TOPICC :: The Oklahoma Partnership In Creating Change

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A special thanks to Eli Lilly and Co. for being TOPICC's first Gold Sponsor!

» See our ad that appeared that appeared in the Winter 2003 edition of "Oklahoma Chief to Chief -- The Official Publication of the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police."

» Go to FYI for the 2003 interim report on "Mental and Addictive Disorders/The State of State's Health" as well as several new items, including a story on the "Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2003."

Handcuffed: the Status of Oklahomans Living With Mental Illness

When Ottawa County sheriff's deputies recently left a mentally ill woman handcuffed to a motorized gate, they inadvertently cast a light exposing the dark world of individuals with mental illness caught in Oklahoma's criminal justice system.

Details of this incident as well as responses from Ottawa County officials, Rep. Thad Balkman, Sen.Tom Adelson, and Mike Brose, TOPICC Representative and Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, can be found in the following articles.

A response from TOPICC member and Executive Director of The Mental Health Association of Tulsa can be found at: http://www.tulsaworld.com/

» See Announcements for a report on the first "Mental Illness and Criminal Justice" conference convened by TOPICC, in conjunction with several state agencies. You'll also see the presentations from two of the conference's main speakers: Nancy Wolff, director of the Research Center on Mental Health and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, and the Rev. Peter Young, volunteer chief executive officer of Peter Young Housing Industries and Development in Albany, NY. Also, in FYI, see a report from the state Department of Corrections about frequently asked questions of the agency about those with mental illness who are incarcerated.