Los Angeles County Gets $70M for Mental Health Care
Los Angeles County on Friday received $70 million in Proposition 63 funds for mental health care and services, the Los Angeles Times reports. The county is the first in the state to receive an allocation.
On Tuesday, county officials and a community board will begin reviewing which programs should receive the funds. Voters approved Proposition 63 -- a 1% additional tax on state residents earning $1 million or more annually -- in November 2004.
Los Angeles County will receive the largest portion of the $300 million in Proposition 63 funds available this year. Of the $70 million that the county will receive, $45 million will be used for programs, including coordinating services for about 5,000 people with chronic mental illnesses. The remaining funds will be used for one-time expenses.
An estimated 18,000 adults and children are expected to benefit this year from the expansion of services. More money is expected to go to downtown Los Angeles and other areas with high numbers of homeless, low-income and mentally ill residents (Reitman, Los Angeles Times, 3/4).