WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000
[sil.]

00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:15.000
[sil.]

00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.000
[sil.]

00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:53.000
[sil.] Okay, okay.

00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.999
This is Dr. Ferreire. Well, I’ve got a
little boy that I want to be admitted here.

00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.999
Diagnosis is, Major Depressive Disorder.

00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.999
Single episode. Severe.

00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:18.000
With psychotic features. Okay. Thank you.

00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.999
There’s no bed.

00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.999
I don’t think one hand knows that the others hands knew it. The
judge obviously has not read the, his psychiatric reports.

00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.999
When is the last time,
you went to K-E cell?

00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.999
Yesterday. Well, it’s a crisis. I
think it’s a crisis with Texas

00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:49.999
and it’s a crisis for the nation.
You got any mole on your body?

00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.999
No. This is the first time, she’s would ever
be diagnosed. If… if she’s diagnosed now

00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.999
and this is the first time. Yeah. They’re talking
about cutting out both institutional care

00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.999
and community based care, at which point,
any type of safety net is completely gone.

00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.999
Off the firstly conservative
limited government republican.

00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.999
The last place they want to put your
loved ones is in jail. It makes me mad

00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:19.999
when somebody says that these kids are a throwaway
kids at… We really shouldn’t be spending time one.

00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.999
Maybe the parents are just not
good parents. I was stealing,

00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.999
I was sleeping out… sneaking out at night.
When you’re gonna grow up?

00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:35.000
[sil.]

00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.999
I’m Tony.

00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:49.999
Yeah, good to meet you.

00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.999
What’s the name of the child? Jeremy, but this is a good
picture of Jeremy. So he would been about eight, nine.

00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.999
He never felt like he really fit in.
He’s never had lot of friends.

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.999
Yeah, he was in therapy when
he was in Al Mary school.

00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.999
It’s always the… the little… ADD, it’s ADD, it’s ADD. the
whole time he was growing up, and I tell these doctors,

00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.999
gotta be something else problem with this kid,
this is not ADD, he’s got emotional problem,

00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.999
he’s got learning problems.

00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.999
A great majority of kids who come through the
juvenile system, have mental health issues.

00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.999
Maybe, they have a bad economic situation, maybe
their parents are ill, maybe they are abandoned,

00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.999
maybe they just have personality
conflicts with their parents.

00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.999
The August, before he started
high school, he really escalated.

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.999
And Tony found him crawling around the bedroom
floor one night. Its like, what does he do?

00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:49.999
Is he gonna kill someone in our sleep or what? Because
he really was angry and full of hatred towards

00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.999
this… this whole family. My
biological mother, she uh… does drugs

00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.999
and I found out that she’s a prostitute.
It’s two years away from being an adult.

00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.999
He needs to start thinking
like future, not past.

00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.999
Well, my step mom, she wasn’t my biological mother and I
used it against her every time I got into an argument.

00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.999
I’m not gonna to put myself in a position to
have my heart ripped out again like that.

00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.999
I just won’t feel it. That wasn’t
right, I shouldn’t have done it,

00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.999
because now I can’t go home.

00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.999
He’s got the emotional issues on him. Mental illnesses
is… I don’t know what that term really means.

00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.999
Jeremy profiles mental illness by the… the
suicidal ideations and the suicidal threads.

00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.999
I’m scared of him. I’m terrified and that’s
why I won’t let him back in my house.

00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.999
So a lot of it is environmental, a lot of it is
his attitude, sometimes, it’s the medication.

00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.999
None of my other clients
have criminal issues.

00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.999
Uh… You know, he’s been charged with burglary of a vehicle.
So you rode in your bike today? And anything else?

00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.999
Yeah, I get up in front of the judge and
tell him that he could never come back here.

00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.999
The… the treatment places that Jeremy has, has
to be and cost, hundred or so dollars a day

00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.999
and, you know, I don’t make that much.

00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.999
And yeah, it was hard.

00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.999
Please be seated. What is the legal status of this
child? We received our report on the 16th of December.

00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.999
Mr. Tony wanted to relinquish his rights
and not let allow his son return home.

00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.999
Why couldn’t he be handled within the home? Uh…
Due to him refusing to cooperate with supervision

00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.999
with the department and with the father. I want you to stand
for me please. What level are you on in the dome, sir?

00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.999
Three.

00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.999
Why? I’m listening. This is not a game.

00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.999
You have got some criminal charges as well.
I want an answer.

00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.999
Because, I’ve been getting help. I know
what happens in my detention facility.

00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.999
There’s not been a whole lot of \"Therapy and help.\"
I want to get out and go to a treatment facility

00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.999
and, I want to turn myself around.

00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.999
Why do you need treatment for, son? I
need treatment, so I could stop stealing

00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:14.999
and so I could be able
to talk to my mom again.

00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.999
Do you know how many young people I
had to put in therapy right now,

00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.999
if everybody told me they needed therapy to stop
stealing? Rumor has it that you’re mean, is it true?

00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.999
I tend to get back at people that upset me.

00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.999
What medication if any are you on?
Trileptal and Zyprexa.

00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:39.999
Do you or do you not love your son?
I do love my son, ma’am.

00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.999
Did you say, you want to relinquish your rights, sir?
Yes, ma’am, I did. Do you know what that means? It means,

00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.999
I won’t be his dad anymore on paper.
Why would you want to do that?

00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.999
So he can get treatment. Who told
you, you had to relinquish rights

00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.999
for him to get treatment? That’s the only way
that we can afford to give him treatment.

00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.999
Relinquishment wipes you off the birth
certificate as if that child is not born to you.

00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.999
Relinquishment allows somebody else
to adopt him and become his parent.

00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.999
That’s a huge, huge… doesn’t matter.
It does not matter. The real…

00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:19.999
reality of the situation is that, he is not going to be able to come
back home, he needs treatment, that will prepare him for a life,

00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.999
not only economy, as an adult.

00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.999
I do not see any reason to place this child
in another residential treatment facility.

00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.999
Why shouldn’t I just send you to some boot camp or
somewhere to learn discipline, and self control, son?

00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:39.999
I don’t know, your honor.

00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.999
We’re gonna lock up your dad for abandoning you. No. I’ll
be glad to. I’m very angry with him, as you are too.

00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.999
I don’t need to sit here
in a baby sitting room to

00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.999
therapize for next 24 years? You had a year of it, haven’t
you, son? We’re just in this revolving door here.

00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.999
You close that door

00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.999
and you’re making a decision that has nothing to do with your child,
and your child doesn’t control it. If I was the only behind it,

00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.999
though I wouldn’t have any problem with it, but I’m not the only one behind
that door and I have to protect the other people that are back there.

00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.999
And you better figure out that there’s a better way to do it
than just turning your back. And if you don’t find that way,

00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.999
I’ll enter orders that will help you.

00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.999
If I wouldn’t have it on five, by Monday.
I’m sorry, dad.

00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.999
I’ll see you, I guess.

00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.999
They’re trying to bad mouth, Tony, because he did that,
when these are the same people that told him that,

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.999
\"This is what you have to do to get straighten,
for your child.\" I will see you Monday.

00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.999
All right. It’s just ridiculous.

00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.999
The judge, obviously has not read
the… the psychiatric reports.

00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.999
Well, they just do something with me.
Like send me to TYC or something.

00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.999
We don’t have enough services. We don’t have
enough money. We don’t have enough placements.

00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.999
This putting a lot of stress on my dad. They don’t
need all that stress. They need to understand

00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
that there’s two other children in the
family that I am bound to protect

00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.999
and will protected whatever cost is necessary,
including fleeing the state, whatever.

00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.999
And I don’t have to go home. I
just don’t deserve to go home.

00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:25.000
Do we have some help, you bet? Do we need
a whole lot more? A great deal more.

00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.999
I used to ask kid, \"What…
What’s your earliest memory?\"

00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.999
And I ask this kid, you know, \"What your earliest memory?\"
He said, \"Well, I remember looking between my legs

00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.999
and blood was coming out of my rectum from,

00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.999
where my grandma’s boyfriend
raped me when I was three.

00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.999
I don’t ask that question anymore.
Here, you know, I just don’t do it.

00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.999
The criminal justice system is known

00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.999
for its good mental health care
and in the state of Texas.

00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.999
Where is Daniel? Judges are more
prone to admit kids to our system,

00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
so that they will get the
help that they need.

00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.999
And the first thing we do is check the board. Marchesa(ph)
is still on the red. She’s constantly on the red,

00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.999
but she doing well in her phase
were, except for behavior.

00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.999
They are all of our children,

00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.999
poor, without a great deal of education.
The vast majority involved in drugs.

00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.999
The ones that are admitted
to the stabilization unit,

00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.999
frequently come from mentally ill families. Mr. Collins is
trying to kill you? Why does Mr. Collins trying to kill you?

00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:49.999
The first thing that you
have to think about with…

00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.999
with mentally ill folks is uh….
Are they safe?

00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.999
Have you scratched yourself? Just those.

00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.999
Yeah, you have. I was shocked
that how Spartan it is.

00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:09.999
Oh, look at what you’re depriving
people of. Oh, it’s just horrible,

00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
brick walls and that plastic
bed that’s bolted down.

00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.999
How are you, my dear? I’m doing great.
You’re not either. You’re doing awful.

00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
Finger foods, it’s not like
finger foods at cocktail party.

00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.999
This is the regular food that you eat with your
fingers, and because you don’t get plastic spoons,

00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.999
because with plastic spoons you can
kill yourself. Well, you are on

00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.999
a massive dose of anti-depressant.

00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.999
This is life here and it’s okay.

00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.999
These folks are the boss,
you are not the boss.

00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.999
And when they tell you to take a time
out, your job is to take a time out.

00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.999
We have some real doozies
amongst the little kids.

00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.999
He and her sister murdered their
little six year old brother.

00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
Have you been hearing any voices or anything like
that lately? Have you wanted to kill yourself?

00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.999
Have you want to kill anybody else?
There’s just no place in the system

00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:23.000
for these very young children. Wanna kill
yourself? You want to kill anybody else?

00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.999
39 hospitalizations before
he was 11 years old?

00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
He’s in the hospital, 39 times?

00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
TYC has a phase assessment program.
They have been going to school

00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.999
and doing well in school, their behavior
has to be okay. And with correctional,

00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:49.999
they have to recognize the
impact of their crimes

00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.999
on their victims. You want
to kill yourself? No.

00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.999
You want to kill anybody else? No. Well,
have you heard from your family lately?

00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.999
No. Well, could your mom be mad at you?

00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
You stabbed her friend, you know? Oh, I
know that, but… And maybe she’s mad at you

00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
because you stabbed her friend.
And, of course,

00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.999
as you can see they all, \"I didn’t
do it,\" \"I don’t know why.\"

00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
Well, that was pretty typical. I have given
up testifying before the legislature.

00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.999
I used to do that a lot.
But I found out one,

00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
the legislature doesn’t really
listen to us. So what can you say?

00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:40.000
The fox is in the… in house.

00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
[music]

00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.999
This session rolls back

00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
probably the last 15 years
of positive public policy.

00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
Uh… For the first time,

00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
I believed that the Texas House is reflecting
that the values of people of Texas.

00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
It’s more difficult than I imagined

00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
to find a soft middle. I’m Melanie
with the Mental Health Association.

00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
How his bill affects foster parents?
Melanie Gantt Mental Health Association.

00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
So you’re following with the lobby,
listen from this week. Right.

00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
I’ve talked to people that have been
doing less than a session since ‘89.

00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
And they say that it’s the worst,
by far, that they’ve ever seen

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
because of this budget crisis that we’re in. Okay, so you never
did get to talk to anybody ever PRS about these numbers?

00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
When you’ve got $9 billion
to make up out of a deficit,

00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
it’s a little bit hard just to deal without
cutting any services. And unfortunately,

00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
there’s this whole population
of vulnerable kids.

00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
You know, there is a crisis in children’s mental health,
but maybe it’s not gonna be had the… the alarms

00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
as loud as some of the other crisis that state
is facing. I don’t know. We have to see.

00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
He won’t raise taxes. When there’s
no money in the bank account.

00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
There is no way to provide the service.

00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
Somebody’s got to give, we’ll just see who that
is. This is going to be the leadership or yes,

00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
it gotta be the little bounce this project on the backs of people
with mental illness. You know, it can’t be made up with charity,

00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
because charity has given
all it can give now.

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
The last summer, I lived close to people to the people who provide charitable
services which kinda do the state now and he’s asking us for money.

00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.000
[music]

00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
Right now, every agency in the city of
Houston is being affected by funding.

00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
Any time their budget cuts umm… then,
everyone will start to feel the affect,

00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
and we definitely feel that… the affect. For
families, it’s a big problem to locate services.

00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
When there is a need,

00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
they often are stranded, and
they have nowhere to go.

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
One of the things that we are very proud
of, we go into the homes of families

00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
that can not come to our agency.
My mom is in prison,

00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
so my grandmother is my mom. She raised me.

00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
She taught me. And she does what a mother do. Mama,
please, we wanna go. But what it, watch it below.

00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
It’s up, you said, mama that mean is final.
Antonia was referred to our agency

00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
through her school counselor.

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
This me when I was little. I was so bad. This year, I
tried cross-country. I want to tracking up my basketball.

00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
Showing how to eat crawfish? Crawfish 101.
What we did in Antonia’s case

00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
is we sat down with her grandmother.
Y’all bring the plates out?

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
She would often acknowledge that the children are different. This
generation of children are different from the children that she raised.

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
The grandparents are taking
care of their grandchildren.

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
Yes, ma’am. Not going back for everything, now this…
They had to know how to deal with Antonia’s depression

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
whenever she didn’t feel quite herself.
They had to look for warning signs,

00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
and those are things that we came into the home and
we talked to Antonia’s grandparents about that.

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
It was the… the weekend and mother’s at… and my
mom stood me up when she was supposed to come,

00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
be with me the whole day. Like I… really
upset and I tried to slit my wrist.

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
I tried to take own my life and everything.

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
Her grades didn’t suffer at all.
It wasn’t like she was depressed,

00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
it was actually, mostly, just out of control.
I thought I can handle it by myself,

00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
and counselor realize any… anything that be, you
can’t handle it by yourself. You have to have help.

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
Like we take walks and stuff. And we just
sat, Antonia, she told me I was like man.

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
But I think she had a good recovery though.
Well, I’m glad she’s over it.

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
Mm-hmm. I’m glad too.

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:43.000
[music]

00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
I call it this resonance of this uh… pounding
of the people that are coming from the south,

00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
to across that river to come here. I feel
it. They are there, and they’re coming

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
and they’re moving over here. And they are coming
here out of their desperation and they want to work.

00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
People refers sometimes, this
place as the devil’s den

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
or as hard as hell. Every politician
will come down here and shake hands,

00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
year after year after year. And say,
\"Well, it’s slow. It takes a long time,

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
but nothing changes.\" My mother’s people came
over from Mexico to… to make a business here.

00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
That’s my father’s house, little white one,
(inaudible). There’s such a lack of services

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
to meet the challenges of diseases

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
that you never see somewhere else. High rate of
diabetes, high rate of cancer, infant mortality

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
from respiratory distress,
asthma, we have leprosy.

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
This inordinate amount of more serious disorders
here, I think it’s related to the poverty

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
and to the depression. I had
to come back and I felt

00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
that there had to be some honor in my work by
coming home to what considered the poorest county

00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
in United States and
being the psychologist.

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
There has never been a psychologist there and
there hasn’t been psychological services,

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
just as I been here that
I’ve seen, you know,

00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
two people there for 80,000 people.
It’s overwhelming.

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
Uh… How are you? It must culture shock
and it’s an anthropological experience

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
of the cross cultural issues
that are occurring here.

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
There is an attitude that you have to be seriously,
mentally ill. They call here, being local,

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
to go see a psychologist or psychiatrist.
So how is his behavior at home?

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
He tried choking (inaudible) last time.
When was that?

00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
Umm… Probably a week ago. If you got more of
uh… an open minded parent is working with you

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
and… and doing what all it takes to help their
child. There could be a grandparent saying,

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
\"Oh, there’s nothing wrong. They’re just spoiled.\"
I wanted to play outside with this kid.

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
My brother just pushed me down. The message
to him is stop hitting your sister.

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
Then may want to go see the curandera.
Maybe they have this called susto.

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
The egg is… so… so he can get all the… The evil eye
out. Yeah, the evil eye. The evil eye. A local…

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
Then we can free his illnesses and so,
then, because of that, people have susto,

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
which is fright. Then the corner,
put yourself in the corner.

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
Why, you caught me? Well, did you do? Did you
caught doing something. Without this medication

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
and without everything he’s getting, I just
think I would be having the worst time.

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
The Medicaid get back on the children,
consider of getting entire unit,

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
you can ask only for ten sessions at a time. What if your daughters
did not have this Medicaid, we’ve been going for three years?

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
Well, then, she would be
in the hospital or dead.

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
Cost of medications, did
you afford that? No.

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.000
[sil.]

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:43.000
[sil.]

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
It’s very important that you call as
early in the morning as possible.

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
[sil.]

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
We have very long hours that we work here

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
and uh… that’s just the way it is.

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:20.000
[sil.]

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
I work for Child Protective Services, little case worker. And Jeremy
was brought into care, following some concerns that his parents

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
umm… were refusing to accept responsibility
for him. How are you, Jeremy?

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
Level three. So we’ve been brought in as the temporary
management conservators who essentially act as parents.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
Do you want to hear some good news? Yes.
I’ve been on level three the whole time.

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
Oh, I knew that. I think that Jeremy
has considerable mental issues.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
He’s diagnoses are pretty
extensive, psychologically

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
and he’s required quite a bit of support and therapeutic
intervention. All right. Any (inaudible) Texas about session,

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
that’s where Judge Jeanne Meurer presides.
Thank you. Please be seated.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
What level are you on? Three, your honor.
Have you stayed on that? Yes, your honor.

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
Why? Because I wanted to show you that I can do
it. And tell me how come you can do it so well?

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
Because I had something to look forward to, your honor. When was his
level of care assessed? The date of his psychological was in April.

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
What probations, recommendations gonna be on
disposition? Your Honor, my personal opinion is

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
uh… Jeremy needs to decouple from his family
issues and I think he’s acted out significantly

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
to let him know his frustration and anger.
Dr. Bob thought

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
that he might be developing into a bipolar, due to the
maternal side of the family that has bipolar issues.

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
The father side of the family has
alcoholism, so there might be some sort of

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
uh… genetic predisposition, have issues. But
at this point, I think Jeremy has progressed

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
from his suicidal ideations when he was brought in here in November.
Did you tell last week about some issues of child support?

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
It’s going to be tight, but we’ll do it.
In the last hearing,

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
you discussed that Jeremy would never be able to come home, is that still
your position? If we can get him to the point where he’s not a threat

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
to the other children that
are living in the house,

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
I’d… you know, I don’t have a problem with it. I was under the impression
that Jeremy was gonna be sent home today. And I don’t think the family

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
or Jeremy is ready for that, at this point.
Do you like or dislike Jeremy?

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
[sil.]

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
I don’t feel the mothering instinct
like I did before with Jeremy.

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
I’m willing to have a relationship with Jeremy, but I
don’t think it would be good for Jeremy, at this point,

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
for me to try to say that I’m his mother.
Jeremy has a mother. I love him.

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
I can say that. I’ve tried to be as supportive as
I… I could to hear what the circumstances involved,

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
but my goal for him at this point, would be
for him to become an independent human being.

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
How many 18 year old must have
the ability to hold a job

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
and pay their rent and do all
of those things? A lot I think.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
And I thought it might be your wife who has
a problem. I think she’s been very honest.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
I think the problem is you.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
It is ludicrous from you to think that Jeremy
would be prepared at 18 to have the skills,

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
to be on his own. I could just dismiss this
case today and send him home with you.

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
You wanna throw him away? No, ma’am.
I don’t want to throw him away.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
I want your heart back open.

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
I want the doors back open.
I’m gonna open the doors.

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
The heart thing, we’re gonna have to work on. That is
fine. I want you to commit to… I’m willing to do that.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
Jeremy, it’s time for you to put up your shut up, son.
I’ve been pretty rough on your dad and your step mom.

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
Now, it’s time for all of you to show me
you’re either are gonna do what you said

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
or suffer the consequences. If you can’t, I’ll
come down, and you’re like a (inaudible).

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
We’ll stand at recess. Thank you. All rise.

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
We took pictures this last weekend at church. And Erica, they made
her stand on the box and she’s like way up here above your dad,

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
and we’re like, \"That’s so weird
like… We didn’t take that one.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
We’ll get you one of those.
There’s some big ones in there.

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
I feel better for you. I feel
better for all of us. Yeah.

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
Well, let’s go. Does he… Let me know
last night that he’s hearing voices.

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
He used to come out this corner of room and now
it’s coming out in this corner of room and…

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
Jason. We had a session yesterday.
And he worries himself

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
into this hopeless, oh, my gosh,
\"I’ll kill myself.\" David?

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
Quit taking his medicine. How’s sick is he?
He’s looking pretty good.

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
What you got to talk about Valerie.
She’s doing just basically context of…

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
Anger outburst, depressed mood, isolates,

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
pick sores(ph), yelling. Primary borderline
personality. Correct. She’s BP… BPD, big time.

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
I hope you hit her up with the time
of anti-depressants and stuff.

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
She’s bound and determined that
she’s been walk of this gate,

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
and now sleep with somebody for a gun. And by
prepared, she’s would shoot outside the gate. Well?

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
And we don’t have a pill for that. I think we need a
committer partner, 21st birthday, if she’s committable.

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
But she has always been a kid that
hasn’t treat lots, and lots of folks

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
and all of us have dulled
our therapy sorts on her.

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
What’s James primary diagnosis? Uh… Psychotic
disorder in a way. Oh, he is a mess. I’ll check.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
He’s gonna be hearing city.(inaudible).

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
What’s that? Yeah. This kid, I think,

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
has 50:50 chance of might be.

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
He is classified as a violent, be offender and had one
referral and one adjudication to juvenile authorities.

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
As the body (inaudible) I stuck
the staple through, inside of it.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
There are three ways to… had to
commit a person in the state.

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
If they’re an imminent danger to themselves

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
or others or deteriorating condition.
Did you really shoot up heroin

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
between your toes? Yes, sir.
Show me. Right there?

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
They’re here. You see some of, there
were curls up right here. Yeah, right.

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
Justin admitted to use
of alcohol, marijuana,

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
inhalants, including Freon,
aerosol(ph) and WD-40,

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
ecstasy, LSD, embalming fluid, cocaine

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
and prescription pills. I wanna ask some
questions about you and his mother.

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
Do you get depressed? Yes, sir.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
Okay. Do you take medication? No, sir. Okay.
Uh… What do you do for your depression?

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
[sil.]

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
I just try to work it out. Okay.

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
But you’ve never seen a doctor?

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
I had a nervous breakdown when I was 30.

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
Did his mothers have mental
health problems? Yes, sir.

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
Tell me about it. She was a drug abuser, that’s
why we didn’t get married. Did she abused drugs

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
when she was pregnant with this boy?
Yes, sir. And you remember times

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
when he was, how’s it
high, for no good reason?

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
Yeah. I guess, but do you mind telling inherit
some of that from me. Have a lot of energy.

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
Don’t require a whole lot of sleep.
Do a lot of stuff.

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
It’s plunges. And right. Couple of times,
it’s the matter. And then other times,

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
you’re just down, drive-y.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
Now I’m down. Down, down. So periods of up and
periods of down. I’ve no other questions.

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
Thank you. We’re going to ask right now,

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
that you leave the room, (inaudible)
panel will make a decision,

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
just to whether or not, you need to criteria for information
to be in or not. Both of these people made an interesting case

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
for Bipolar I Disorder. Certainly, there’s
up there something wrong with the mother,

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
we don’t know what. What do you vote for?

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
Admission. I thought
you’re hitting that one.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
This kid needs to be admitted.

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
[music]

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
When I arrived here, they gave
me a bed, they gave me a room.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
[music]

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
I had my clothes from my last
placement, so which I’m wearing now.

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
Oh, man, it feels great. You’re allowed
to go outside, whenever you please if…

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
you get permission from staff. That’s
the commissary where we get our food.

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
We pray on every meal we eat. We pray
a lot. Well, I’ve been doing good,

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
I’ve been following the rules, I’ve been
washing my clothes. I’ve been doing my chores.

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
This is a bone. This is not a chicken
bone either. I don’t want to know,

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
after acting good, because there’s a couple
of kids in there that are really young

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
and they don’t have a role model right
now, and so they need to have one.

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
Stop stealing, stop lying, I’ve already
done that, but keep practicing it.

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
Well, it’s hard to be a
role model, when uh…

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
when you’re trying to do
good yourself, you know.

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
He sounds like he’s doing real good, he started in the
school on Friday and… We’re gonna have a garage sale.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
Okay, listen… Family band. Ben join
the hollow… Okay. One, two, three.

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
It’s kind of out of my hands.

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
He can call me, I can’t call him, but he can call me. What
you’ll doing? Well, you been (inaudible) or somethin’?

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
No, we’re getting rid of some excess
baggage. The doctor, yesterday, said,

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
\"I was diagnosed with bipolar. So\"
I don’t even know what it is.

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
So I’m not worried about it.
It must not be very serious.

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
I really do want to go home. Umm…
We’ll just have to see how that goes.

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
It’s not always the parent,

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
you know, there’s other
influences out there.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:40.000
We do the best we can and pray.

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
[sil.]

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
How many children in the State of
Texas would need a (inaudible).

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
About a 151,000.

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
You need to provide financial services for
how many children? We serve 30,600 of them.

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
So we had a 150,000 legally, who
entirely get these services.

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
And we have slots for and
have served 30,000. Yes, sir.

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
Some stories are… are
really hard to listen to,

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
but we can’t do any board that we can do,
because that’s all… all the funds we have.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
This is central, you go to (inaudible).
More taxes.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
As a citizen, I never want to pay more taxes. But this
agency needs more revenue to do the things that you think

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
out to be done as a citizen having
looked at the issues, right? Yes, sir.

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
And I would hope that volunteer government
some other sources. You can do that.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
The truth (inaudible) and
where they gonna come from?

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
We’re not looking at $10 billion shot… But I don’t think it’s… I
don’t think it’s his job to tell us we have to raise taxes and all.

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
You know what? You represent your
district and let me represent mine.

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
We’re here today to talk about the crisis that we have in children’s
mental health in Texas. Today, the most serious mentally ill children

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
rarely access a sufficient level of care.
Some families relinquish

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
custody of their… of their kids to the
juvenile justice system. 2002 data,

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
indicate that about 250 families per year actually give
up custody of their care to PRS for the sole purpose

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
of accessing mental health care. Cuts and
amateur (inaudible) Children Services

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
will obviously worsen this situation.

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
I don’t know if they heard it. I don’t know if they
bought it. But we’re just trying to get them not to cut,

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
because what’s gonna happen is, they’re talking
about cutting out both institutional care

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
and community based care. Any type
of safety net is completely gone.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:55.000
At this point, it looks pretty bleak.

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
We did a meeting…

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
We need to know what I’m going to do with the chief case.
Our concern I think is the… the parents and the children,

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
and for myself as the referral base
or what’s going to happen to them.

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
Who’s gonna get the priority services except those that are
emergency basis? How many times that we set up as emergency room

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
we had to wait so long? Now what? More eight,
nine hours? Who is gonna commit suicide?

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
You know, when you talk just about that and we
need to address it directly with the parents.

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:40.000
[sil.]

00:37:55.000 --> 00:38:00.000
[sil.]

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
She just couldn’t call the doctor today.
She said,

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
\"No, I just couldn’t call,\" but there
was no bed at the hospital yesterday.\"

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
And so, I couldn’t get him in. And, she could have waited at the
hospital at the… all night long, and still wasn’t gonna be a bed.

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
So we have this back up plan. And
that’s… the choice I’ve made

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
to let her go home with him. So he’s there.
I heard him,

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
but I’ll have to call her tomorrow.

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:50.000
[music]

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
I’m glad, I make groceries. Uh… It’s
broken, it needs a transmission.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
I’ve been stuck up in the house,
so today I’m just about crazy.

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
Look at me, I’ve got to pay somebody to take me
to gourmet groceries. I guess it’s not cheap.

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
Oh, grapes are hard, they are out of season
and they’re still here. I’ll get these

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
because Antonia likes these. Right
now I’m happy, I’m just tired of,

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
you know, the school day, but I’ve
a lot of emotional changes, right.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Sometimes, she’s on top of the world and then,
sometimes all of a sudden it’s just like bam!

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
The little I think and take me off and I’m like, \"Man, whatever!\" And I
just go to my room and be in my room, by myself and if coming after me,

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
most likely you get the door slammed in your face.
But mom says, ain’t nothing wrong with that girl,

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
but she just needs to good as (ph) open.
And I… I said, uh… she needs counseling.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
She don’t need no counseling. She needs
somebody to be there. We had a fight,

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
like a bad fight, one day. My grandma wasn’t talking to me, it’s
just all in one time. They wouldn’t even… ‘cause of the fight,

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
it’s ‘cause everything else. No,
actually… actually am I … am I…

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
I took it before the fight. And then she
over… Then she took all those her laughs

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
and my little grandson came in there that, Monday morning,
where the school might be and he tell me, he says,

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
\"Mommy, see you need to go see about (inaudible), I
said why? He said, \"Because she’s in a shaking.\" Uh…

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
And I don’t remember the other
are too, check, I don’t know.

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
I guess, I had a too much of shaking.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
They wanted me to put it out, mental facility overnight, just to have
to evaluate it. But they uh… but they never found the bed for her.

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
And… Well, in fact, I never pursued it
because I don’t want to go that far.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
I’ll be 17, next week on Saturday. We
had a long talk last night, and I told,

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
you know, she’s just gotta have to learn how
to deal with disappointments in her life.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
I’m about to get a make-up, I guess.
Umm… You guess? Yeah. She can not,

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
you know, just every time something comes
up and disappoint her, attempts suicide,

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
because one day she’s gonna try and nobody’s gonna be there.
Are you tweezing them? No, I’m… Are you tweezing out?

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
I gotta uh… wax. Then what?
I think I failed them.

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
Saying I was better and I wasn’t. Just

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
I guess this kind of time for me to learn
how to solve my problems on my own.

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
She’s got to learn to put it in
perspective and go on with your life.

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
You cannot let it destroy you. All right. You’re
set. Thank you. You’re welcome. But it seem like,

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
sometimes my problems… I can’t handle it.
It’s so much for me right now,

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:35.000
’cause this like, they never go away.
They never go away.

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
I’m going to Bokenkamp today,

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
to see how Jeremy’s doing and what
kind of environment he’s living in.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
He commented to me that you couldn’t stay. He was
crying. Recently, I think, he had some trouble there.

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
Well, I think, any time that
we can use funds in ways

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
to help children to begin to
really live in a level that,

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
I think, God created them to live
at, is well worth the money.

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
I don’t hear, maybe once a month
from his therapist and then,

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
at that point it’s just here, Jeremy
wants to talk to you. You know,

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
so what are you all doing from Jeremy?
Jeremy being in corpus(ph)

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
is a problem because it’s… it’s four hours away. And I rode all
day in the rain, to get down there, and I got down there at 11:30

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
and you’re not there, and you’re not answering your
phone, you know, I was… He said, well, can you come back?

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
I said, \"No, I’m in Austin, you know, I was
back as far as Brownsville, I can’t come back.

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
You know, I want someone who’s been with him for
the last month or so to give me their gut feeling

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
about what’s gonna happen. You know that the…
the \"professionals\" have been treating Jeremy

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
now, for going on years, years, years. And
like, ‘cause I know he came as a five.

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
Any kid have been here, as
long as I have gonna four.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
How you’re gonna leave the facility,
that’s why. You know, I just can’t wait.

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
Uh… (inaudible) fly here today.

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
I jumped a fence and I went down
to ocean drive. I went over there,

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
and went on the dock and everything,
tasted the salty water.

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
Freedom, I was glad to be
out for a little while.

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
But I came back on my own will.

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
Oh, yeah. I wish I was a bird, be free.

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
I don’t want him be a homeless person living under
a bridge somewhere, that or prison is a direction

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
he said it right now, if you don’t,
you know, make some sort of a change.

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
And in some ways, Jeremy, I think,
you’d be better to not ever go home.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
To work on yourself and get into a foster
home. Yeah, I understand about that.

00:43:55.000 --> 00:44:00.000
[music]

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:13.000
[sil.]

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
It makes me mad when somebody says that

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
we really shouldn’t be spending time, energy and effort
on him, because I don’t see him in that… in that way.

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
[sil.]

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
I provided this trophy for them.

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
It’s kind of my marching content. Private
psychiatric industry in the state,

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
in the ‘80s, absolutely exploded and we had

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
a psychiatric hospital on every corner.

00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
[sil.] We were… we doing awful thing

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
as a profession. We were abusing insurance.

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
Psychiatry was abusing insurance. [sil.]

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
I was at the legislature,
seem like every week

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
for a year or two there working
with the… the insurance people

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
to develop standards that were reasonable.
You girls are very good.

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
But the pendulum swung over
to the point where insurance

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
simply does not cover mental health
anymore. The pendulum has swung away

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
uh… too far. In Austin, alone,

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
we went from one psychiatric
hospital with 220 beds

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
to uh… Shoal Creek has 42 beds.

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
And it’s the only show
in town what’s again.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
Very well, guys. It’s obvious we need to
work on what’s left and what’s right.

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
It’s just about impossible

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
to get adequate care today, unless
you’re a very rich. So the girls win.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
The girls win. Is everybody here?
Yes, every person is here.

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:15.000
Congratulations.

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
It’s great being here.

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
You know, it’s a beautiful day here, but
there’s a cloud over this building. Amen.

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
You all have been nice and long enough.
Right. Yeah.

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
I’m a physically conservative
limited government Republican.

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
The last place they wanna put your loved
ones is in jail. My son is in the system,

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
but in order for him to get funded, I’ve
had to give up parental rights to him.

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
I don’t have a son anymore. Texas,

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
quite simply has traded, has
traded treatment for handcuffs.

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
Didn’t have some way that we can do this without
me having to give up my parental rights

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
and put him in the custody of the state.
That’s a biblical sacrifice if you ask me.

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
You know, I agree 300%, I’m very much aware of it. I’ll appreciate
and you talk about it in there… On my behalf. Thank you very much.

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
And they really care about saving money,
they would put the money in treatment,

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
because once in the criminal justice system,
the cost to the taxpayer are increased

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
by the longer length of stay, the attorney fees, the
expert fees, the health and cost, the other medical cost.

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
The truly compassionate thing
to do is to provide treatment.

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
[sil.]

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
[music]

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
I don’t even really know.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
Well, I was sitting right on the kitchen table,
you know, just talking. All of a sudden,

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
she just wept, you know,
clean your own damn kitchen.

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
And I follow her in a room and I said, I was
sitting there washing this Lenin in the corner.

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
I said, \"Why, did you just get up and explode like there for
no reason at all?\" There she goes, \"You just don’t understand.

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
You just don’t understand.\" And I guess what I was
saying, like, I got her so anguish to just groin and

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
and brushed everything off her dresser,
and broke all this glass and stuff.

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
And then, she went in my room, and she
locked the door. She found my pills,

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
my nerve pills. I know she
did about 9 to 10 pills.

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
Next thing, you know, we got the bathroom door
open. She went out of my bathroom window.

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
And she jumped that back gate out there and
was gone. And she was gone all night alone.

00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
What could I have done to do this to her? Maybe we could
have been something, I said, maybe it was my fault.

00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
Umm… Maybe, I didn’t, you know, raise
her right or something, you know.

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
Oh, I think about 9:20 or 9:30 that Thursday
morning, and the school was calling me,

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
telling me that she had come to school. She was high.
She was out of her mind. She was talking irrationally

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
and they were fed up, calling the
ambulance and sent her to the hospital.

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
A crazy hospital. You only got one shoe,
Mommy. Let me just have (inaudible)

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
for… (inaudible). What does that mean?
I’ve tried, and tried, and tried

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
to work it on with her. I’ve tried to see where
she was coming from, I’ve tried talking with her,

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
I’ve tried… I’ve tried, I tried screaming with her, I’ve tried everything with her. I’m glad that’s she’s…
(inaudible) and then we’re go meet Michelle and I’ll be back. All right. We’re going to the umm… hospital

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
where’s she been admitted and I would just
go and check on her and take her some things

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
that she ask for. No, this is the
first time she’d ever be diagnosed.

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:58.000
If… if she’s diagnosed now, yeah, this is
the first time. Yeah. She’s been counseled,

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
but nobody’s ever just gotten
down and put on a label on it.

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
Michelle was a counselor at one time. She was very helpful.
She counseled her for about six, I think about six months

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
and tell you, we trust her a lot. And she
tell her a lot and they… they talked.

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
She has to go to the psychiatric hospital and at that
point, I’m going on, oh, no, I didn’t get to this.

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
Right. And… and unfortunately, I don’t
know if you’re aware of the situation

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
that the program that I was in when I worked with you,
received a 16% cut this year. Okay. So that may mean,

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
you may have to wait a little bit longer than usual to
get somebody out to your home. Okay. Umm… You know,

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
the whole Harris County and Fort Bend
County area was hit pretty hard.

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
It was very, very hard to leave her there. Even
though I knew that was the best place for her.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
And I feel like, I’m doing the right thing
for her. She may not feel like it, but I do.

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
And I tried very hard when she was
admitted, I tried very hard not to cry,

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
I think more to see me cry. When
I had to leave her up there,

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
I didn’t want her to see me cry.

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
[sil.]

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
[music]

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
Got a sense, this court report.
Jeremy allegedly umm…

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
throw a pool cue at another peer.
Did you get in a fight?

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
Not physically… No, it wasn’t a fight. At…
there, I didn’t hit anybody with the pool stick.

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
I… I went like this toward him. We checked
about the 15 minutes conservation

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
with what Jeremy started to accept any responsibility,
but still stated that he did not throw a pool cue.

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
So would you quit denying things, please?

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
Yes, ma’am. And obviously the
concerning and it’s simply then umm…

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
what’s seems in this in same behaviors, despite, little
positive umm… reinforcement on behalf of everybody involved.

00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
He’s doing well. And uh… but the
exception of this one incident,

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
he’s very motivated to do
placed with his brother.

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
Well, this is the place. If Jeremy were to move in here, he would be sleeping
on the couch. He keep all of his stuff in my room, I probably get him a

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
dress or whatever to put in my closet. I’ve got a dress right
now. You know, I still get all his furniture and bed and things.

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
I mean, she had whole bedroom suite at the house. It was
ordered that Jeremy may not have any contact with him,

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
it seems like it is prudent and very helpful
for Jeremy. What do you think about plans,

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
since he directly infects your life?
Umm… I say, it’s a good deal.

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
I just umm… would really like to see
Jeremy get his GDS’. How do you feel about

00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
working towards going with your brother
over your father as you decided last time?

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
Well, I got to try harder. I can get him
a job to where, you know, it’s flexible,

00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
you know, it’s uh… you know,
moving around boxes or whatever.

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
You’re not going with him until you control yourself.
Because, I know one thing about 21 year old,

00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
he’s struggling too. And I’m not gonna
put that extra burden on 21 year old,

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
if you can’t stand on your own two feet.

00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
I want to add that Jeremy gonna be 17 on
October 9, and if he does something else,

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
he gets charged. He’s gonna end up in the adult
system. And I don’t think he seems to understanding

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
the seriousness of this. You know, they’re saying that
I’m not ready for it. And, you know, Jeremy is a big…

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
a big deal, it’s a big job to
uh… take on and he probably is.

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
And I’m gonna tell you something.
I’m not smart.

00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
You seem to think, every time you come here and
it’s a love fest. All I have is 14 more months.

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
That you could lose
everything in 14 months,

00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
if you don’t learn to
control your behavior.

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
You gotta collect your handful people, I don’t
know how do you, you need to understand that.

00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
This time you do it. I’ve already told
the guy down there with our charges.

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
If you did… if you touch somebody and you’re gonna get accounted
and I’m gonna put a warrant in the system and hold you,

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
so you can’t make bail. You weren’t that serious? Well, you didn’t
even call. See, Jerry, that’s the concern. It was that serious.

00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
It is very serious. If you don’t get
it, and you can just sit at County,

00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
and believe me, they don’t care if you have
mental health issues, they’ll tell you whatever.

00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
You’ve got to really start figuring
out how you’re gonna manage yourself.

00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
I don’t want Jacob to set you up with the job and try to
help you out and you do something that jeopardize his job,

00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:30.000
or whatever job you have at the time. Because
you decide not to think before you act.

00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
[sil.]

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
So 5 o’clock to 6 o’clock, and 7 o’ clock.
That’s okay, that’s like Friday night.

00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
We’re going to see this family.

00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
And I’ve seen for two years. His
presentation was explosiveness,

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
rage, violence, learning problems, and
was in attention deficit disorder.

00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
You feel better don’t you? You
look like you feel better?

00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
You feel like, we held this self esteem. You
feel like you’ve better self-esteem. Mm-hmm.

00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
You feel like you’ve got some hope for the
future. You can get out of this town?

00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
When I feel overwhelmed with what
the problems are, I start thinking

00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
of places like Mississippi,
or Alabama, or California,

00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
and think it must be going
on all over the country.

00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:40.000
What went wrong? And I’m just
trying to find this house.

00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:45.000
[sil.]