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National Screening for "Mental Illness"
(Not up to date)

One of the many recommendations of the "President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health," is "Early Mental Health Screening, Assessment, and Referral to Services," (see page 57).  While it does not appear that many of the other recommendations are being implemented yet, it seems that the pharmaceutical companies have really picked up the ball and are running with it to push this screening.  Of course, under the current system, it ends up being a way for the pharmaceutical companies to increase the already high percentage of children on psychiatric drugs. 

International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP) Forms

See, also, The Dangers of Mental Health Screening, Nathaniel S. Lehrman, M.D., Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 11 Number 3 Fall 2006.   

A good description of the problem is TeenScreen - Who Pays For Treatment & Drugs?,  May 28, 200, By: Evelyn Pringle, Independent Media TV.  Another article by Ms. Pringle TeenScreen -- Another Gross Distortion was published July 29, 2005.  See, also TeenScreen on PsychSearch.Net.

The British Medical Journal has run some articles on this, and the American Psychiatric Association has bragged that it successfully blunted coverage of this in the mainstream media here in the US:

11. Freedom Commission Roadmap Awaited
The release of the first iteration of the roadmap to operationalize the findings of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health is imminent. We will disseminate the document when it is unveiled. On a related note, the British Medical Journal, in anticipation of the roll-out, alleged in a disjointed story that the Bush administration will announce a plan to screen all Americans for mental disorders and promote antidepressant and antipsychotic drug use – allegations which we are told are well beyond the scope of anything the administration has planned and which seem to stem from a psychiatric survivors group. The BMJ story has gained some traction in derivative reports on the Internet, though mainstream media have not touched the story, in part thanks to APA’s work, for which the administration is appreciative.

The main focus, at least initially, is on kids.  The 1998 Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) as amended by the 2003 No Child Left Behind Act, which is codified at 42 USC §1232h(b)(2), states:

No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning - . . .

(2) mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family; . . .

without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent.

Thus, parents seem to have the legal right to refuse this drugging dragnet if there are any federal funding involved.  Psychrights has prepared a form of letter to exercise this right.

At this point, we know that California, Illinois,  New Jersey, Pennsylvania are moving forward to implement "screening" in the schools.  Illinois is including pregnant mothers.  PsychRights wrote a letter to the State of Illinois on July 22, 2004.

On October 6, 2004, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas introduced the "Let Parents Raise Their Kids Act of 2004," under HR 5236.  This act would prohibit the use of federal funds for universal or mandatory mental health screening and prohibit any federal education funding going to any agency that uses the refusal to consent to screening as a basis for an abuse or neglect charge.  You can send a message to Congress opposing funding for screening.

On November 12, 2004, Jim Gottstein of the Law Offices of James B. Gottstein wrote a letter to  Ted Stevens, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding funding for screening.  On November 18, 2004, Senator Stevens responded.

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Last modified 11/24/2008 (but out of date)
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