Provide names of other journalists involved.
None
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
September 2012 in Business NH Magazine
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
New Hamphire’s failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act has large budgetary implciations. By forcing people toward institutional care and away from community mental health centers, the state is spending thousands more dollars per person while providing less care. While mentally ill patients can be treated in the community for $200 a day if services are available, they are often forced to go to emergency rooms and the psychiatric hospital for $800 or more a day and removed from the community.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Legal documets from the NH Department of Justice related to the lawsuit and state documents on budgets for mental health
Explain types of human sources used.
Heads of community mental health centers, state officials (who could say little because of the ongoing lawsuit) and legal rights advocates.
Results:
Highlighted the issue and sprurred discussion among state decison makers and in the mental health community.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
These types of stories are generally undereported because they are not publicized or well understood. I learned about this topic from a talk by a state official at a week long health care fellowship (The Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Coverage Fellowship) and decided to investigate.