Group gives state an F for help of mentally ill
Idaho is one of eight states to receive a failing grade from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill for its treatment of people with serious mental illness.
“We have a lot of problems in Idaho,” said Lee Woodland, executive director of the alliance’s state chapter. “We deserved an F.”
The report, “Grading the States: A Report Card on America’s Health Care System for Serious Mental Illness,” gave a national average score of D. The report said the findings confirmed what a presidential commission has called a “system in shambles.”
The other seven failing states were Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and the Dakotas. Only two received Bs – Connecticut and Ohio – and none received an A.
According to the report, Idaho has one of the lowest per capita spending rates on mental health services in the nation, $33.69. Available money has been stretched even more by the state’s population growth in the past 10 years. Idaho per capita incomes is also among the lowest, at $24,601.
– Associated Press
Nonprofit director wants suit dismissed
The head of a local nonprofit economic development agency is seeking the dismissal of a civil suit alleging he molested his adoptive daughters decades ago.
Attorneys for James Deffenbaugh, director of the Panhandle Area Council, filed court papers this week saying the complaint should be dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired.
The Spokane attorneys representing Deffenbaugh couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. A hearing on the motion to dismiss the case is set for May 24 in Kootenai County.
Veronica Glaze and Viola Ralston allege in the suit that Deffenbaugh sneaked into their bedrooms when they were between 10 and 15 and molested them on several occasions. The suit says the incidents occurred in the 1970s.
The suit also alleges Deffenbaugh admitted the molestations during a phone conversation with the now grown daughters and other relatives in fall 2003.
– Taryn Brodwater
BOISE
House snuffs bill on bail jumpers
Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, made an impassioned pitch to the House on Thursday to let bail bond agents have an extra six months to nab and turn in bail jumpers and still get paid, but the House killed the bill, HB 450, on a 43-23 vote.
Clark said, “We’re talking about chasing the bad guys who have jumped bail. … We’re not talking about … world peace. We’re talking about criminals.”
But opponents said Aladdin Bail Bonds, the multistate firm whose lobbyist sought the bill, grants bail bonds on credit, while longstanding Idaho tradition among bail bond agents is to require collateral. That’s more likely to bring the bail jumpers in within the existing 90-day period, they said.
“The system is working,” said Rep. Mike Mitchell, D-Lewiston. “This new company can work within the 90-day limit just like the other bail agents in Idaho.”
– Betsy Z. Russell