People suffering from the early stages of mental illness may
soon receive help in San Benito County, thanks to a statewide tax
on the rich approved by voters in November.
Hollister – People suffering from the early stages of mental illness may soon receive help in San Benito County, thanks to a statewide tax on the rich approved by voters in November.
Proposition 63, approved by voters Nov. 2, levies a 1 percent tax on Californians for income they make in excess of $1 million a year. The money is supposed to radically change the way mental health programs are administered in California, according to Alan Yamamoto, San Benito County’s mental health director.
“It’s really about the first time in 30 years that any new money has appeared for mental health,” Yamamoto said. “Hopefully, we’re going to see some expanded services and a reduction of mental illness.”
California hasn’t determined how much money each county will receive for mental health, or approved San Benito’s application for $86,000 in planning funds. But the mental health department has started the planning process anyway, meeting regularly with a group of officials from probation, health and human services, education, senior programs, the Board of Supervisors and other organizations.
Yamamoto said his department has also distributed surveys to county departments and other organizations involved in treating mental health. The initial feedback has favored spending the money for early intervention programs, especially for children, he said.
“It’s much better for people to not have to go through the anguish and all the impact of being severely mentally ill,” he said. “In the long run, I think everyone will benefit from this.”
The mental health director said prevention is only one piece of the puzzle; the tax money is also supposed to pay for education and training programs, new buildings and technology.
Deborah Botts, San Benito County’s chief probation officer, said the group will identify its priorities at its next meeting on May 19. She said from a probation standpoint, early intervention is crucial in treating mental health problems.
“My hope is instead of just focusing on the children, there’ll be a lot of family involvement as well as correcting the sort of dysfunction I often see in my line of work,” she said.
Botts said identifying mental illness early takes cooperation from many different agencies and groups.
“Sometimes it’s the schools, sometimes it’s children protective services, the detention facilities, the probation department or the service providers, such as drug and alcohol programs.”
San Benito could receive as much as $900,000 a year by some estimates. The money will supplement the county’s annual mental health budget of $3.2 million. Yamamoto said California is supposed to determine a funding formula for all counties by May 15, and could begin distributing funds as soon as October.
“If this is successful, we won’t be seeing as many people hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals, we won’t be seeing as many people in long-term mental health services, we won’t be seeing as many people on psychiatric medications,” Yamamoto said. “In theory, if this is successful, this is where we should be.”
Surveys are available to the public at the county mental health and probation buildings. For more information, contact the mental health department at 636-4020.
