Massachusetts Governor Adds $12.8M for Mental Health

Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci (R) plans to submit a budget that includes $12.8 million in new funding for mental health care, administration sources said Jan. 18, the Boston Globe reports. According to two state officials, the funding increases -- designed to ease a "funding crisis" that has delayed "proper outpatient care" for hundreds of patients in hospitals -- include $6 million for mentally ill adults, $4.8 million for children and $2 million for the homeless mentally ill. More specifically, the state will spend $6 million to fund community beds for 235 adults and provide 24-hour case management for 480 new clients living in private housing. Massachusetts will also spend $4.8 million on integrated services from numerous state agencies that help families care for children at home and $2 million to fund between 25 and 35 intermediate beds and between 40 and 67 community beds for homeless individuals suffering from mental illness, state officials said. Still, the Globe reports, "It's not an instant solution," citing the 3,000 adults and 130 children statewide waiting for community-based mental health services. "Like many advocates, we will be asking ... for additional sums," Tim O'Leary, deputy director of the Massachusetts Mental Health Association, said, adding, "But this is a terrific commitment." However, the proposal will not "head off" two lawsuits that groups of lawyers have "threatened" against the state, Frank Laski, executive director of the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee, one of the groups negotiating with the state, said. "What we want is a comprehensive plan. If this were part of a trend which would incrementally move the department's budget up so it could adequately meet the growing need, that would be a good sign," he said (Barnard, Boston Globe, 1/19).