New state funding for Arizonans with serious mental illnessesreturns some of the services they lost two years ago and paves theway for a temporary agreement in a decades-old class-actionlawsuit. The budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, which Gov. JanBrewer signed Monday, includes $38.7 million to restore housing,counseling and other services to people with serious mentalillnesses who don't qualify for Medicaid. That's less than the roughly $50 million cut in 2010, and thetwo-year deal doesn't end the 30-year-old court case. But the moneyrepresents a significant turnaround in a lengthy legal battle overtreatment of some of the state's most vulnerable residents. About 12,000 people lost a raft of services to budget-balancingreduction. Mental-health advocates and state officials say the newfunding brings opportunities for people to recover and thrive withgreater emphasis on employment, life skills and peer-supportprograms. "Our overarching principle is to invest this on the front end, notthe back end, in community-support systems to keep peoplehealthier," said Arizona Department of Health Services DirectorWill Humble, who oversees the state's behavioral-health system. "Itreally has been a priority in the Governor's Office to get some ofthose resources back." The July 2010 budget cuts came weeks after the state and attorneysin the Arnold vs. Sarn lawsuit agreed to put the case on hold for two years, in part toprevent lawmakers from repealing the law that underpins it. The lawsuit sought to protect the rights of the seriously mentallyill under an Arizona law that requires the state to provide anarray of community services, such as medication, therapy, housingand transportation. Later this month, the governor and attorneys for the mentally illare expected to announce a new two-year deal. In the meantime, they'll continue to negotiate terms intended toensure treatment for people with serious mental illnesses andeventually bring an end to the case, first filed in 1981. By the end of the two-year agreement, increased Medicaideligibility under federal health-care reform -- if it's allowed totake effect -- would cover most, if not all, of the seriouslymentally ill who now fall in the non-Medicaid category. The state will agree to use the additional funding for a package ofservices that include job, living-skills and housing programs andexpansion of organizations run by and for people living withschizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. Health officials also will use existing state funding to alloweveryone diagnosed with a serious mental illness to receivebrand-name psychiatric drugs, regardless of his or her income,beginning July 1. In 2010, the state forced thousands of people toswitch to generic medication if they were ineligible for Medicaid. Ann Rider, executive director of the Recovery Empowerment Network,which runs six community drop-in centers in metro Phoenix, saidplans for the new funding recognize that there is far more totreating mental illness than medication. Some people can thrivewith therapy and other programs that support their recovery withoutdrugs. "Meds are one tool of many, many, many tools to help peoplerecover," Rider said. "There are so many more options and many moreopportunities to help people get back on their feet." In 2010, Brewer, faced with a brutal recession, called for a repealof the law requiring the state to provide services to help balancethe budget. As a compromise, the sides agreed to a two-year stay inthe lawsuit that allowed the state to cut about $50 million inservices for people who earned too much to qualify for Medicaid. Hundreds of people with serious mental illnesses dropped out ofsight, dozens lost housing and thousands lost access to group andindividual therapy, transportation and community centers. Serviceproviders laid off hundreds of case managers. Mental-health-service providers say the new funding is welcome, butpeople have struggled mightily over the past two years. "I wish the government of Arizona would stop using people like theywere yo-yos -- up and down, up and down, services, no services --just because of how much money they make," said Mitch Klein, CEO ofCHEEERS Center, a peer-run Phoenix drop-in agency that serves about400 people. "Treat people who need help, when they need it.". I am an expert from colorglitterpowder.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Nail Glitter Powder , Acrylic Glitter Powder, Acrylic Glitter Powder,and more.
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