HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12122006 - D.3 9
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Date: December 12, 2006 PUBLIC COMMENT
The following persons presented testimony:
Teralyn R. Evans, resident of Richmond, read a speech written by her parents
reminding the Board she would bring a lawsuit against the County after her 18'"
birthday and urged the Board to resolve the concerns by her parents regarding the
injury suffered by them;
Charles Evans, resident of Richmond, spoke of abuse to his kids by the
Department of Employment and Human Services and made it clear he and his
wife are not willing to accept this conduct. He said this is not an issue of deep
pocket syndrome but about the desire to address trauma afflicted on his children;
Kathy McLaughlin, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Psychiatric Services
offered recommendations regarding Contra Costa Regional Medical Center's
Psychiatric Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit;
Jo Bates, AFSCME 2700 Business Agent regarding consent item C.45 to
Adopt Position Adjustment Resolution No. 20181 to establish the classification
series of Administrative Assistant I-ECCFPD (represented) and Administrative
Assistant II-ECCFPD position; cancel one Secretary-ECCFPD position
(represented); reclassify one Secretary-ECCFPD position to Administrative
Assistant II-ECCFPD and abandon the class of Secretary-ECCFPD, in the East
Contra Costa Fire Protection District. Ms. Bates informed the Board of
Supervisors she had requested Human Resources Department earlier to remove
this item from the consent calendar to be appropriately addressed.
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Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Public Comment—Presentation
Tuesday,December 12, 2006
County Authorized Abuse of Children & Families
Single Case Review — Presentation 1
1. We are here to support all four of our children regarding Orocess of gaining
w acknowledgement and redress of injuries suffered by them in February 2002.
0
2. Employees at CFSB had an opportunity some years ago to intervene in the lives of
ai our children as prescribed by law in an effort to ensure that they were not the
victims of abuse or at risk of abuse.
i
3. These employees sought only to impose their views on our family. These acts were
and are willful violations of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act enacted
by the United States Congress as well as the Division 31 Manual of Policies and
U Procedures developed by the California Department of Social Services.
4. Instead of seeing young vulnerable American children, whom they might have an
occasion to educate and assist in their individual American dreams—these
shortsighted intolerant people could only see children that needed to be liberated
from parents that had the following characteristics:
a. Faith in God
b. A traditional marital structure
c. A belief that they were capable of providing and appropriate education for
their children without any government assistance.
d. And a practice of incorporating physical discipline into their process of
parenting.
5. Instead of providing services that would have supported an environment more
capable of creating future members of Congress or just average law abiding citizens,
they chose to create abuse where there was no abuse. The chose to traumatize
people who have never known trauma.
6. This county, this Board has been and still is the protector of these people. These
children have legal claims,against this county and several of its employees,currently
tolling until they reach the age of majority. By appearing before this body we make
it clear that we are not willing to allow these violations to be ignored or accepted as
appropriate conduct by people who have such an important and challenging task in
our society.
a. This is not an issue of the Deep Pocket Syndrome—never will be.
b. This in not an issue of not appreciating the hard work that most public
employees do—never will be.
c. This is about the desire to address and redress trauma willfully inflicted on
these children by people asserting it was their legal duty and right to do so.
d. This is about this body's silence on this issue until it comes time to deny
claims for damages.
546 17`h Street o Richmond, Ca. 94801-2804 o 510.215.7779
evans-six@sbcglobal.net
CONTRA COSTA 1340 Arnold Drive, suite 200
Martinez, California
MENTAL HEALTH 94553
COMMISSION Ph(925) 957-5149
Fax(925) 957-5156
CONTRA COSTA
HEALTH SERVICES
December 11, 2006
William Walker, MD V�
Health Services Director
50 Douglas Street, Suite 310-A
Martinez, CA 94553
Dear Dr. Walker,
The Contra Costa County Mental Health Commission would like to share concerns and offer
recommendations regarding Contra Costa Regional Medical Center's Psychiatric Emergency
Department and the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit.
When the current Psychiatric Emergency unit was developed, recommendations regarding the
need for a children's psychiatric emergency unit were dismissed by then County Health Director
Mark Finucan, partly because beds were at that time available at Walnut Creek Hospital. Those
beds are no longer available, and despite the growing and urgent need for a Children's
Psychiatric Emergency Unit in our County, there is none.
A case in point: recently at the Regional Medical Center, a 16-year-old youth was forced to wait
at CCRMC's Adult Psychiatric Emergency unit for 8 days—a clear violation of state law—
mostly because no other facility would accept him. Had there had been a Children's Psychiatric
Emergency Unit, he could have been given a bed in an appropriate setting and received
medically necessary treatment until being placed in a Children's Psychiatric Inpatient Unit.
In additional to individual tragedies, recent reports from state investigators have revealed serious
deficiencies within CCRMC's psychiatric care system. With the closing of the Geriatric
Psychiatric Unit, senior adults are being placed at risk as they are integrated inappropriately with
stronger and more aggressive adults and transitional aged young adults. Fragile elderly persons
risk additional trauma as they are treated by nurses and other inpatient staff who are
insufficiently trained to treat the complexities often present in elderly patients presenting with
mental illness, medical problems and dementia(as was reported to the Mental Health
Commission by a hospital administrator).
The community at large assumes that appropriate, sufficient, and medically necessary psychiatric
care is being provided to all who need it. They read about the Mental Health Services Act and
believe there will be a huge influx of money into the county for mental health services. The
community at large believes that when a child is taken from a school or their home after
displaying suicidal or violent tendencies, they receive acute intervention, and comprehensive
assessment and treatment. The budget cuts to health services and social services this past year
by the Board of Supervisors (cuts which were publicly supported by the Contra Costa Times),
have placed the citizens of this county at risk because of the lack of available care, and have also
placed the county itself at risk because of potential lawsuits resulting from these disastrous
service cuts.
-; . The Menial Health Commission has a dual misssion:
First,to influence the County s Mental Health System to ensure the delivery of quality services which are effective,efficient,culturally
relevant and responsive to the needs and desires of the clients it serves with dignity and respect;and,
Second,to be the advocate with the Board of Supervisors,the Mental Health Division,and the community on behalf of all Contra Costa
residents who are in need of mental health services.
For years the Commission has advocated for children's beds, and more recently for geriatric
beds, and were told there was no room. So we were surprised and alarmed when told that 20
psychiatric inpatient beds would be given to the medical side for use as surgical beds: The
Commission strongly feels that using these beds to develop separate geriatric and children's
inpatient beds should have been an option.
In the strongest terms possible, the Mental Health Commission recommends the new psychiatric
emergency unit building plans include a separate children's psychiatric emergency unit. Further,
the Commission also strongly recommends having three separate psychiatric inpatient units, for
adults, older adults, and children.
We appreciate your urgent consideration of these matters, and would like to invite you to address
these concerns formally with a written response. You are also invited to attend a Commission
meeting at your convenience so that Commissioners could begin a dialogue with you.
Respectfully,
obbie J. Arnold, 6 airperso
Contra Costa Mental Health Commission
?athi McL�ghla , 2007 C/o-Chairperson Karen Sloma, 2007 Co-Chairperson
Contra Costa Mental Health Commission Contra Costa Mental Health Commission
cc: Donna Wigand, LCSW,Mental Health Director
John Cullen, Chief Administrative Officer
Jeff Smith, MD,Director of Hospital and Clinics, CCRMC
Board of Supervisors:. Susan Bonilla, John Gioia, Federal Glover, Mary Piepho, Gayle Uilkema
CA State Assembly Member Mark DeSaulnier
CA State Assembly Member Loni Hancock
CA State Assembly Member Guy Houston
CA State Senator Tom Torlakson
US Congressman George Miller�Te rry
US Congressman McNerney , ,
US Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher
US Senator Barbara Boxer
US Senator Diane Feinstein
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Northern California ROCAP (Regional Organization of Child&Adolescent Psychiatry)
Contra Costa Times
Martinez Gazette