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Advocates for the mentally ill sue NH

Say lack of services leads to needless confinement

Updated: Thursday, 09 Feb 2012, 4:47 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 09 Feb 2012, 4:47 PM EST

Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Advocates for the mentally ill are suing the state of New Hampshire, saying it needlessly confines the disabled in mental wards because it lacks services to treat them in the community.

The class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court comes 10 months after a federal investigation found the state's mental health system fails its citizens in need and is in crisis.

Federal investigators say the state's mental health system relies too heavily on confining the mentally ill in the New Hampshire State Hospital and its nursing home component Glencliff Home.

Claims in the lawsuit announced Thursday mirror the conclusions of the federal investigation and come as no surprise to state officials who for years have acknowledged deficiencies in the system and developed a 10-year plan to address them.