Services at Lake Health System, in northeast Ohio.

Stevic-Rust, author of four books and a nationally recognized psychologist, is often called in to evaluate the mental capacity and competency of at-risk seniors.

“They target them,” Stevic-Rust added, “because their ability to pay attention, process information, analyze situations or figure out what the long-term consequences will be for a given action is significantly impaired.”

She went on, “Even when they know the day and year and can perform simple activities in the home – prepare a meal for instance – they aren’t able to make important decisions or judgments or carry out complicated activities that involve many steps.”

Spotting the Signs

The majority of exploiters and abusers are strangers: telemarketing scammers going after credit card or Social Security numbers, paid caregivers or “sweethearts” — con artists, who prey on lonely elders.

After that, it’s friends, neighbors or family members – most often a son or son-in-law. Then it’s unscrupulous professionals – accountants, financial planners, bankers, lawyers, physicians, contractors, etc. Many have histories of drug or alcohol abuse and/or have gambling or other financial problems.

Studies have also shown that ethnic elders are especially vulnerable to financial abuse.

Those fighting financial exploitation and abuse say it’s all about MOM: Motive (money, jewelry, property–sometimes even sibling rivalry); Opportunity (unrestricted – and unobserved – access to a victim); and Means (the ability to use their trusting or family relationship to charm, cajole, coerce or outright steal from their victim).

Financial abuse of older adults has become so rampant that when the U.S. government created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), it designated a special Office of Older Americans to deal with the issue.

The CFPB office’s goals: Track down and expose scams; ensure laws currently on the books are enforced; and educate seniors, and those who care about them, to identify, avoid and report financial scams. (See the sidebar to this article, “Spotting the Signs of Financial Abuse.”)

Prevention: Always the Best Remedy

Financial abuse is a crime, so it’s surprising that while more cases are being reported few abusers stand trial and go to jail.

According to Page Ulrey, of Seattle’s King County Prosecutor’s Office, “Those who are being abused are often dependent on their abuser for their care and don’t want to [take them to court] because of the repercussions it would cause. Or they fear they will be sent to a nursing home. Or they fear – or love – the offender.”

Frequently, too, she said, “Or they are ashamed to admit that they have been taken advantage of.”

Ulrey stressed that it is often difficult to prosecute exploiters. That’s not only because of the reasons mentioned above, but also because the victim has died or is so cognitively impaired he or she cannot testify. To keep a vulnerable relative or loved one out of harms way concerned friends or family members must be proactive. The earlier deterrents and roadblocks are set in place, the better, she said.

One time-tested strategy for keeping financial abusers at bay, Ulrey said, is for an elder’s friends and family members to stay connected. “Financial abuse and exploitation occurs in the shadows, where people are isolated from those who could spot the signs that something isn’t right,” she said.

Psychologist Lori Stevic-Rust emphasized that it’s important to become hyper-vigilant in observing a vulnerable senior’s physical health and cognitive state. “Declines in both can make them vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation,” she explained.

Those assisting the at-risk person should help him or her get information about exploitative situations, schemes or scams they may encounter and to become better educated about their finances.

It would also be valuable to help the senior consult with legal or financial professionals who can draw up such documents as trusts, limited powers of attorney, or conservatorships. “These can – and for the most part do, deter financial exploiters,” Ulrey said.

If you suspect someone is being financially abused, it is important to report your concerns to local authorities. The National Adult Protective Services Association’s website (www.napsa-now.org) lists adult protective services departments in every state. “This site doesn’t just have the telephone numbers for reporting financial abuse, they take anonymous tips too,” said the Association’s executive director, Kathleen Quinn.

If all else fails, you may be able to file for a protection order. “This will limit the contact the abuser has with their victim–and perhaps protect assets, too,” Ulrey said.

Sources and Resources

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Elder Financial Protection Network (Note: While this is a California-based site, the information applies to everyone.)

Family Caregiver Alliance

National Adult Protective Services Association

National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

“Preventing Elder Financial Abuse for Older Adults”

“The Essentials: Preventing Elder Abuse”

Eileen Beal, a Cleveland-based writer on issues in aging, wrote this article for Today’s Caregiver Magazine with the support of a MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellows program, a program of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America.

HARTFORD – Hindus have applauded Vernon Board of Education in Connecticut for approval of offering yoga to fourth graders in its Maple Street School, and have urged all schools in USA to do the same for their pupils.

According to reports, Board of Education of Vernon Public Schools, in its Feb. 25 meeting, approved the proposal to provide yoga Instruction to fourth grade children at Maple Street School in a 5-4 vote, with Chairperson Dean A. Houle favoring to break the tie.

Calling it a “step in the right direction”, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, suggested all schools of the nation to incorporate yoga in the lives of the students, making it part of the curriculum. Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed said.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

Rajan Zed noted that besides other benefits, yoga might also help deal with the obesity crisis faced by the country. According to United States National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. About 16 million Americans, including many celebrities, now reportedly practice yoga. It was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed said.

By New America Media Khalil Abdullah

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Thousands of unborn Americans have no say on whether the process of across-the-board federal budget cuts – the so-called “sequestration” — should move forward after officially going into effect today.

Although still in the womb, those infants will be among the Americans most affected by the sequestered loss of close to $700 million to the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program for lower-income families, compared to 2012 funding levels, according to a report released this week by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

The reduction in WIC funding will have an immediate impact on new African American mothers because they breastfeed less frequently than many of their peers from other groups. Latino families are also likely to be hard hit, the report said.

“Cuts to postpartum women who are not breastfeeding will fall disproportionately on African American women,” the report notes. “Cuts to children will fall disproportionately on Latino families. Latinos represent 38 percent of infants participating in WIC and 39 percent of women, but 45 percent of children.”

Unborn and Breast-Feeding Infants
Unborn and breast-feeding infants are even more dependent on nourishment from their low-income mothers than the very young children that WIC is also designed to serve, but all rely on the program to stretch meager household food budgets.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, WIC (formally called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) is a $7 billion program serving an estimated 9 million individuals nationwide.

The report from CBPP, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., explains that states may vary in how they choose to downsize their eligibility rolls to offset the loss of federal money. Some states may make gradual changes in managing their caseloads; others may take immediate and more dramatic actions.

Should Congress not restore funds by Sept. 30 (the end of the current fiscal year), according to the report, “based on the ways in which states are most likely to institute the cuts, we estimate that by the end of the fiscal year, the number of participants whom WIC is serving would have to be 600,000 to 775,000 women and children fewer than the program served in an average month of fiscal year 2012.”

WIC, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is usually touted as being one of the most successful intervention programs to target low-income mothers and their children. The program, however, has not been without its critics, some of whom consider it to be a corporate subsidy program for manufacturers and marketers of WIC-approved products.

The CBPP report does not address those controversies, but it does summarize 2012 USDA research showing that “WIC participation contributes to healthier births, higher intake of key nutrients, less consumption of sugar and fats, and a stronger connection to preventive health care.”

Misinformation Could Spread
The downsizing of WIC funding was not the CBPP report’s only concern. The public’s reaction to learning about changes to WIC, depending on how each state chooses to adjust to the loss of funds, could have negative repercussions with serious health consequences.

The report states, “To be sure, most states should be able to achieve the necessary spending cuts without denying benefits to…pregnant women and infants.”

The study’s authors caution, “Once states begin denying benefits to other families, however — including non-breastfeeding women who have just given birth and children as young as one or two — misinformation is likely to spread. Some eligible women who are pregnant or have an infant may come to believe they can no longer get benefits either, and may not apply for them.”

A woman’s physical health is not only adversely affected by the lack of sufficient nutrition for herself and/or her children, but stress induces negative health consequences of its own.

“Programs like WIC that help poor families with pregnant women or very young children afford the basics,” the report states, “may help improve longer-term outcomes for children by reducing the added stress that parents or children may experience if they cannot pay their bills or do not know if there will be adequate food.”

By Adam Stulhman and Ann-Marie Mesquita, Staff Writers

HARTFORD—African Americans are over-represented among in-patient or residential psychiatric care facilities, according to a recent report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Connecticut mirrors this national trend.

According to the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, there are 647 (or 6 percent) Hispanic, 2,924, (or 8 percent) white, and 1,080, (or 12 percent) African American patients in inpatient or residential care.

Moreover, the percentage of blacks in these facilities is almost twice that of whites in all hospitals, except private psychiatric hospitals. Experts say this trend is because of a variety of culturally influenced reasons: poverty, stigma, biases, and a lack of mental health providers, who are culturally adept with people of color. According to NAMI, which gave the nation a “D” on delivery of mental health services, these reasons are major contributing factors that hinder minorities from seeking out treatment before “symptoms become so severe that they warrant inpatient care.”

Additionally, African Americans have experienced “racist slights in their contacts with the mental health system,” according to the same 2009 NAMI report. “Some of these concerns are justified on the basis of research revealing clinician bias in over-diagnosis of schizophrenia and under-diagnosis of depression among African Americans.”

The disproportionate number of blacks in inpatient or residential treatment is alarming because African Americans have the same rate of mental illness as whites, experts say.

Yet, African Americans are underrepresented in outpatient treatment populations but over-represented in public inpatient psychiatric care. The causal factor in the under-representation of blacks in outpatient treatment is the out-of-pocket expense, or lack of employer-based managed care, the report says. Consequently, only working and middle-class blacks, who have insurance, can afford outpatient care. However, the racial gap between African American and white’s use of community-based programs is nonexistent because treatment is financed by public sources, especially Medicaid.

According to Zelphia Hunter, a recovery coach specialist at Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership and a coordinator of Shining Hope for Communities, the findings in the report resonates with her on a personal and professional level.

Hunter, a Hartford resident who lives with depression, said the “biases” that mental health providers have towards victims of mental illness are preventing many blacks from getting the services they may need.

“People need to realize that they have biases,” said Hunter, “and despite the fact that they may have good intentions, mental health providers need more training on how to deal with their biases, and how these biases hinder other people from getting help. People just need to understand that this is discrimination.”

Part of breaking down these barriers, Hunter said, is to promote more cultural awareness, and through the training and hiring of more Africans and Latinos in the mental health field.

“There is not enough training in cultural sensitivity and diversity in Connecticut,” Hunter said, “We need more people of color in the mental health field.”

Related Stories: 

African Americans Negotiate Mental Illness, Black Pain

Q and A :Terrie Willams, Mental Health Advocate, Author

Kate Mattias, Executive Director of the CT NAMI chapter, concurred with Hunter, saying that there needs to be better access and treatment for African Americans and Latinos.

Said Mattias:“African Americans and Latinos access mental health services at a far lesser degree then the general population. We need to increase the number of culturally competent providers.”

Like many community activists and scholars, State Representative Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) links the increase in mental health patients in the community to mass incarceration and said the state has been awakened about these longstanding issues. The legislature, he said, is now seeking policy changes to address these complex issues.

“We need to make changes to the laws that have led to higher rates of incarceration for African Americans, and one way this might happen is through people being able to earn credits for release while serving time by going to treatment while in jail. This could take time off a sentence.”

Ritter also said that more changes in the quality of healthcare are on the horizon.

“In the coming weeks, we might see a change in the uneven access to care available, and we might also have more beds for children,” he said.

Communications Director for the Department of Children and Families Gary Kleeblatt said that there is also a need to improve the quality of services available to black and Latino children.

“We are interested in continual improvement of services for children of color. They have needs and we need to improve upon meeting those needs,” Kleeblatt said. “We also need to expand and improve community-based health services, a more concentrated effort to move resources from residential treatment centers and group homes to children that are at home.”