The Legal Justice Program’s Mission
The Legal Justice program aims to expand knowledge of perinatal mental health disorders as they relate to the legal system.
What We Do
- Provide Education, awareness, and guidance for professionals involved in the legal system.
- Cultivate perinatal mental health specialists to evaluate and testify in cases involving perinatal mental health disorders.
- Support women and families involved in the legal system due to perinatal mental illness.
Get Help
If you or someone you know is involved in the legal system: criminal, family, or employment, as a result of their perinatal mental health disorder, and you would like their attorney to be connected with a perinatal mental health expert witness.
If you are an attorney and you think your client may be experiencing a perinatal mental health disorder, and would like further education for yourself.
Join Our Mission
If you are a professional with experience at the junction of perinatal mental health and the law, help us advance our mission. We are always looking to add professionals to our referral lists.
Not a professional, but still want to help? Consider a monetary donation or become a PSI member.
The Legal Justice Program’s Origin
The Yates Children Memorial Fund (YCMF) was co-founded by George and Mary Parnham after defending Andrea Yates in Houston, TX, in 2001. They partnered with Mental Health America (MHA) to provide maternal mental health education to the public in an effort to prevent these tragedies from happening in the future. Andrea was not the first mother suffering from postpartum psychosis (PPP) to be unjustly convicted of murder, nor, unfortunately, was she the last. Although we have only scratched the surface of this problem in the US justice system, which falls far behind other developed nations in terms of its legal handling of maternal mental illness, their work with MHA did have an impact, as Andrea’s retrial yielded a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.
Until these tragedies are eradicated, our work will continue and never end. Now under PSI’s umbrella, the YCMF Legal Justice Program continues its mission to both educate and support.
We ask you to renew your commitment to make change—to educate—to reach out—to encourage—to shatter the awful stigma around mental health—and to speak up for change.
We know so many who advocate for change in the world of maternal mental health have had their own experiences. To all of you, we see you, we hear you, and we are grateful that you have made your way to PSI and are working to support and engage in our mission. We couldn’t do this work without you.
