Justice Department: Alameda County violates rights of mental health patients, inmates
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The mental health care of inmates at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin was the subject of a scathing Justice Department investigation that concluded on April 22.Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle
Alameda County is violating the U.S. Constitution by “unnecessarily institutionalizing” people with mental health needs and by subjecting them to “prolonged” solitary confinement in the county jail, the Justice Department concluded after a five-year investigation.
The Justice Department delivered its strongly worded findings to Alameda County and its Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, along with an attachment that summarized the ways in which inadequate mental health care traps Alameda County residents who need it in a cycle of jail and psychiatric institutionalization.
Bo Tefu | California Black Media
(CBM) – California is taking steps to reopen its economy on June 15. The plans are underway as leaders in public health and local government come up with the next steps in the state’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
Efforts to reopen the state are, “driven by the health and science to help nonprofit community organizations and businesses get back on track,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
So far, the state has administered 22 million vaccines since it expanded its efforts to immunize everyone in California against COVID-19. A fifth of the vaccine doses were allocated to communities most impacted by the pandemic. According to the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS), the number of hospitalizations has declined as testing increases and vaccine eligibility expands.
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Oakland Coliseum technically now RingCentral Coliseum mass vaccination site will continue operating for four more weeks past its scheduled sunset date, which was on April 11.
ByEli Walsh, Bay City News Foundation Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, who is also the chair of the Coliseum Authority vaccine site task force, along with Tina Curry from CalOES and Tammy Littrell from FEMA.
The COVID-19 vaccination site at the Oakland Coliseum will remain open in the coming weeks and will be operated by Alameda and Contra Costa counties instead of state and federal agencies, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
The state’s Office of Emergency Services and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency opened the drive-thru vaccination site in February as part of a federal effort to establish 100 large-scale vaccination sites nationwide in President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office.
Oakland Coliseum vaccine site to remain open through Alameda, Contra Costa counties partnership pleasantonweekly.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pleasantonweekly.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.