Opinion: Calif. Mental Health Programs Misspending Funds
In a Capitol Weekly opinion piece, DJ Jaffe -- founder and executive director of Mental Illness Policy Org. -- and Mary Bernard -- an attorney for Mental Illness Policy Org. -- write that many county mental health departments have accepted state mental health funding through Proposition 63 but "have intentionally diverted funds away from severe mental illness." Jaffe and Bernard offer examples of counties that use Prop. 63 funds for programs that do not target people with severe mental illnesses. They write, "Laws and regulations should be put in place to ensure services that help the severely ill ⦠go to the front of the funding line, rather than the back."
- "Opinion: In California's System of Care for the Mentally Ill, Leadership Is Lacking" (Jaffe/Bernard, Capitol Weekly, 8/25).