Dartmouth PRS Students Testify About NH Mental Health and Budget Cuts

Rockefeller Center Policy Research Shop students Caroline Buck '13 and David Lumbert '12 posing with Representative James MacKay,  Chair of the New Hampshire Behavioral Health Caucus, at the PRS Mental Health Testimony in Concord, NH on March 29, 2011.

On March 29, 2011, two students from the Policy Research Shop at the Rockefeller Center testified before the New Hampshire Behavioral Health Caucus, comprised of State Representatives, State Senators, and other stakeholders interested in behavioral health issues. The students, Caroline Buck '13 and David Lumbert '12, presented the results of an intensive study of the current status of mental health services in New Hampshire and the consequences of a series of budget cutbacks.

The students consolidated information from a decentralized system and highlighted some common challenges facing facilities across the state. Their work included interviews with directors of Community Mental Health Centers and synthesis of state data and other secondary research. They provided a comprehensive picture by focusing on direct internal effects on patients and employees as well as on indirect effects on emergency rooms, prisons, and shelters.  The report presented to the Caucus was also co-authored by Rick D'Amato '13, who was unable to attend the meeting as he is currently participating in a Dartmouth LSA Program in Barcelona, Spain.

The Policy Research Shop is supported in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) program.