mental illness

The Child ACT program deploys a mobile team of providers to a child's home or school that includes a clinician, nurse practitioner, case manager, youth support specialist and family support specialist.

The proposal seeks to address long-standing concerns about suicide rates and options for people in a mental health crisis. But it also aims to improve emergency communications with the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

Supporters say the case illustrates why more psychiatric beds are needed. But critics say that could lead to more institutionalization with poor outcomes.

Maine's mental health system has been under duress for decades. The state is still working to meet the terms of a Consent Decree from 1990 that requires it to maintain comprehensive services.

On Thanksgiving day, Justin Butterfield was arrested and charged with the murder of his brother, Gabe Damour. Butterfield's friends say that for years, they tried in vain to get him effective treatment for schizophrenia. Now, they hope the story of what happened will lead to changes in Maine's mental health system.

Suicide was the second leading cause of death in Maine and the United States among adolescents aged 10-24 and adults aged 25-34 from 2012-2014. Suicide…

Some state-funded Medicaid services that support thousands of people with severe mental illness could disappear if proposed rate cuts are approved.…