Fund mental health care

The Cullman (Ala.) Times: Mental health care is a growing concern and need among many Alabamians, but the state budget crisis and scarce understanding of the service’s value is raising concerns among health professionals.

Gov. Robert Bentley is wanting to move more of the mental health care services to community-based facilities, which is not a particularly bad idea. The problem is that the governor was ready to shut down state hospitals that provide psychiatric care before community plans are fully in place. He has recently backed off closing the hospitals until more answers can be found for funding community-based care.

State mental health professionals are asking the governor to keep one state-sponsored hospital open in the long-term to provide a facility as one more option for communities to have in dealing with mental health issues.

What is being lost in this issue at the political level is an understanding of the tremendous difficulties families face in finding suitable or available facilities to house those who need limited or long-term hospitalization for psychiatric treatment. The truth is that most families are unable and unqualified to deal with many of the issues in mental health without the assistance of hospitals to provide intense treatment away from the home.

Alabama’s pride in locking up droves of lawbreakers has been a tremendous drain of state tax dollars. Money would have been better spent through the years on release programs with supervision to steer some non-violent criminals back into mainstream society.