SENATOR LACHOWICZ APPOINTED TO FORENSIC MENTAL HEALTH OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Committee will oversee mental health services provided to forensic patients, and expansion of prison mental health unit

AUGUSTA – Senator Colleen Lachowicz of Waterville has been appointed to a committee to oversee the provision of mental health services to forensic patients in state corrections facilities. The committee will also oversee the expansion of a new mental health unit at the Maine State Prison.

“It is critical that effective practices are put in place to ensure that people who are mentally ill receive the health care and treatment they need,” said Senator Lachowicz, a social worker and a member of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. “The new prison mental health unit will help separate mental health patients who should be receiving treatment from inmates who need a different level of care.”

The committee was created in August by an emergency measure in response to warnings from the federal government regarding safety concerns at Riverview Psychiatric Hospital. The new prison mental health unit will house prisoners who are being evaluated to determine whether they need mental health care and should be transferred to Riverview for treatment.

Senator Lachowicz earned her Master’s in Social Work from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, and has worked in the behavioral health field since 1988.  She is currently working at Crisis and Counseling Centers in Augusta providing outpatient services to adults, children, and families.

The Forensic Mental Health Oversight Committee will submit recommendations to the Legislature by January 15, 2014.

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