Brighter Futures Begin with HOPE.

Monday, the Governor released an updated set of recommendations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget. One recommendation of concern includes the proposed budget for mental health service delivery in Mississippi.

The Revised Executive Budget Recommendation underfunds mental health services and, if followed, could lead to longer wait times for treatment of a person with a mental illness, the reduction of inpatient and community-based services and the possible closure of crisis centers. Additional cuts raise concerns. Following the budget reductions in 2010, 200 beds at the Mississippi State Hospital were eliminated, and a number of early intervention programs around the state were closed. Further cuts next year will lead to additional reductions in services to one of Mississippi’s most vulnerable populations.

The chart below illustrates the difference between the Governor’s recommendation, the Senate Recommendation, and the House Recommendation.

Click to enlarge

Any amount less than $252 million will lead to further reductions in services – especially in the delivery of care through community mental health centers. In the short term, the Mental Health budget should be funded at the minimum level required to maintain services. In the long term, Mississippi must take a balanced approach to building a budget that includes raising revenue instead of a cuts-only approach that hurts working families.

Learn more about what is lacking in Governor Barbour’s approach to solving the state’s budget woes in Sara Miller’s Letter to the Editor, featured in Tuesday’s Hattiesburg American.