Safety of Fields with Crumbs From Rubber Tires Face Renewed Questions; CT Study Proclaims They’re OK

Despite a series of NBC News reports over the past year – the latest last week - on the growing debate about the safety of crumb rubber artificial turf, the federal agencies that regulate the product have remained largely silent of late, the network reported.  The Administrator leading the Environmental Protection Agency, former Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy, would not answer a direct on-camera question about whether the surface found on playgrounds and athletic fields across the country is safe for kids to play on, NBC News said in a story aired on the network’s flagship news program. Now members of Congress are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to weigh in on whether crumb rubber used in artificial turf fields in thousands of schools, parks and stadiums is safe for young athletes.  A bipartisan panel gave the agency until Nov. 6 to answer 10 questions about what tests have been done to determine whether turf made from recycled tires poses a health risk and what investigators have found, NBC News reported.

NBC News said that after a story about University of Washington women's soccer coach Amy Griffin aired on the network’s Nightly News last fall, many people contacted her, and the list she has developed of soccer players – especially goalies – afflicted with cancer has grown from 34 goalkeepers to at least 63. Griffin began keeping the list after she discovered that several goalies she knew had been diagnosed with the same cancer, the network reported. She and some of those athletes questioned whether crumb rubber could be exposing them to chemicals and carcinogens.

NBC News reviewed dozens of studies, the network’s story pointed out. “Several studies that concluded crumb rubber does not present acute health risks also included the caveat that more research is needed,” according to NBC News.  “No study has examined the effects of regular exposure to shredded or crumb rubber on young children, over an extended period of time — something some experts believe should be done.”  Industry officials have stressed that the products are safe, and cite numerous studies supporting that view.

In Connecticut, like elsewhere around the nation, artificial turf fields have become a popular alternative to natural grass fields in many communities, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).  The department’s website points out that “the advantages of these fields include less maintenance costs, ability to withstand intense use and no need for pesticides.”

The state site notes, however, that “concerns have been raised about potential chemical exposures coming from the crumb rubber infill and the plastic grass blades commonly used in these fields.  The crumb rubber usually comes from recycled tires that contain man made compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).”

To address public safety concerns, four Connecticut state agencies collaborated in 2010 to evaluate the potential exposures and risks from athletic use of artificial turf fields, the DPH website explains. A two year, comprehensive investigation of releases from five fields during active play was conducted by the Connecticut departments of Public Health, Energy and Environmental Protection, University of Connecticut Health Center, and The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. The study was peer-reviewed by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

The overall conclusion of the report, according to the DPH website, is that “use of outdoor artificial turf fields does not represent a significant health risk.” The CT study did not find a large amount of vapor or particle released from the fields - findings that confirm prior reports from Europe and the US, according to the state public health agency.  “CT DPH put these exposures into a public health context by performing a risk assessment analysis. This analysis did not find elevated cancer risk,” the site emphasized.

An agency news release noted, however, that “higher contaminant levels at one indoor field indicate that ventilation of indoor fields should be considered.  Storm water run-off findings indicate that proper management of this run off is prudent to address possible environmental effects.”

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting indicated in an article earlier this year that David Brown, director of public health toxicology for the North Haven, Connecticut-based nonprofit Environment and Human Health, Inc., warned that as more is invested in artificial fields, it will be harder for state and local officials to change their position even if new information shows harm.

“A natural experiment is being conducted in which thousands of children are being exposed on playing fields to rubber,’’ said Brown, a former chief of Environmental Epidemiology and Occupational Health at Connecticut's Department of Public Health. “Given the high stakes, it is prudent to take action to protect children from this known hazard rather than wait for definitive evidence of harm.”

Brown’s organization reports that “there are now 153 cancer cases reported, and of those, 124 are soccer players with 85 being soccer goalies. Many of them are student athletes.” Gaboury Benoit, Ph.D., Yale Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering and lead investigator of a study conducted by Yale in 2007, said, "Not surprisingly, the shredded tires contain a veritable witches' brew of toxic substances. It seems irresponsible to market a hazardous waste as a consumer product."

Of the state’s study released in 2010, then-DPH Commission Dr. J. Robert Galvin said: “This study presents good news regarding the safety of outdoor artificial turf fields.  While the findings indoors were below the health risk targets, the elevated contaminant levels suggest a need to ventilate these fields so they can be brought to the level of safety outdoors.  What we’ve learned from this study in Connecticut will provide valuable guidance to municipalities, schools and others who operate or are considering installing artificial playing fields.”

In this month’s NBC News report, Paul Anastas, former head chemist for the EPA, is said to disagree that studies have proven crumb rubber to be safe.  "Tires were not designed to be playgrounds," Anastas, who is now Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale, told NBC News. "They were designed to be tires."

Listen, Look and Respond to Texts While Behind the Wheel – Legal in Connecticut?

In Connecticut, Public Act 10-109, enacted into law in 2010, states that “no person shall operate a motor vehicle … while using a hand-held mobile telephone to engage in a call or while using a mobile electronic device while such vehicle is in motion. An operator of a motor vehicle who types, sends or reads a text message with a hand-held mobile telephone or mobile electronic device while such vehicle is in motion shall be in violation of this section.” Now, technology and the nation’s automakers are doing their best to skirt the language of the law, with in-car electronics that allow drivers to listen to, read and send text messages while at the wheel. 

The technology, now being widely advertised as 2016 new car models reach showrooms, “may unintentionally cause greater levels of cognitive distraction,” according to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

One advertisement seen recently on local television and appearing on-line, from Chevrolet, is for the company’s Text Message Alert system. The description of the new feature explains “When you’re in your vehicle, this convenient feature alerts you when a new text has been received and allows you to listen to messages, view messages (when your vehicle’s not in motion) and reply with a preset message with a compatible smartphone.”

Whether or not the new technology meets the letter and spirit of the Connecticut law, now five years old, has yet to be tested.  And if it does, is that in the best interest of Connecticticut drivers, or should the law be revised to address changing technologies?  Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, points out that “Technologies used in the car that rely on voice communications may have unintended consequences that adversely affect road safety.”

“We already know that drivers can miss stop signs, pedestrians and other cars while using voice technologies because their mind is not fully focused on the road ahead,” adds Bob Darbelnet, President and CEO of AAA.

The Chevrolet ad exclaims that “Life doesn’t stop when you’re driving. With MyLink you can stay in touch and up-to-date safely with hands-free calling and access to your personal address book through Bluetooth® wireless technology.”  But data indicates that hands-free is not necessarily safe, according to AAA.

AAA has pointed to recent research which indicates that “the accuracy of voice recognition software significantly influences the rate of distraction.”  For example, a team led by Dr. David Strayer and researchers at the University of Utah found that using a speech-to-text system to listen to and compose emails or texts was a greater distraction than talking on a hand-held or hands-free cell phone or listening to the radio.

With three out of four drivers believing that hands-free technology is safe to use, AAA officials caution, Americans may be surprised to learn that these popular new vehicle features may actually increase distraction, according to the new research.  AAA is urging manufacturers to “continue their efforts to develop and refine systems that reduce distractions: while encouraging drivers to “minimize cognitive distraction by limiting the use of most voice-based technologies.”

To assess “real-world” impact, Dr. Joel Cooper with Precision Driving Research evaluated the two most common voice-based interactions in which drivers engage – changing radio stations and voice dialing – with the actual voice-activated systems found in six different automakers’ vehicles. On the five point scale, Toyota’s Entune system garnered the lowest distraction ranking (at 1.7), which is similar to listening to an audio book. In comparison, the Chevrolet MyLink resulted in a very high level of distraction (rating of 3.7). Other systems tested included the Hyundai Blue Link (rating 2.2), the Chrysler Uconnect (rating 2.7), the Ford SYNC (rating 3.0) and the Mercedes COMMAND (rating 3.1).

Chevrolet also offers a feature called Siri Hands Free.  The company’s website explains that “The system allows limited hands-free interaction for when you need to compose important messages on the go.”

“It is clear that not all voice systems are created equal, and today’s imperfect systems can lead to the perfect storm for driver distraction,” continued Darbelnet. “AAA urges vehicle and device manufacturers to use this research to improve their voice systems and promote road safety.”

As someone once described it during the consideration banning texting while driving in Connecticut earlier in this decade, “cell phones don’t cause accidents, distractions do.”

https://youtu.be/kY6ohMfY2gQ

Building Police-Community Connections As Diversity Lags in Hartford

When Governing magazine examined the diversity within local police departments, compared with the communities they serve, Hartford was among the ten cities with the largest disparity.  But two recent programs that have also received national attention underscore the city’s efforts to strengthen relationships between police and the community. The data indicated that Hartford’s police department was 35.3 percent minority, in a city where the population is 84.1 percent minority.  That was the 7^th largest gap in the nation, after Fontana, CA; Edison, NJ; Irving, TX; Grand Prairie TX; Daly City, CA; and Allentown, PA.  Using 2013 data, Governing reviewed 269 local police agencies across the country.

The article points out that “although no national standards regarding diversity levels exist, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies does require accredited agencies to adopt steps to ensure their workforce mirrors their communities.”  It also indicates that “law enforcement experts emphasize that mending fractured relationships with communities takes much more than merely a diverse force.”

Two locally developed programs, one at the Hartford Public Library (HPL) and the other at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, are working at building police-community relationships.

HPL is one of 10 public libraries in the U.S. that have been participating in the American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) initiative since April 2014. The initiative, in collaboration with the nonprofit Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, is an 18-month community engagement training program where libraries learn how to address challenges facing their community.

Hartford’s work was recently featured on the national website of the American Library Association.

Through eight community conversations in Hartford’s North End neighborhood, HPL found that residents’ main concerns were public safety, community violence, and their relationship with the police. In response, a three-session community dialogue on public safety with police and community members was held, led by HPL community engagement director Richard Frieder.  Participants ranged in age from 18 to 87.

During the three sessions, according to published reports, the groups got to know each other; talked about what makes a good neighborhood and what they liked about theirs, what they would like to change, how safe community members feel, and what they believed the residents’ and police officers’ roles were in making the community safe; and figured out how to take action and solve the problems.

Some of the ideas generated include having the police and the community members participate in more activities and learning experiences together, such as block parties and community theater, where they address these issues.  Even though the 18-month project officially ends this month, HPL’s staff hopes to sustain the values and goals they developed.

At the same time, another initiative in the city was taking root – one which soon reached the pages of The New York Times and the attention of the White House.

The Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Good Vibrations program began with a conversation between Hartford’s police chief, James Rovella, and the Center’s director, Rabbi Donna Berman.  The innovative program, which began earlier this year, sought to pair middle school age students who were at a crossroads in their lives with Hartford police officers to inspire and inform the youths involved as well as helping to change the community's negative perception of police officers.  Nearly two dozen students – and police officers – collaborate on musical instruments, and in composing rap lyrics.  The relationships built, and music made, has been described as transformative. Good Vibrations includes two free courses; a Rap Poetry/CD production class, and a guitar class. All the materials are free, including the guitars, which students get to keep.

Last month, a Hartford police officer and a seventh-grader who participate in the program were honored at the White House as "Champions of Change" for their role in helping to build "bridges between youth and law enforcement, while improving public safety," according to the White House. "During the three-and-a-half month program, officers and youth helped to lift the negative stigma between police and youth through open discussions about racism, crime, government, and family."

One participating middle-schooler told the Times: “I thought police officers were just to catch bad guys and be in a bad tone. But these guys are awesome. They’re always in a good tone with us. They play with us. They tag along in our jokes. They do stuff with us. They help us. They give us advice and everything.”

Middle Schools Use Lunchtime to Break Social Isolation, Prevent Bullying

No One Eats Alone is a lunchtime school event that seeks to reverse the trends of social isolation by asking students – for one lunchtime period - to engage in a simple act of kindness at lunch.  Students make sure that no one is eating alone and they make an effort to eat with new classmates and peers. Developed by a national organization – Beyond Differences - No One Eats Alone Day 2015, held in February, saw more than 400,000 middle school students participate -- in over 700 schools in 38 states, including Connecticut.

In 2015, just over a dozen participating schools in Connecticut included North St School (Windsor Locks), Broadview Middle School (Danbury), Eastern Middle School (Greenwich), O.H. Platt High School (Meriden), Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield), Washington Middle (Meriden), Northeast (Stamford), Schaghticoke Middle School (Warren), King Street Intermediate School (Danbury), Dag Hammarskjold Middle School (Wallingford), Orville H. Platt High School (Meriden ), Avon Middle (Avon), and Moran Middle School (Wallingford).

Among the partner organizations from across the country is Sandy Hook Promise, based in Newtown.

As the 2015-16 school year got underway, one Connecticut middle school decided not to wait for the annual observance, scheduled for February 13, 2016.

Derby students were greeted on the first day of school by staff all sporting red t-shirts with the logo and words "No One Eat Alone.”  The shirts signify the kickoff of a new program that several education organizations hope to launch across every district in the state, the CT Post reported.  Derby Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway told the CT Post that he would like to see “no one eats alone” practiced every day.

Involved in the project in Connecticut are the Connecticut Education Association, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, Connecticut Association of Schools/Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Beyond Differences and Derby Public Schools.

California-based Beyond Differences (beyonddifferences.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending social isolation in middle schools across the country and creating a culture in which all kids feel included, valued and accepted by their peers. The organization is based on the tenet that students are in charge of their own campus culture of inclusion.

Social isolation is a problem in every school, officials say, emphasizing that the problem of social isolation to be universal. They also “acknowledge the relationship between social isolation and bullying and violence. By reducing social isolation, we believe we can help end much bullying and violence.”

Beyond Differences we are dedicated to helping teens and schools make social inclusion the new reality. The organization was founded by the parents of Lili Smith who was born with a cranial facial syndrome and was socially isolated during her middle school years, the organization’s website explains.  After Lili died at the age of 15 due to medical complications from her syndrome, a group of teens from the local community banded together to bring change to their local schools. They had not realized that they had been leaving Lili out from all the fun social get-togethers. Upon hearing about Lili's feelings of being left out, they were determined to never let anyone feel that way again.  The initiative was born.

Officials stress that “school communities with a culture of inclusion will have far fewer instances of bullying and cruelty. We believe that much of the bullying and violence in our schools can be addressed by treating the underlying causes, rather than just the symptoms.”

https://youtu.be/VPH4OSMBr_c

Guns at the Airport? CT Ranks 43rd As Texas, Florida Confiscate Hundreds

Airport travelers caught carrying firearms were most prevalent in Texas, Florida and Georgia, with Connecticut ranking 43^rd among the states, according to federal data analyzed by Bloomberg News. Texas saw the most confiscations in 2014, with 424 guns found in screenings, according to Transportation Security Administration data. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where 120 firearms were found in carry-on luggage, topped the list nationwide.

Ranked second was Florida, with 253 guns found during the year at the state’s airports, followed by Georgia with 119, California with 101, and North Carolina with 97.  Arizona and Tennessee tied for 6^th with 94 guns discovered at each state’s airports, followed by Colorado with 79 and Missouri with 75.

In Connecticut in 2014, there were four firearms found during 2014 according to the data.  Two of them were loaded.  There were also 4 firearms found at the state’s airports in 2013, Bloomberg reported.

With all 50 states now allowing people to carry concealed guns, with varying degrees of limitations, Bloomberg reported, more are being forgotten in clothing, holsters and handbags.  Firearm confiscations rose 22 percent from 2013.  Guns were discovered at airports in all 50 states in 2014, the data indicated.

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 653 million passengers last year, about 14.8 million more than in 2013. The states and territories with the fewest were Rhode Island, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands.

Bloomberg ranked the 50 U.S. states and the U.S. Territories by the number of firearms discovered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in carry-on luggage at that state's airports. The numbers for each state represent a total of all of the airports in that state covered by the TSA. Firearms are defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a destructive device, machine gun, silencer, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun and any other weapon from which a shot can be discharged.

Supreme Court Justices Who Overturned CT Death Penalty Were Appointed by Three Different Governors, As Were Opponents

The four Justices of the Connecticut State Supreme Court who overturned Connecticut’s death penalty law this month were appointed to the high court by former Governor Lowell P. Weicker (Justices Richard Palmer and Flemming Norcott), former Governor M. Jodi Rell (Justice Dennis Eveleigh) and current Governor Dannel P. Malloy (Justice Andrew McDonald). The vote abolishing the death penalty in Connecticut was 4-3, with Justice Palmer joined in the majority by Justices Eveleigh, Norcott and McDonald. None are household names in the state – at least they were not before the decision – which was both widely criticized and highly praised by proponents and opponents of the death penalty, as well as legal observers and legislators.

Three dissenting opinions were written or signed by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, appointed to the Court by former Gov. Rell; Justice Peter Zarella, appointed by former Gov. John G. Rowland, and Justice Carmen Elisa Espinosa, appointed by Gov. Malloy.

Thus former Gov. Rell and her successor, Gov. Malloy, each appointed a Justice on each side of the controversial opinion.  Two Justices on the majority opinion were appointed by former Gov. Weicker. Former Gov. Rowland's Supreme Court appointee was among the dissenters.

Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., who retired at age 70 in October 2013 after sitting on the case in April 2013, was the first African American appointed to the state Appellate Court, in 1987, and five years later was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Weicker. Justice Carmen Elisa Espinosa became a justice of the Supreme Court on March 6, 2013, having been appointed to the position by Gov. Malloy about six weeks before the case was heard. Justice Espinosa is the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in Connecticut.  Norcott and Espinosa were on opposite sides of the decision.

Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, appointed to the Court by former Gov. Rell, was initially nominated to the Superior Court by Rowland in 2006.  Associate Justice Peter T. Zarella was nominated by Rowland in 2001.  Judge Dennis G. Eveleigh was nominated for the state Supreme Court by Gov. Rell in 2010, after having initially been appointed to the Superior Court in October 1998 by Gov. Rowland.

The majority decision, written by Justice Palmer, found flaws in the 2012 death penalty law, which banned "prospective" death sentences, those imposed after the effective date of the law. But the majority wrote that it chose to analyze capital punishment and impose abolition from a broader perspective, according to published reports.

Justice Palmer graduated from Wethersfield High School, attended Trinity College in Hartford, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for Connecticut from 1980 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1990.  In 1991, Justice Palmer was appointed as United State’s Attorney for Connecticut and he was later the Chief State’s Attorney for Connecticut.

Justice Eveleigh received his J. D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Justice Eveleigh served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant.

Justice McDonald began his public service career in 1993 as a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives, where he served until 1995, prior to his election to the state legislature. McDonald was later Legal Counsel to Gov. Malloy, and was nominated by Malloy to the Supreme Court in 2013, the same year as Espinosa, and a year after the legislature passed the non-retroactive death penalty ban, which was signed into law by Gov. Malloy.

In the case, State v. Santiago, Eduardo Santiago was tried for murder for hire, convicted, and sentenced to death. He appealed his sentence, and while the Court did not find that putting him to death was unconstitutional at the time, it did find that there were issues in his original trial that warranted a new sentencing hearing. While his appeal was pending, the 2012 legislation passed, abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed after April 24, 2012—which Santiago argued was grounds to remove death as a possible penalty. The Court then examined his claim that “the death penalty is no longer consistent with standards of decency in Connecticut and does not serve any valid penological objective.”

Four Justices on majority opinion, L to R, above:  Richard Palmer, Flemming Norcott, Dennis Eveleigh and Andrew McDonald.

CT Supreme Court: Seated, L to R, below: Justice Richard N. Palmer, Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, Justice Peter T. Zarella. Standing, L to R: Justice Carmen E. Espinosa, Justice Andrew J. McDonald, Justice Dennis G. Eveleigh, Justice Richard A. Robinson, Senior Justice Christine S. Vertefeuille.  Justice Robinson was appointed to the Court after the Santiago case was heard.  

Traffic Fatalities Increasing Nationwide, But Decreasing in Connecticut

Across the United States, the number of traffic fatalities increased 14 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared with a year ago.  In Connecticut, however, the number of motor vehicle deaths dropped by 20 percent. From January through June of this year, there were 95 motor vehicle deaths in Connecticut, compared with 119 during the same period in 2014 and 116 during the first six months of 2013. Connecticut’s percentage drop in the number of traffic deaths was the 5th largest in the nation, comparing the first six months of this year to a year ago.

Nationwide, the number of traffic deaths rose from 16,400 during the first half of 2014 to 18,630 during the first six months of this year.  According to the National Safety Council, which analyzed the data, the increase in fatalities in 2015 likely reflects the effects of the low gas prices that have averaged 30 percent below 2014 levels over the first two quarters of 2015, helping to produce a 3.4 percent increase in cumulative vehicle mileage through May.

Distracted drivers – specifically those behind the wheel attempting to talk or text on a cell phone – are also pushing the numbers. The NSC says cell phone related activities are to blame for 27 percent of all crashes.

Connecticut is one of 15 states where the number of traffic fatalities has dropped in the first six months of 2015, compared with a year ago.  The others were Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

Three states – California, Texas and Florida – have seen more than 1,000 deaths through June of this  year.

Medically consulted motor-vehicle injuries for the first six months of 2015 are estimated to be about 2,254,000, an increase of 30 percent from 2014 nationwide, the National Safety Council (NSC) indicated. The NSC estimated that the nation appears headed towards the deadliest year, in terms of traffic fatalities, since 2007.

“While the statistics point out a dangerous trend, we have the ability to influence outcomes through our choices and behavior,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the NSC. “Take your responsibilities behind the wheel this summer seriously and ensure that you get to your destination safety.”

In addition to the personal toll, the estimated cost of motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage through June was $152.0 billion, a 24 percent increase from 2014, according to the data reported by the Illinois-based NSC. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs, and property damage.

The number of traffic deaths reported this year nationwide is greater than the number for the same period in recent years; in 2012 there were 1,755 deaths, in 2013 there were 16,617; in 2014 there were 16,400.  The NSC counts both traffic and non-traffic deaths that occur within a year of the accident, while NHTSA counts only traffic deaths that occur within 30 days, so the numbers reported will differ.

Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy.  Deaths are reported by state traffic authorities, and all figures are preliminary.

Correctional Institutions or Institutions for the Mentally Ill? Governments Seek New Solutions

How to effectively respond to the fact that America’s prisons have rapidly become de facto institutions for the mentally ill is increasingly gaining attention in policy circles and the news media.  In recent days, The New York Times, Governing magazine, and other publications have focused both on the alarming statistics and some innovative approaches across the country. There are now 10 times as many mentally ill people in the nation’s 5,000 jails and prisons as there are in state mental institutions, according to a study last year by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit group that supports expanded access to treatment, the Times reported.

In Connecticut, out of the 16,154 inmates in state prisons, about 3,423 have a serious mental illness, 21 percent of the total prison population, Michael Lawlor, undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning at the Office of Policy and Management, told the New Haven Register earlier this year. Just a few years ago, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimated that approximately 16 percent of the state’s prison population consisted of persons with mental illness.

The State Department of Correction confirms that those defined as “seriously mentally ill” include 17 percent of the male population, 66 percent of the female population, and 20.8 percent of the overall prison population in the state.

According to the Council of State Governments, jails in the U.S. report that between 20 and 80 percent of their inmates suffer from a mental illness, Governing reported.   Today’s acute challenge has been decades in the making.  In the mid-1950’s, the publication indicated, more than 500,000 people were held in state psychiatric hospitals.  “By the 1980s that number had fallen to around 70,000.  During this period, the number of people with mental illnesses who were arrested and ended up in local jails surged.”

Chicago’s Cook County Jail, now referred to by local officials as the nation’s largest mental institution in the country, has 8,600 inmates – an estimated one-third of them suffering from mental illness.  The newly appointed warden of the facility is a clinical psychologist – underscoring “how much the country’s prisons have become holding centers for the mentally ill,” the Times reported.

Writing in the Connecticut Law Review, Christina Canales observed that “Many supported deinstitutionalization because they believed that the mentally ill would benefit from being released from the state hospitals.  They believed that with the assistance of anti-psychotic medications, the mentally ill would be able to live independently in the community and that the community mental health centers would provide the additional care, treatment, and follow up services.

“Although a good plan in theory,” Canales concludes, “deinstitutionalization quickly became one of the main reasons for the substantial increase in mentally ill people in jails and prisons. Patients were ejected from state mental hospitals at a substantially faster rate than community mental health programs were created.”

The Law Review article, published three summers ago, concludes that “the United States faces a crisis in that prisons are among the largest mental healthcare providers. Some mentally ill individuals turned to crime after deinstitutionalization left them on the streets with no support system. Others wound up in prison because police officers lacked the proper training to identify persons as mentally ill and in crisis, or mistakenly believed that individuals receive adequate treatment in prison. The change in civil commitment laws also made it harder to commit the mentally ill, and society as a whole wants these individuals punished, mentally ill or not.”

Earlier this year, the Connecticut state legislature considered – but did not approve - a bill that would have established a pilot program to serve courts in New Haven, New London and Norwich to identify and track the mentally ill, along with homeless and addicted individuals entering the criminal justice system. The idea behind it was to get these individuals treatment and help as an alternative to incarceration and to prevent future arrests, according to published reports. The initiative also called for a formal assessment of its effectiveness.

In Chicago, the Times reported, “before becoming warden, Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia oversaw mental health care at the jail, and under her guidance, Cook County began offering services that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. All inmates upon arrival now see a clinician who collects a mental health history to ensure that anyone who is mentally ill gets a proper diagnosis and receives medication. The jail then forwards that information to judges in time for arraignments in the hope of convincing them that in certain cases, mental health care may be more appropriate than jail.”

According to a report by the Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center, 95 percent of the public psychiatric beds available in 1955 in the country were no longer available by 2005, the New Haven Register reported.  The Center recommends a minimum of 50 beds per 100,000 people, a standard that no state meets. Connecticut has about 20 public psychiatric beds per 100,000 people, according to the center’s website. Between 1995 and 2013, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds, at both public and private hospitals, decreased from 160,645 to 107,055 nationally, according to data from the American Hospital Association.

Connecticut, which recently approved a Second Chance Society Act proposed by Gov. Malloy that reduces some criminal sentences for nonviolent offenses and drug possession, is expected to reduce the number of people incarcerated for drug use, which officials expect will also reduce the number of mentally ill in prisons, “since drug use and mental health problems frequently coexist in a significant group” of the population.

The Governing article highlights a diversion system in Miami-centered Dade County in Florida, a post-booking alternative program that permits individuals arrested for “misdemeanor offenses and identified as having acute mental illnesses” to be transferred to mental health treatment facilities.  The results, according to the publication:

“About 80 percent of people offered the chance to participate in the program accepted it.  What was surprising was how many people stayed out of the system afterward.  An evaluation conducted soon after the program began found that recidivism rates one year out among participants who complete the program was just 20 percent.  In contrast, 72 percent of peers who did not participate in the program were back in jail within one year of their release.”

https://youtu.be/zSbFbv2Bs_0?list=PLQ9B-p5Q-YOP2OVnCPdYKLSmPkqLA2igT

FEMA to Upgrade Emergency System at WTIC-AM Tower As Station's License Renewal Remains Unresolved

As the license renewal application of WTIC-AM radio continues to languish at the Federal Communications Commission, nearly one year after the station’s broadcast license expired, another federal agency is proceeding with WTIC on a local project aimed at assuring the availability of broadcast communication in the event of an emergency. This week the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, testified at the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission outlining a plan to upgrade the Primary Entry Point System (PEP) facility which is located on Avon Mountain at the site of the station's transmitter and operated in conjunction with WTIC. 

The facility is part of a nationwide network of about 70 such installations, which for the past 30 years have provided a “broadcast-based capability to communicate critical life-saving information to the public in times of extreme emergencies,” according to FEMA officials.  FEMA coordinates with local broadcast stations with the most far-reaching signals in their respective regions.  WTIC is the only PEP station in Connecticut.

Also this week, an official at the FCC indicated that the "enforcement hold" status of the station’s license renewal was "unchanged," and the station continues to operate until a decision is made, as is customary with delayed renewal applications. The WTIC-AM license renewal application has been on enforcement hold at the FCC since the license expiration date of April 1, 2014, as the agency’s Enforcement Bureau continues to consider “an alleged violation of FCC rules,” according to an FCC official. The renewal application was filed by the station almost 16 months ago, on November 27, 2013. Stations must file an application for license renewal) four months prior to the expiration date of the station’s license.

The facility at the WTIC broadcast tower and antenna in Avon would be the last in the country to be upgraded by FEMA.  After hearing a FEMA presentation and comments from local residents, the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the plan and construction is slated to begin later this spring.

FEMA, noting that the PEP system “proved invaluable” to the New Orleans community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, places back-up generators and diesel power at the transmitter sites of key commercial radio stations, to assure that they stay on the air to broadcast emergency information if other media is off-line due to power outages or other “extreme emergencies.”  Such was the case in New Orleans with WWL-AM, which, like WTIC-AM, is a 50,000 watt broadcast station.

Federal officials noted that “WTIC is the only original PEP station that has not been upgraded with long-term back-up components.  This leaves Connecticut and its local communities in a very vulnerable position when a major disaster strikes.”  The plan approved this week calls for installation of a new emergency back-up transmitter, two state-of-the-art generators and diesel fuel tank that would enable the station to transmit broadcast signals for longer than two months if necessary.  Nationally, FEMA continues to upgrade and expand the PEP system. The agency's website indicates that direct coverage of the nation’s population will expand from approximately 67 percent in 2009 to over 90 percent through 77 PEP stations by the end of this year.

WTIC-AM, which is licensed to Hartford but operates from studios in Farmington and has its broadcast tower on Avon Mountain, can continue broadcasting under the license that expired  on April 1, 2014, until the FCC acts on its renewal application. Until the enforcement hold is lifted the FCC Media Bureau cannot proceed with a decision on whether or not to renew the station’s broadcast license.  The Enforcement Bureau must first determine whether or not a violation of FCC rules has occurred.  If the allegation is substantiated, the agency has a range of options, such as warning that the violation not be repeated or imposing a monetary fine on the station, officials said.

Precisely what the allegation under review involves is not made known to the public, officials reiterated this week.  That information is only made available to the licensee or their attorney, FCC official have said. The agency can, and often does, communicate with the station as part of their review process.  WTIC has declined to comment on the ongoing review process at the FCC.

Hartford Attorney Ken Krayeske filed an informal objection last fall to WTIC’s broadcast license renewal, alleging that the station “demonstrated serious malfeasance” and “helped conceal violations of federal law,” related to former talk show host John G. Rowland’s use of his radio program to promote the Congressional campaign of Lisa Wilson-Foley. Krayeske had filed a previous complaint in 2012 that did not result in FCC action against the station.

When the license renewal application does reach the agency’s Media Bureau, they will consider “how the allegation of violation was resolved,” as well as a range of other factors in deciding whether or not to renew the station’s license.  The other, more routine, factors include whether any other objections have been raised about the station, whether the station has been adequately serving the public in their area of license, their history of compliance with FCC regulations, and their overall performance.  License renewals for radio stations are issued by the FCC for a period of eight years.

School Suspensions Down, But Students of Color, Low Income Receive Disproportionate Share

There’s good news and bad news in a new analysis of suspensions, expulsions, and arrests of students in Connecticut schools.  The report, by Connecticut Voices for Children, found that overall significantly fewer students have been excluded from the classroom in recent years, but that suspension, expulsion and arrest rates were much higher for minority students, special education students, and students from poorer districts. The report also found that “many of these discipline measures were used for behaviors that were probably not criminal and could likely have been handled within the school.”  Stressing that “children learn best when they are in school,” the report indicated that “arrests, expulsions, and suspensions are often costly, ineffective, and unnecessary.”

Connecticut Voices for Children is a research and advocacy organization that works to improve opportunities for the state’s children, youth and families. The report, “Keeping Kids in Class: School Discipline in Connecticut, 2008-2013,” uses data provided by local school districts, found that in 2013, 7.4 percent of all students received at least one expulsion or suspension, down from 8.5 percent as recently as 2011.

First, the good news:

• The number of students arrested, expelled, and suspended in Connecticut has decreased significantly in recent years. In the 2013 school year, Connecticut schools arrested 35 percent fewer students, expelled 31 percent fewer students, and gave out of school suspensions to 47 percent fewer students than in 2008.

The not-so-good news:

• Despite the overall reduction in these “exclusionary” school discipline practices, many students are still removed from the classroom for non-criminal behaviors that could, in the view of Connecticut Voices, be managed in the classroom. “School policy violations” – such as skipping class, insubordination, or using profanity – were involved in 9 percent of student arrests, 6 percent of expulsions, 50 percent of out-of-school suspensions, and 79 percent of in-school suspensions in 2013.

From 2008-2013 the percentage of students suspended out-of-school fell from 4.9% to 2.7%. During the same time period, the percentage of students suspended in-school increased from 4.9% to 5.2%.

Of particular concern was the data related to students of color and those with limited financial resources or disability:

• In 2013, black students were 4.7 times more likely to be arrested, 4.9 times more likely to be expelled, and 6.5 times more likely to be suspended out-of-school than white students.
• Hispanic students were 3.1 times more likely to be arrested, 2.6 times more likely to be expelled, and 4.4 times more likely to be suspended out-of-school than white students.
• Special education students were arrested at 3 times the rate of general education students, and they were 1.8 times more likely to be expelled, and 2.6 times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions.
• Students in the poorest urban areas were arrested nearly 23 times more often, expelled over 17 times more often, and suspended out-of-school 24 times more often than students in the wealthiest suburban areas.

Based on the data, the report makes a series of recommendations for the state Department of Education and policymakers to consider, including:

• Require districts with police stationed in schools to create a memorandum of agreement between the schools and police that sets ground rules concerning arrests. Promote police and educator training, such as that provided by the state’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, which offers instruction to officers and educators in understanding and responding productively to adolescent behavior.
• Implement preventive strategies and alternative discipline measures to reduce racial and other disparities and ensure those excluded from school are provided equal opportunities.
• Establish and support community collaborations across the state. National studies show that engaging all stakeholders in the discipline process positively impacts student behavior and achievement.

The top 10 reasons for expulsion in 2013:  1) drug/alcohol/tobacco, 2) weapons, 3) fighting/battery, 4) personally threatening behavior, 5) school policy violations, 6) theft/theft related behaviors, 7) verbal confrontation/conduct unbecoming 8) violent crimes against persons, 9) sexually related behavior, and 10) property damage.

The report concludes that “the disproportionate rate by which students of color and students from poorer districts are excluded from school may in fact contribute to widening the achievement gap; students from less privileged backgrounds will continue to perform worse than their more advantaged peers if they are excluded from the classroom in the first place.”

The report also recommends expanding access to behavioral and mental health services and utilize Juvenile Review Boards (JRBs), locally-run groups that offer a diversionary alternative to the court system for youth who have committed minor delinquent acts or misdemeanors.  In addition, it calls for improving data collection by clearly defining “student arrests” (not currently defined by the state) and collecting and publishing data on all student arrests (currently not required for all incidents resulting in arrests).

“This report tells us that many schools in Connecticut have reformed their disciplinary practices and reduced student arrests, expulsions and out-of-school suspensions,” said Ellen Shemitz, Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children. “Yet these reforms have not benefited all children equally. How can we hope to reduce the yawning achievement gap when school disciplinary practices push minority children out of school at disproportionate rates?”