Mental-Health Funds Policy to Go Public

In a policy shift that mental-health advocates considered bittersweet, Ventura County supervisors voted Tuesday to hold publicized hearings each time officials consider transferring mental-health funds to other departments.

The unanimous decision came after about a dozen members of the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill urged supervisors to make the process more open. For years, supervisors shifted millions of dollars in mental-health funding to other departments during their annual budget meetings.

They did so without first publicizing the proposed fund shifts or notifying members of the Ventura County Mental Health Board.

So on Tuesday, supervisors voted to require the county administrative office to detail plans of the transfers in its annual budget report. Residents will then be invited to voice their concerns during public budget hearings, which usually occur before the end of the fiscal year June 30.

Officials must also notify mental health board members.

At the same time Tuesday, supervisors approved transferring $1.2 million in mental-health funds to the county’s health agency. That amount was $277,000 less than originally proposed.

Alliance members were pleased that the process is becoming more open but were disappointed the practice of shifting the funds to other departments was not abolished altogether.

Each year, up to 10% of state revenue earmarked for mental-health services may be moved to other departments. Since 1991, Ventura County has transferred, with little public oversight, more than $4 million in mental-health funds.

“Absolutely, it’s wonderful for us to have this important information so that we can give our input and know where the money is going,” alliance member Carol Luppino said. “But the bottom line is that mental health is still losing a lot of money. After the discussion and after all the disclosure, we’re still losing money.”

Lou Matthews, past president of the alliance, said the money should stay in the mental-health budget and be used to build more housing for the mentally ill. Matthews said the lack of quality housing in Ventura County has forced many local mentally ill residents to move.

“There are some 50 people placed outside the county away from their families,” Matthews said. “Those Ventura County citizens need to be brought home.”

“They can legally take 10%,” Luppino added. “But morally it’s wrong.”

Supervisor John Flynn, who sits on the mental health board, said he supported a budget proposal by Dr. David Gudeman, interim director of the county Behavioral Health Department. Listing housing as a priority, Gudeman outlined ways to spend state funds next fiscal year.

“We need to concentrate on the unifying issues,” Flynn said. “We need to remove all the animosity, concentrate on the unifying issues and not the divisive ones.”

Health Care Agency Director Pierre Durand, who has been blamed by some for not informing the public about the shifting of funds, was also pleased with the new policy.

He noted that the practice was a budget issue overseen by the county administrative office, not him.

“It’s healthy,” Durand said. “Full disclosure is good for everybody. It’s good for the county and good for the families. But this is a county administrative office policy.”