An editorial in the Columbus Dispatch from Tracy Plouck, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services:
I’m pleased to report that mental health is a key area of focus in Ohio’s public-policy agenda. With Gov. John Kasich’s leadership, our state recently extended health benefits (including access to mental-health and addiction treatment) for low-income Ohioans. This is a huge step forward for people who are working and paying taxes, but can’t afford health care.
We’re investing in direct services instead of state bureaucracy. The consolidation of two cabinet agencies last year saved more than $1.5 million in administrative costs. That money is now going to partnerships with county jails to improve linkages to community-based mental-health and addiction treatment. Funding will continue in 2015.
...We’ve been recognized as a national leader in assisting people with mental illness who want to move out of nursing facilities and into home- and community-based settings. It is also imperative to support families that are at a crisis point due to a loved one’s episodes of mental illness. With this in mind, last summer Kasich launched “Strong Families, Safe Communities,” putting $5 million toward meeting the needs of young people with mental illness, a developmental disability or both.
So far, funding is authorized for 20 counties so that local partners can add respite beds for families, strengthen mobile crisis teams or train law enforcement and educators in trauma-informed care and mental-health first aid.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2014/01/18/were-investing-in-mental-health.html
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