Monitor's Report in USDOJ/Georgia Olmstead Agreement

Andy Miller at Georgia Health News has this article on Elizabeth Jones's first annual monitor's report assessing Georgia's compliance with its landmark Olmstead agreement with the United States.  The first few grafs:

The state has made significant progress toward meeting the goals of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve services for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, an independent report says.

But the Oct. 5 report, by independent reviewer Elizabeth Jones, is critical of some community services and help provided to people with disabilities. It cites health care problems, a lack of day programs, and unsafe medication practices.

Jones was appointed to track the progress of the state in meeting its obligations under the five-year landmark agreement with the Justice Department. She will give such reports annually.

The state “has demonstrated good faith and commitment in its implementation of the Year One obligations,’’ the report says.

Under the settlement, which was reached last October, Georgia agreed to establish community services, including supported housing, for about 9,000 people with mental illness, and to create community support and crisis intervention teams to help people with developmental disabilities and mental illness avoid hospitalization.