Local News in Brief : County Suit Threatened
Lawyers for several indigent clients of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health warned Tuesday that they will sue the county if special public hearings are not held to review proposed cuts in local mental health clinics.
In a letter to Board of Supervisors Chairman Deane Dana, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles joined attorneys from several other organizations in contending that new hearings are required to determine whether the proposed cuts will harm the county poor.
The cuts include the planned closure of 11 mental health clinics and reduced services at seven other facilities as part of an effort to trim $11.2 million from the department budget. The supervisors held budget hearings earlier this month.
But the Legal Aid Foundation lawyers, as well as attorneys for Mental Health Advocacy Services Inc. and San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, say special hearings are called for under the Beilenson Act, a state law that requires counties contemplating health care reductions to hold public hearings and give 30 days’ notice beforehand.
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