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The U.S. Justice Department sued Mississippi on Thursday, saying the state is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by "unnecessarily and illegally" making mentally ill people go into state-run psychiatric hospitals. The state has failed to provide community-based services that would enable people with mental illnesses to have meaningful interaction with friends and family and to make decisions about work and daily life, says the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Jackson. It also says life in an institution leads to stigma, isolation and learned helplessness. (Pettus, 8/11)

Jenna banged her fists against a cinder-block wall at Rikers Island while two correction officers and a therapist hovered nearby. “I have the power, you do not!” screamed Jenna as she paced wildly in her cell. Jenna is actually Erin Shields, one of the actors who regularly come to the New York City jail complex, change into orange prison-uniform pants and play the role of inmate to teach correction and health staff how to defuse conflicts with the mentally ill. (Ramey, 8/11)

A state representative and a national patient rights group are calling for a federal investigation into the Secure Psychiatric Unit at the state prison in Concord. Mental health patients considered a danger to themselves or others are incarcerated in the psychiatric unit at the state prison for men, even if they have committed no crime, because New Hampshire — unlike 47 other states — has no other place to put them. (Solomon, 8/11)

Legislation that would require better transparency and tracking of mental health services for foster kids in every California county unanimously passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 1291, by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would institute more stringent annual oversight of county Medi-Cal mental health plans' services to foster youth. Services may include screenings, assessments, psychiatric hospitalizations, crisis interventions, case management, and psychotropic drugs, among other treatments. (Seipel, 8/11)

After decades of failing to push through reforms from Congress, advocates representing more than 30 million Americans with eating disorders are celebrating a rare moment of progress on Capitol Hill. For the first time ever, legislation specifically aimed at combating and expanding access to treatment for anorexia and bulimia among other disorders is quietly moving through Congress and has a shot at passage this fall. The Anna Westin Act, which is tucked into broader bipartisan mental health reform legislation approved by the House this summer, targets insurers who deny coverage for expensive inpatient treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars — a common practice despite existing laws requiring equal coverage of mental health care, advocates say. It also creates first-of-their-kind federal programs for prevention and early detection activities, such as training staff at schools to spot signs of eating disorders. (Ehley, 8/11)