In The Hill (6/19) “Congress Blog,” Stephanie Parker, PhD, a public voices fellow with The OpEd project, and Rosi Andrade, PhD, an associate research professor at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women, observe that people with “serious” mental illnesses “have been swept into our nation’s jails and prisons along with those without mental illness, disregarding their mental illness and discounting their need for mental health treatment.” After pointing out that “twenty percent of inmates in jails and 15 percent of inmates in state prisons are estimated to have a serious mental illness,” Parker and Andrade call for a paradigm shift “from incarceration and punishment” to treatment.

Related Links:

— “Silent epidemic: The incarceration of the seriously mentally ill,” Stephanie Parker and Rosi Andrade, The Hill, June 18, 2015.

Reuters (6/18, Gaitan) reports that Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) has produced a series of short, free animation videos available online that provide useful advice to communities throughout the world. Animations address a wide variety of subjects, including on how to handle depression. The animations are narrated in over 50 languages and are available on SAWBO’s YouTube Channel.

Related Links:

— “Free animations spread lifesaving tips via smartphones,” Daniel Gaitan, Reuters, June 17, 2015.

The AP (6/18) reports that the New York “Senate has followed the Assembly and voted for a new tax check-off intended to help end the stigma around mental illness.” The bill “would establish a gift check-off” on state income tax forms “to a special fund that would be used by the state Office of Mental Health to provide grants to organizations dedicated to eliminating the stigma.” The measure now heads to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for his consideration.

Related Links:

— “New York Senate approves mental health tax check-off,” Associated Press via Washington Times, June 17, 2015.

HealthDay (6/18, Preidt) reports that research suggests that individuals “who have a relative with Tourette syndrome or a tic disorder are at increased risk for the same condition.” The study suggests that “the highest risk is among first-degree relatives, such as siblings, parents and children.” Investigators came to these conclusions after analyzing “data from more than 4,800 people in Sweden diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder between 1969 and 2009.”

Related Links:

— “Tourette Risk Seems to Be Driven by Genetics,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 17, 2015.

The Congressional Quarterly (6/17, Attias, Subscription Publication) reports that the “revised version” of HR 2646, “a wide-reaching mental health bill by Rep. Tim Murphy [R-PA], appears to have picked up the tentative support of” Mental Health America, “a group that endorsed a rival measure last year, but Democrats still have concerns about Murphy’s effort.” For example, at yesterday’s Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing, “some witnesses and panel Democrats aired concerns…including how the bill addresses a protection and advocacy program and court-ordered treatment for certain individuals with serious mental illness in a community.” At the hearing, “subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts, R-Pa., said the panel would act on the legislation.”

Related Links:

— Congressional quarterly (requires login and subscription)