Local mental health agencies losing ground
Source: By ALISA ULFERTS, St Petersburg Times (FL), December 14, 2006
…… Florida has between two and three times the number of severely mentally ill residents than the national average, yet the state ranks 48th in the country for per capita public spending on mental health care, according to NAMI. Per-capita mental health spending by Department of Children and Families, when adjusted for inflation, is less now than it was 10 years ago. And the privatization of Medicaid mental health services — in which the state controls costs by contracting with HMOs, which then subcontract with community providers — has forced some community mental health organizations to cut staff and even consider closing shop altogether.