University Daily Kansan, July 13, 1984
Page 7
CAMPUS AND AREA
Rape shield not endorsed in local trial
By CAROLYN COLEMAN Staff Reporter
A Douglas County associate district court judge approved a motion recently to admit testimony regarding the prior sexual activity of the complainant in a local rape trial.
While the Kansas "rape-shield" law normally forbids such courtroom revelations, in this case, James Paddock, the associate district court judge, decided that the woman's prior conduct with the defendant pertained directly to the issue of consent.
MAYO FELIZ, 1722 West 24th St., was charged June 15 with one count of rape after the complainant, a KU student, told police that Feliz raped her after she let him into her apartment in the 1700 block of West 24th Street.
"With the rape shield law, the court is trying to make the distinction between sexual activity and sexual violence - you don't ask people who've been robbed how many times they've given to charity," said Jana Svoboda, co-director of Rape Victim Support Service.
"I can't comment on this particular case because I don't know anything about it, but an exception to the law could be a benefit to the victim when consent is an issue and there is past involvement," she said.
Svoboda said that in such cases, the prosecution could use the past to show the jury the difference between sexual relations and sexual violence.
"THAT DISTINCTION isn't very clear in a lot of people's minds."
Bill Ronan, assistant district attorney and prosecutor of the case, said that he would object to the admission of such evidence at the July 18 trial, but that he couldn't do anything before the trial to appeal Paddock's decision.
His objection, which he said would probably be overruled, will give him the right to appeal the case to a higher court after Judge Paddock decides it at the district court level.
Feliz pleaded not guilty at his preliminary hearing on June 22. His attorney, Joseph Shepack, 3412 Harvard Rd., presented no evidence at the hearing.
In his July 2 motion to admit testimony that would otherwise be excluded by the "rape-shield" law, Shepack alleged that the June 10 incident occurred with mutual consent.
HE SAID THAT during the trial he would dispute the complainant's claim that Feliz pulled out some of her hair and tried to choke her in order to force her compliance.
In his decision, Paddock wrote that he was aware of the legislative message to judges and attorneys that prior sexual activity of a victim is not generally relevant.
He wrote that he would only allow questioning about the complainant's most recent sexual contact with the defendant prior to the alleged rape.
The judge also wrote that he wouldn't allow the defendant's attorney to go into any great detail in his questions on the subject.
Agencies aid mentally ill
By MICHELE HINGER Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
Hospitals, and the fear of the unknown that often goes with them, can be a source of stress to a mental health patient.
A "Hospital Without Walls," one of several projects planned by three mental health agencies, will enable clients to be treated at home, removing the stress of being in familiar surroundings of a hospital.
THREE MENTAL HEALTH facilities are teaming up to create a headquarters for research projects such as the "Hospital Without Walls," including a family support system for disturbed children and an extended case management program.
The mental health research laboratory, a joint effort of the Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services, the Rainbow Mental Health Facility and the KU School of Social Welfare, will open July 15 at the Rainbow Unit in Kansas City, Kan.
Charles Rapp, assistant dean of the School of Social Welfare, said that instead of each agency generating and following through on single projects, "we wanted a critical mass that was more systematic."
RAPP MET ABOUT six months ago with Gerald Hannah, Kansas commissioner of mental health, and Jack Southwick, superintendent of the Rainbow Unit, which is located near the KU Medical Center, to hammer out a rough plan for the lab.
Although the School of Social Welfare has a long history of working with both the SRS and the
"The people involved with this see the importance because it's compatible with their interests," Rapp said. "When we combine our resources we all three get benefits. We can do together what we can't do alone."
rambow Unit, a division of SRS,
this project is the first in which all three agencies have worked together.
The SRS Division of Mental Health and the School of Social Welfare each pitched in $3,500 to start the program. This was small change to the state agency. Rapp said.
"IN THESE DAYS of tight university budgeting," said James Taylor, professor of social welfare, "Td say it was probably a fair amount for the school, though."
Additional funding will come from private donations, corporations, the National Institute of Mental Health and grants.
The "Hospital Without Walls" will provide intensive community-based service to mental patients to avoid hospitalization.
The board members have several projects in mind to start when the lab opens.
"When a person enters the hospital, even if it's needed, his connections with the community, his job, his relationship with family and friends are severed." Rapp said. "Things that lead to his integration with his surroundings are cut off."
WITH THE PROPER service, Rapp said, the hospitalization of many patients can be avoided, which is an advantage to the patient and an economic bonus to the state.
Each day of hospitalization for a patient costs the state about $150, Rapp said.
Children's specialized foster homes will be considered as an option to hospitalization for disturbed children or housing in regular foster homes.
"We'd like to see them in a family living arrangement," Rapp said, "but in selected homes with trained foster parents."
Living with the biological parents is usually not a viable option for mentally ill children, Rapp said.
"Most of the time the kids are too difficult and the parents too limited," said Rapp.
A THIRD PLAN, the case management program completed by the school in May, would be expanded and evaluated on its effectiveness with chronically ill patients.
This program teamed social work students with patients to offer an individualized support system. Case managers helped patients reach their goals by joining them on everyday activities like looking for jobs, going to the movies and joining clubs. In some cases, they also helped them in avoiding drugs and alcohol.
Decreasing the number of hospital stays is a goal of the case management program.
Thirty percent of the patients who leave the Rainbow Unit eventually return, Rapp said.
"WE DON'T CURE the patients," said Rapp. "But we can stabilize them. They need ongoing care. The problem with a hospital is that, like a medical hospital, it's designed for acute care."
More children need mental health care
By MICHELE HINGER Staff Reporter
Children represented the largest increase in new clients in 1983 at the Bert Hass Community Mental Health Center, Inc., 338 Missouri St., Chris Petr, director of Children's Outpatient Services, said.
The children treated at the center tended to be younger and have more severe problems than children in the past, he said, although he was at a loss to explain the reason for the 56 percent increase from 171 to 307 patients at the Children's Outpatient Services.
"A LOT OF people attribute it to the higher number of broken families, divorce, un-employment." he said. "But there doesn't seem to be a particular thing to point to. A high percentage of the children we treat come from broken homes, but not exclusively. The divorce rate is high, though, and it's a sociological trend that's different from the past, and something we look at."
The health center treated more preschool-aged children than in the past. Petr said, many of whom were sexually abused. The reason for the increase in younger children requiring services was hard to explain.
Recognition of the children who need mental counseling has increased, he said, because of a combined effort from the local Social and Rehabilitation Services, the district attorney and the police to identify victims of sexual abuse and direct them to counseling services.
AN APPRENT INCREASE in teenage suicides has been discussed at the last two children's committee meetings. Petra said
Petr said that the increase was a national trend, or at least statewide, but that the actual statistics had not been compiled.
"Keeping statistics for this subject is hard," said Petr. "There's no one place to count the numbers, but it's a sense in the community. More teen suicides seem to be happening, and there's a shared feeling that more kids seem to have serious problems than in the past."
A therapeutic pre-school is one long-range goal of the center, Petr said. Such a program of daily activities for children with severe problems would replace the current one of two-hour sessions with the family or individual.
A SPECIALIZED sexual abuse treatment team for Children's Outpatient Services treated 37 children and their families in 1983 Another branch of the Bert Nash Center, Behavioral Medicine Services, helped five children with mental or physical health problems.
The Bert Nash Center received $4,500 from the Kansas Crime Victims Reparation Board to go on the care awareness of child sexual abuse.
The number of new clients at the Nash Center in 1983 was 932, a 20 percent increase from 1982 figures, Sandra Shaw, executive director, said.
Seventy-seven percent of the clients were 18 or older, 54 percent were female.
Lawrence Aquahawks host swim meet this weekend
By MICKI SAMPSON Staff Reporter
Members of the Lawrence Aquahawks splashed and kicked their way through a one-hour work out last night in last minute preparation for the competition that awaits them tomorrow at the Lawrence Municipal Pool, Eighth and Kentucky Streets.
The Aquahawks will be hosting their annual Missouri Valley class swim meet tomorrow and Sunday in representing 27 teams competing.
Members of the Aquahawks, a private swimming team made up of Lawrence residents, some KU swim team members and anyone who would join, are expected to adhere to a sometimes grueling practice schedule
Practices for select swimmers are sometimes held at 5:30 a.m. and again in the evening, said Bob Green, meet director.
Green said that swimming for the team required discipline, which
"But they're still hide," he said.
Swimmers, ranging in age from 6 to 22, will be competing according to #8.
caused the younger children to act more professionally.
"But they're still kids," he said. Clayton Cagle, Aquahawks coach and the KU assistant swim team coach, said that 70 Lawrence swimmers will be competing against swimmers from the four-state region for the meet, which will be larger than usual.
"Our meet has been getting larger each year," Green said.
He also said that he had turned away 300 swimmers since the appliance was out.
Having so many swimmers competing at the meet could bring advantages as well as disadvantages, he said.
The swimmers would have more competition than usual, Green said, but the meet could be hectic and run longer than most people desired.
The team is coached by Cagle and Gary Kempf, Kempf, head coach of the KU swim team, usually assists Cagle in coaching the Aquahawks, but is taking a leave of absence after coaching some KU swimmers before the Olympic trials.
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