Southern Arizona Mental Health Agency Cuts Services to 300 Children

The Community Partnership of Southern Arizona last week announced cuts to certain mental health services for children who do not qualify for state or federal assistance, which could mean about 300 children will have to find new behavioral health providers, the Arizona Daily Star reports. CPSA, which oversees mental health funding for Pima, Graham, Santa Cruz, Greenlee and Cochise counties, will cut funding for case management, psychiatric evaluations and visits, hospitalization, residential treatment services and group home and day treatment services for children who do not qualify for government-subsidized health services. CPSA is the only regional behavioral health authority in Arizona that provides free services. Approximately 600 of the 5,500 children who receive care through CPSA do not receive government assistance; CPSA CEO Neal Cash said that many of the 600 children are eligible but not enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System or KidsCare, the state's Medicaid and CHIP programs, respectively. Although children who do qualify and enroll in either CHIP or Medicaid can continue to receive all services through CPSA, children of undocumented immigrants will be impacted the most by the cuts because they cannot apply for government assistance, Cash said. CPSA will continue to provide children not receiving government assistance with outpatient group therapy, individual and family therapy and services for children in crisis. But Leslie Cohen, executive director of the Arizona Center for Disability Law, said, "Under the new policy of CPSA, these children would be able to get crisis services, but that's it. Now these children with behavioral and emotional problems will have to get to the level of crisis before they can get any help" (Machelor, Arizona Daily Star, 9/9).