All over the country, governors are finally beginning to propose new mental health services funding in the aftermath of last year’s mass shootings
in Aurora and Sandy Hook.
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| Notes: OH funding is from existing OHT appropriation. CT funding is bond money, some of which may be used by non-MHSA providers. |
There will be a long road back to policy sanity. We have to dig ourselves out of the mess
caused by $4.6 billion in state mental health cuts over the last few
years. But these governors give us hope
that the funding-cut nightmare over which many of them have presided may be
finally coming to an end.
In recent weeks, both
Republicans and Democrats have announced new community behavioral health
funding initiatives, typically ranging between $5 million and $20 million.
But support for community mental health services is not
universal. In states with the worst
track records in funding mental health services, their governors continue to be
sadly out of step with their colleagues across the nation.
In Idaho, which
has recently dropped to the bottom of mental health services spending, Governor
Butch Otter’s major mental health initiative in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook
shooting is for $70 million to construct a 579-bed “secure mental health
facility” on the grounds of the state’s prison south of Boise. That would be considered progressive by late
19th century standards.
At least Otter’s proposing to do something.
Florida has been
at or near the bottom of mental health spending for years. But Governor Rick Scott – whose
administration just cut millions more away from community mental health
services in October – seems to think that if he just ignores the problem it
will go away. He
requested no new dollars for mental health services in his 2014 budget.
But in the rest of
the country, the emerging news is much better.
In the last month or so:
According
to the Lansing State Journal, Michigan
Governor Rick Snyder said he will seek $5 million in new funding for mental
health services to identify young people with mental health needs. Michigan has cut $124 million from community
mental health programs since 2004.
In Missouri, where
eighteen months ago Anna
Brown’s death in a St. Louis jail after she was refused care in a hospital
emergency room drew national attention, Governor
Jay Nixon is proposing $10 million in new mental health funding, primarily
for a hospital emergency room diversion program.
In Colorado, Governor
John Hickenlooper, whose state suffered through the Aurora mass shooting last
summer, has proposed spending $18.5 million in new funding, including over
$10 million for five urgent care centers for people with mental illness and a
statewide 24-hour hotline.
In Connecticut,
the site of the Sandy Hook massacre, Governor Dan Malloy proposed
$20 million in new bond funding to assist community behavioral health
providers with infrastructure projects that providers say have either been set
aside because of budget cuts or have been draining money needed for direct
services.
Kansas Governor
Sam Brownback, saying
that he was committed to strengthening the state’s community mental health
system, announced his support for an additional $10 million to increase
funding to 27 community mental health centers and to establish a regional
system of peer support, intensive case management, crisis intervention, and
other evidence-based services.
Oklahoma Governor
Mary Fallin announced that she will seek $16 million in new mental health
services funding - $8 million for existing programs and $8 million for new
programs, including early intervention programs for children and a new
state-supported mental health crisis center.
And in Ohio, Governor John Kasich
reported that he was authorizing the expenditure of $5 million from an
Office of Health Transformation discretionary fund to support children’s crisis
intervention services.
These represent just a handful of states taking action, but
a cross-section as well.
The reasons the governors made these proposals may
vary. Some governors may be avoiding gun
control debates. Others may still
erroneously equate mental illness with violence.
The mental health
funding initiatives the governors are proposing, however, are needed.
The governors are working to improve community mental health systems. They are calling for early identification and
treatment of mental illnesses in children, adding new crisis intervention services,
and addressing other neglected priorities in their own states.
And while the numbers may pale in comparison to the cuts
made in recent years and won’t undo the damage overnight, they are steps in the
right direction.
These steps should be embraced by legislators in their
states, and in states with less understanding governors.
To reach Paul Gionfriddo via email: gionfriddopaul@gmail.com. Twitter: @pgionfriddo. Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.gionfriddo. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paulgionfriddo/
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