NYAPRS Note: At NYAPRS Legislative Day on Tuesday, NYAPRS board member Eva Dech gave a stirring address about the rights of parents with psychiatric disabilities. In NY as in several other states, parents with a diagnosis can have their children removed from their custody and eventually lose parental rights; the state has the authority to do this not based on the merit of their parenting, but strictly because the parent has a psychiatric diagnosis. The NYS Social Services Law that permits this, Subdivision 4 of S384-b, gives the state the legal authority to discriminate against the over 50% of all adults in the mental health system who are parents.
Eva Dech has rightfully encouraged NYAPRS and other advocacy organizations to take a stand against the termination of parental rights through discrimination against persons with psychiatric diagnoses. In her over 15 years as an advocate for trauma survivors and families, Eva has worked as a systems advocate, trainer, and community organizer, most recently for the Mental Health Empowerment Project in Albany, NY. We congratulate Eva on her new role as Trainer and Operations Coordinator with Intentional Peer Support, where she will surely continue her courageous advocacy against systematic oppression of our community.
We encourage all members of our community to learn about NY’s Social Service Law S384-b and how it has affected members of their community. We also recognize the importance of reaching out to others in the field to discuss solutions to this law and other political, economic, and social factors influencing parents with psychiatric disabilities. Please see below an announcement for an upcoming conference on families with parental mental health challenges in April, 2014.
The 4th International Conference on Families with Parental Mental Health Challenges
Addressing the Needs of the Whole Family
Conference Updates:
ONLINE REGISTRATION is now available.
BROCHURE is now available.
Conference Dates:
Friday, April 25 – Sunday, April 27, 2014
Conference Location:
Ed Roberts Campus
Berkeley, California
Conference Description:
This conference will bring researchers, educators, policy-makers, and providers from across disciplines together with members of the judiciary and those with lived experience. The primary aim is to share knowledge and experience, to advance the rights and highlight the needs of families striving to live well with parental mental health challenges. Related objectives include provision of an interactive forum to discuss common experiences, effective and evidence informed support and advocacy strategies, and contemporary, cutting edge research.
Conference Objectives:
Participants will have opportunity to explore two general theme areas:
- The challenges of parenting for adults with psychiatric disability or mental health concerns
- The impact and challenges for children & young people living in families with parental psychiatric disability or mental health concerns, including those associated with being a young carer
Themes and topics will include:
- Evidence informed supports and services for young people, parents and families
- The legislative/legal barriers parents confront in maintaining custody of their children including interactions with the child welfare system and family law courts
- Strategies for building trust and reducing stigma while supporting parents and children
- Information on how psychiatric disabilities and mental health concerns are experienced by parents and both their young and adult children
- The use of technology-based platforms to provide information, training, education and support to parents and families
- Advocacy strategies for supporting families living with parental mental health challenges
Conference Format:
This 2.5 day conference will begin with an evening of networking. For the remainder of the conference, presentations and panels will be held both on specific theme and cross theme areas. We will be providing opportunities through the conference for people to gather formally and informally to discuss issues of common concern.
More at: http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/MentalHealth2014/