Support Spending Policy

If you’re going to take money designated for mental health services and spend it on something else, at least let the public know what you’re up to.

That’s the gist of a recommendation to Ventura County officials endorsed last week by the county’s Mental Health Board. The Board of Supervisors is expected to consider the matter Tuesday.

It’s a sensible policy--one that ought to be standard operating procedure in all government departments. The board should have no qualms about supporting it.

The issue arose after it was reported that Ventura County, like 17 other California counties, has been quietly moving money earmarked for mental health services to pay costs at the county hospital and in other departments. Since 1991, Ventura County has transferred more than $4 million of the so-called realignment revenue. The practice came to light amid scrutiny of the county’s failed attempt to reorganize its way of caring for the mentally ill.

Under the proposed changes, a transfer of funds could occur only after county officials first notified the Mental Health Board, an advisory group to the Board of Supervisors. The chief administrative office also would be required to do an economic analysis to show that the transferred money would be used effectively.

County officials have argued that such transfers are necessary and justifiable--noting, for example, that people with mental illnesses sometimes require medical care at the hospital. We like the fact that the proposed changes emphasize openness rather than the outright ban on such transfers that some advocates for the mentally ill have demanded. It is good for the county to retain the flexibility to spend allotted funds in the most efficient and effective way--if a convincing case can be made for shifting them. The notice would give advocates a chance to express their concerns to the supervisors before transfers were approved.

Advocates correctly note that the county’s mentally ill have many needs that remain unmet. A proposal by Dr. David Gudeman, acting director of the county’s Behavioral Health Department, to build housing for destitute mentally ill adults and offer increased psychiatric services on county crisis teams would be a good start toward addressing those needs.

The Mental Health Board and other advocates deserve credit for keeping the pressure on county officials to constantly look for ways to provide the best possible care for those suffering mental illnesses. This goal is important to all Ventura County residents, not just to the smaller circle of patients and their families. Our public safety and quality of life are undermined when those without the skills or stability to function in society are left to fend for themselves. Even more, it is simply the right thing to do.