December 2015

Nearly one in four people that responded to an informal survey conducted by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department reported having at least four or more adverse experiences during childhood. More than 500 people, mostly in the Kanawha-Putnam County region, took the Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey that was made available through the department’s website from Nov. 12-28. Dr. Michael Brumage, the executive director and health officer at KCHD, said 28.2 percent of respondents had an...

A new study shows that more California college students are seeking mental health treatment — and that’s a positive trend according to the authors. Researchers from the nonprofit RAND Corporation report in the study published Thursday that the proportion of students at the state’s public universities and community colleges increased by more than 10 percent between 2013 and last spring. During that time, county governments directed a combined average of $8.7 million a year...

It’s that time of year again. Online retailers spam your inbox with holiday deals and gift ideas. You click, and click, and click, and soon find yourself bleary-eyed and weary. The Marshall Project is here for you. We’ve compiled a gift guide unlike any out there: specifically, gifts for people in your life who care about criminal justice. Most of the items were produced in programs providing prisoners with work experience, job skills, and, sometimes, the opportunity to earn a...

Brent Wager lined up with a few dozen other people in a Vancouver alleyway on a smudgy October afternoon, waiting to get into the small, peaked-roof house with a tiny balcony facing the lane. Queued up with him were young couples, some with toddlers, older couples without, and a mix of all kinds of people in between. The crowd had gathered to inspect what has become a Vancouver phenomenon: little houses built in the backyards of single-family homes. They’re the product of an innovative...

For the first time, improving the educational outcomes of foster youth is part of the nation’s education law. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, signed Thursday by President Barack Obama, requires states to track achievement test and graduation data for foster youth as a separate subgroup. It follows what California has already done for foster youth through legislation such as the Local Control Funding Formula. “Without California, these things...

While mass in­car­cer­a­tion in Amer­ica came to dom­in­ate the do­mest­ic polit­ic­al and policy de­bate this year, the im­pact of im­prisoned par­ents on chil­dren has largely re­mained a side is­sue. Two new re­ports make a strong case for cen­ter­ing chil­dren and fam­il­ies more squarely in the fore­ground of dis­cus­sions on crim­in­al justice —and with­in...

It's been three years since a gunman forced his way into a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and killed 20 young children and six staff members before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life as police responded to the scene. The shootings were a catalyst for discussions that continue today about schools' responsibility to keep students safe. For many educators, those discussions have led to a broader understanding of what safety means for students—both physically and...

There are very few things considered more taboo in the world of mental health than the suggestion that problematic family dynamics can lead to a child developing a psychotic disorder. And yet, when we look honestly at the history and research of psychosis and the broader concept of “mental illness,” it becomes apparent that there are few subjects in the mental health field that are more important. I’d like to invite you, then, to join me on a journey into this taboo...

Michael was not in New York on September 11, 2001. But for years afterwards, when an elevator opened at work, he would imagine people on fire rushing out, their screams filling the lobby. When he closed his eyes, he would sometimes see limbs trapped in rubble, unattended by their bodies. He was plagued by moments of violence and destruction that he had not witnessed. On sleepless nights, he would wander the streets of his neighborhood, trying to exorcise other people’s demons. Michael,...

In response to rising rates of depression among students and increased demand for therapy, many American universities have been ramping up their mental-health services . These colleges surely want to take care of their students, but it has other benefits too: Mental-health disorders can hinder educational outcomes, lowering grades, delaying students’ graduations, and causing students to drop out. So, as with a lot of other things involving higher education, some colleges are finding...

If one of my children were a drug addict, what would I want for him? I would want what any parent would: for his addiction to be treated as a health problem, not a criminal matter, and for him to have every kind of help possible to get him off drugs. Until that happened, I would want him to be able to manage his addiction and live a normal life by taking methadone or another substitute opioid. And until that happened, for him to stay as safe as possible from overdosing, developing H.I.V., or...

California is overhauling its substance abuse treatment system for low-income people, embarking on a massive experiment to create a smoother path for addicts from detox through recovery. The state is the first to receive federal permission to revamp drug and alcohol treatment for beneficiaries of Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California. Through what's known as a drug waiver, state officials will have new spending flexibility as they try to help people get sober and reduce social and...