Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/mental-health/)
Orange County jails could widen their funding to treat inmates with mental illnesses while they’re incarcerated, under a bill proposed by California State Senator Tom Umberg (D – Santa Ana).
Last year, as county officials were hauled into federal court over a shortage of homeless shelters, Voice of OC reported the stockpiled mental health funds had reached $186 million beyond the reserves.
One of OC’s next homeless shelters could be headed for the affluent south county suburbs, the judge warns after citing a lack of progress by elected officials to create a mental health shelter.
Telecare Corp. has repeatedly declined to comment on complaints it failed to provide health treatment it was supposed to, didn’t clean dirty rooms at a facility it was overseeing, and unnecessarily escalated a situation with a patient into a physical confrontation.
Matt Holzmann, vice chair for Orange County’s Mental Health Board, talks about the unique opportunity facing public officials in Orange County to create a national funding and programming model for mental health programming at every spectrum, from those facing an immediate crisis, to those in need of permanent supportive housing.
The proposed mental health center is seen by advocates and officials as a major step toward addressing a severe shortage of mental health service options in Orange County. There was no word Tuesday on when services will start at the property.
The recommendations are aimed at diverting mentally ill people from jails into treatment, which county officials say would improve public safety by reducing crime, while also saving taxpayer dollars.
The proposed center – next to a freeway, office buildings, and the Santa Ana River – is seen by advocates and officials as a major step toward addressing a severe shortage of mental health services.
During this Mental Illness Awareness Week, Matt Holzmann writes that we should all see ourselves as first responders when it comes to mental health, warning we can’t just leave public safety officers alone in dealing with mentally ill in our communities. Instead, Holzmann notes that education and early intervention are key to successful outcomes.
A contract dispute between Magellan Healthcare and CalOptima, the county’s health plan for low-income and elderly residents, may have left some of CalOptima’s 710,000 patients without mental health care when, for nine days in July, Magellan refused to process Medi-Cal payment claims.