The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "National Institute of Mental Health" ...
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Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America
This book documents how the per-capita disability rate due to mental illness has increased six-fold since 1955, when Thorazine was introduced into asylum medicine. The number of adults on government disability has tripled since 1987, the year Prozac was introduced. Finally, the number of children receiving disability due to a serious mental illness has risen 35-fold since 1987.
Tags: medicine; psychiatry; psychiatric medicine; Thorazine; Prozac; disability; mental illness; National Institute of Mental Health; World Health Organization; American Psychiatric Association;
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Head Games
Alan Pendergast, staffwriter for Denver's Westword reports that in 2004, 20% of Colorado's jail population was diagnosed with severe mental illness, and "the true number may be much higher, since some inmates' illnesses are never properly diagnosed." The story compares cost of psychiatric lock-up versus community mental health care. Pendergast advises other journalists doing similar stories should "insist that someone in the accontable chain of command review and comment on the records, even if the actual treatment providers are refusing to be interviewed."
Tags: prison mental illness; correctional systems; lockdown; supermax prison; ADHD; Department of Corrections; forensic psychiatry; head cases; administrative segregation; HIPPA; San Carlos Correctional Facility; Offenders WIth Serious Mental Illness; OSMI; National Institute on Drug Abuse; Mental Health Occupations Grievance Board
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Twin Towers
'Twin Towers' (L.A. County Jail and also the nation's largest mental institution), was investigated for three months and found the jail to be a 'terrible place to house the mentally ill'. But because community clinics are full to capacity, caring for persons with mental problems continues to fall onto the lap of 'under-trained and overwhelmed' law enforcement personnel.
Tags: jail; L.A. county jail; mentally ill inmates; psychiatric disorders; prison guards; mental health
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Armed and Dangerous
WKMG found the State of Florida issuing concealed weapons permits to people who were prohibited by Federal and state law from even possessing guns because they were involuntarily committed by judges to mental institutions or drug-and-alcohol-treatment centers. The politically potent National Rifle Association and its allies have stifled any discussion in Florida about using public records to check on the mental health of the gun buyers. They claim the information is private, but this investigation shows how easily it could be done--if wanted to. This tape also looks at cases of mentally ill patients who have walked into public places like churches and opened fire to kill people.
Tags: TAPE; gun; National Rifle Association; NRA; mental; Florida; weapon; concealed weapon; permit; judge; mental institution; drug treatment; alcohol treatment; public records; mental health; gun buyer; privacy; concealed weapon permit; drug and alcohol treatment; psychotic disorder; concealed weapon permit holder; concealed weapon permit program; US Marshall Service; kill; concealed firearm; scheme; mental health record; health record; Florida legislature; gun control law; mentally ill; killing
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Making Mental Illness a Crime: For more Georgians, disorders mean time in jail, not treatment centers. I Hear Voices Sometimes, Crazy Stuff. Bibb County Jail Uses Outside Help to Treat Mentally Ill. Prisons: A costly answer to mental health care. Funding Problems Hamper Treatment of Mental Illness. Mental Illness History Comes Full Circle. Advocates Say System is Broken; Funding woes, short- staffing, deluge of paperwork strain state mental health workers. Breaking the Cycle: New programs may prevent jail time for mentally ill Georgians. Mandatory Treatment: Not an easy decision.
Georgia's jails are being filled not only with criminals but also with people suffering from mental illness. These articles explore this recent development and examine how it affects the prisoners, the institution, the state and the taxpayers. The article also discusses various kinds of mental illness and offers suggestions as to how a better system for dealing with it could be developed.
Tags: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; NAMI; schizophrenia; manic depression
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Blind Trust
A story of the downfall of Kenneth Manton, an internationally known researcher at Duke University. The Chronicle discovered that hundreds of thousands of dollars under Manton's supervision had been misused. It was also found that Manton had remained director of the center even when he was hospitalized for severe mental problems.
Tags: Kenneth Manton; Duke University; universities; mental health; research grants; Duke University's Center for Demographic Studies; National Institute on Aging; Edward Davison; Christopher Fowler
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Bird Brains
"While 2.3 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, the National Institute of Mental Health is studying how pigeons think." Only eight percent of NIMH's grants go toward research of clinical or treatment aspects of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. In 1997, NIMH spent more money on AIDS research than on schizophrenia research. "Therefore, the total amount of federal funds spent upon individuals with severe psychiatric disorders is over $40 billion per year. This is three times the annual cost of the nation's space program, four times the cost of all our foreign aid programs, and more than 10 times the cost of the federal prison service."
Tags: NIMH; CRISP database; grants; funding; homelessness; deinstitutionalization; research; government
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Painful Lessons
The Indianapolis Star investigates a 1998 move of 108 mentally disabled citizens from institutions to homes run by the nation's largest caregiver, ResCare Inc. The Star discovered that nine people died during the transfer of residents. Workers with ResCare and the Indiana state government both describe the move as being unorganized and lacking funding, but it took the state two years to being investigating it. The Indianapolis Star's investigation of the move prompted the state's governor to demote officials involved with the move.
Tags: Indiana; mentally disabled; mental health; health care; ResCare Inc.; neglect; death
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The Biology of Violence
New Yorker Magazine asks "Is inner-city violence a response to the social ravages of poverty, or a biochemical syndrome that may be remedied with drugs? Fallout from that debate derailed the Bush Administration's Violence Initiative, but a school of new Darwinians is proposing an answer that will unsettle both sides."